Update on the Activities of the Sequenced Information Strategies (SIS) Task Team.
The first activity was to gather useful documentation, most of which is available on the Internet, with a view to later discussions and until the first formal meeting of the task team could be held. A web page was opened on the Paris21 site with links to the documentation gathered and the first meeting was held on 27 August 2001 in Seoul, on the margins of the ISI Conference.
I.Progress to date on activities stipulated in the Terms of Reference
- Commenting on the Statistical Capacity Building chapter of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Sourcebook.
To date, only an initial reading of the draft versions has been conducted.
- Compiling a reference table of the countries participating in international statistical initiatives, including the General Data Dissemination Standard (GDDS), Comprehensive Development Framework (CDF)/Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers (PRSPs), United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF)/Common Country Assessment (CCA).
An initial table in Excel has been prepared and posted on the Paris21 site. The table shows the complexity of relations between countries and heterogeneity of interventions by development partners. This complexity hampers harmonisation and coordination of statistical policies between countries in the same region or sub-region.
- Collecting and disseminating experiences of countries using sequenced information strategies.
It is not easy to find translated or even original documents. Several plans have been identified, but there are few documents describing the methods used to formulate these plans (Mauritania and Côte d'Ivoire) – see Point 5.
- Studying links between national and regional planning, sectoral and national planning and making recommendations as to the preparation and implementation of sequenced information strategies
Three preliminary documents in French by Gérard Chenais have been posted on the site with a view to encouraging discussions that have yet to be organised. These are: SOI et SGDD ("SIS and GDDS"); SOI dans un contexte sous-régional ("SIS in a sub-regional context"); and Le Système Statistique National - Le Système Statistique Global ("the national statistics system – the global statistics system").
Coexisting in Africa are: the IMF's General Data Dissemination Standard (GDDS) and Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS); a regional plan – the Addis Ababa Plan of Action for Statistical Development in Africa (AAPA); Afristat's common minimum statistics programme (PROSMIC); and national plans. Côte d'Ivoire, for example, has a national plan, is involved in PROSMIC and AAPA and adheres to GDDS. It is not easy to coordinate these different levels and design a consistent national plan.
- Identifying and promoting best practices for the formulation of sequenced information strategies in each country, including interaction with other task teams.
To date, the experiences of Côte d'Ivoire, Mauritania, South Africa and the countries in the EU's TACIS programme have been identified and partially documented.
II.Meeting on 27 August 2001 in Seoul.
After presenting the progress to date on the activities stipulated in the Terms of Reference, the following proposals met with general assent:
√The meaning of the term "Sequenced Information Strategies"/"Systèmes Ordonnés d'Information" is not immediately clear. It was therefore suggested that a new name be found.
√It is not recommended for the task team to be involved in work at national level.
√The team's current task should be to gather country experiences and identify best practices.
√The team should produce a guide for the formulation of national statistical development plans (the name of which should be fixed). This task could be performed by a small team. Several useful reference documents are already available on the site.
√The Internet should be used as far as possible.