2015-2019 Strategic Plan
Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific

1|PageI.
A.
1.

Introduction

Rationale for 2015-2019 Strategic Plan for SIAP

The Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (SIAP) is the premier training

institution for official statistics of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Established in 1970 by 20 countries in the Asia-Pacificregion, the United Nations and the United Nations Development Programme on theinitiative of the Government of Japan and accorded the status of subsidiary body of ESCAPin 1995, SIAP has had a major role in building statistical capacity of developing countries

through the provision of professional training covering the breadth and depth of official
statistics.
2.

In the last decade, the fundamental role that statistics play in development has been

increasingly recognized due to the data demands for monitoring progress towards theachievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). SIAP responded by increasing

the focus of its training courses on the statistical requirements of the MDG monitoring

indicators in the past 10 years.
3.

There is no doubt that the main challenge facing statistical systems in developing

countries of Asia and the Pacific over the next 10 years will be the demands for better andnew data and quicker and more efficient ways to produce and disseminate statistics, inlight of the post-2015 development agenda. At the same time, there continues to be lack of

capacity to produce even some of the most basic data for a wide range of core economic,
agricultural, social and environment statistics in many developing statistical systems,
4.

As the premier regional statistical training institution, SIAP thus faces the challengeof transforming the nature, content, focus and effectiveness of statistical training in theregion to better support capacity building of statistical systems to provide data for
informed policy development.
5.

These developments present challenges as well as open opportunities for SIAP toreposition itself to provide strong, effective and dynamic leadership in statistical training

in the region. This 2015 – 2019 Strategic Plan has been formulated to serve as a forward-

looking aspirational guide for the Institute. The Plan will be the basis for its annual
programming starting in 2015.

B.

6.

Results of the 2010-2014

From January 2010 to December 2013, the Institute conducted 91 training courses

and workshops; 2061 participants completed the training events. This translates to anannual average of 23 courses and 515 participants. Thirty-four percent of the courses
2|Pagewere on foundations of statistics, 22 percent on population and social statistics and 20

percent on economic and national accounts statistics. Figures are presented in Annex
Table 1a.
7.

Thirty four percent of the courses were regional courses that trained 28 percent of

the total participants. Sub-regional courses accounted for only 7 percent of the total
number of courses while 18 percent of the courses were e-learning or distance training

courses. Twenty-percent of participants completed e-learning or distance training courses.
Figures are presented in Annex Table 1b.
8.

The indicators on performance from 2010-2013 as set in the results framework of

the SIAP 2010-2014 Strategic Plan are reported in Annex Table 2 for the 2013 work
programme outputs. In general, the indicators show that SIAP attained the targeted

results for the plan in two of the three main areas specified. The strategic plan had set out
to address three main challenges-(i) developing MDG related statistics, (ii) developing

integrated economic statistics and implementation of the 2008 SNA and (iii) modernizing

statistical information systems. While expected results under (i) and (ii) were mainly
achieved, expected results addressing (iii) were not achieved because of the lack of inhouse expertise on ICT-related frameworks and tools. Likewise, the Plan had included
fostering the development and dissemination of key environmental statistics, but in-house
expertise on environmental statistics is missing.

C.

9.

Approach to formulation of the plan

The Governing Council endorsed the proposal of the Institute to review the current

strategic plan and initiate the development of its five-year plan at its eighth session in

2012. The Council created a “Friends of the Chair” group (FOC) composed of eight experts

from Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Philippines and the WorldBank to assist SIAP in formulating the plan. The Plan was prepared in over a 12 month
period in 2013-14.

10.

The FOC reviewed the 2010-2014 SIAP Plan. The review was informed by a study

prepared by SIAP with the assistance of a consultant, which carried out an analysis thatreconstructed the intervention logic of the logical matrix (LM), compared the results

framework as contained in the strategic plan with the reconstructed LM including a reviewof the indicators using the SMART criteria The study obtained stakeholders’ perspectives

based on a survey of stakeholders (22 NSO heads and 20 development partners) andadded staff perspectives based on focus group discussion and interviews. 1 A shortsummary of the recommendations of the FOC is included in the Annex.
1 Internal report. Strategic Framework Review for SIAP. 21 August 2013.

3|Page11.

In the formulation of the 2015-2019 Strategic Plan, the FOC deliberated on specificissues SIAP identified for further guidance including: clarifying component parts of its
mission (who, what and how), mechanisms for improving sub-regional training andenhancing cooperation between countries in delivering training, training-of trainers forcertifying expert trainers in statistics and the institutional goals, draft results frameworkand staffing pattern and in-house expertise of SIAP.

12.

The FOC concluded that broad strategic directions of the current plan would remain

relevant to the next five years, but new ones may need to be considered withcorresponding strategic initiatives. For example, collaboration and partnerships withmember States and international organizations has mainly been for request of resource

persons but the emergence of a 'physical' network of training institutions such as for e-learning and coordination has taken an important and needed role for cost-effective
training.
13.

Better ways of assessing training needs of both individual staff and institutions and

14.

On the focus areas of training, a move towards increased provision of training inof evaluating training outcomes are needed to foster increased accountability of bothtraining providers and training recipients.

specialized skills and advanced statistical methods is highly relevant; at the same time theneed for training in foundations of statistics will continue to remain high. Whether SIAP

should focus on the former and national statistical training institutes on the latter calls for
new strategic thinking.

15.

The current strategic plan focused on MDG statistics and indicators (mainly social),

basic economic statistics and SNA and ICT. The focus areas in the new strategic plan would
need to be broader and include population statistics, environment statistics, gender

statistics and civil registration. The meeting noted that the 2020 census round will havestarted during the period of the new plan and should be a specific focus area.
16.

As a regional institution of ESCAP, the SIAP strategic framework is guided by

ESCAP’s strategy for its biennial work programme. In drafting the Plan, SIAP took into

account the 2014-2015 and 2016-2017 ESCAP biennial programmes of work, in particularof the statistics subprogramme.
17.

SIAP participates in the Pacific Statistics Steering Committee for the Ten-Year Pacific18.

The Plan was reviewed and endorsed by the SIAP Governing Council in July 2014. It

Statistics Strategy 2011-2020 (TYPSS) and the design of phase II for the TYPSS. This Planis also informed by outcomes of recent discussions in these processes.

will be used as the basis for the annual work and financial plan of SIAP, starting in the year
2015.

4|PageD.
19.

Organization of this Document

This Plan document is organized into five sections.

This first section, theIntroduction, explains the rationale and purpose of the Plan and the process by which it
was formulated. Sections II and III establish the context for the Plan. Section II states

SIAP’s commitments—its mission, core values and institutional goals and aspirations.

Section III presents the assumptions about the environment in which SIAP operates thechallenges that arise and the broad strategic directions SIAP will take to respond to thesechallenges. Section IV presents the overall objective and outcomes for the Plan period andstrategic initiatives SIAP will undertake to achieve its institutional goals. The final section
develops priority outputs and indicative activities of the Plan and a coherent results

framework, the budget framework and its monitoring and evaluation framework.

E.

20.

Communicating the Plan

The Plan will be disseminated through the SIAP website and shared with all member

States and statistical development partners.

Apart from being a road map towards

attaining its aspirations, the Plan is intended to be used as a resource mobilization tool. An

effective communication and advocacy strategy, including the preparation of an executive

summary and other appropriate dissemination materials for target audiences withsupport from the Partnerships and Programme Division of ESCAP, will be developed andimplemented for this purpose.

5|PageII.
21.

SIAP’s Commitments

To provide context for this 2015 – 2019 Strategic Plan, this section presents themission of SIAP and lays out the core values and commitments of the Institute. The section
further expresses the aspirational goals of SIAP as a training institution. Together, these
express who we are as an institution.

A.

22.

Mission

SIAP’s institutional mission 2 reflects the fundamental basis for its existence:•

to strengthen, through practically oriented training of official statisticians, thecapability of the developing member and associate member States andeconomies in transition of the region to collect, analyze and disseminate•

statistics as well as to produce timely and high quality statistics that can beutilized for economic and social development planning, andto assist those developing members and associate members and economies intransition in establishing or strengthening their statistical training capability

23.

and other related activities

SIAP is a training institution for development. Since its establishment almost 45

years ago, the Institute’s continued existence is firmly dependent on the enduring trustand belief of ESCAP member and associate member States, that SIAP addresses thecapacity building needs of national statistical systems to carry out their core mandates ofmaking available quality official statistics which continues to be a daunting task for many.
The continued relevance of SIAP to governments, capacity development partners andother stakeholders in the region is founded on the recognition that the training provided

and coordinated by SIAP strongly supports and adds value to their own efforts in building
statistical capacity.
24.

B.

Core Values

As a United Nations institution, SIAP embraces the core values of professionalism,

integrity and respect for diversity. SIAP integrates the principles and qualities embodied
in these values in our programmes, activities and practices.
•

Professionalism. Instill professional competence and mastery of both
statistics and training. Meet commitments and achieve planned results.

2

http://www.unsiap.or.jp/about/statute.html

6|Page••Integrity. Promote the Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics3. Be guided

by the Principles Governing International Statistical Activities 4.
Respect for Diversity.

Work effectively with people from all backgrounds.

Promote gender equality. Respond to the diverse training needs and prioritiesof member and associate member States.

C.

25.

SIAP’s Aspiration and Institutional Goals

Notwithstanding its long history as a premier regional training institution, SIAP

aspires to be globally recognized as a top-class centre of excellence in training on official
statistics and as a model institution for relevant, practical and results-oriented statisticaltraining. SIAP acknowledges that this recognition needs to be worked for and a categoricalstatement of its aspiration and a strategic plan that leads to its attainment needs to be
made.
26.

The Institute sets four institutional goals that define the dimensions on which it will

be judged:
•

•
•
•

Excellence in Providing Training

Excellence in Training Resources

Strengthened Engagement with Stakeholders
Excellence in Institutional Stewardship

It may be said that these have been the underlying principles that have guided the work of

SIAP. However, stating the goals serves the purpose of defining its commitments as an
institution; the attainment of the goals is measured against the results of the work SIAP
sets out to do.
27.

Excellence in providing training means to provide training that is relevant,innovative, distinctive and of the highest quality. Relevance means that training content
and modality matches the needs of target groups. Innovative training means addressing

gaps in training, developing cost-effective ways of delivering training and developing
models for instructional design for face-to-face, blended and e-learning modalities.

Distinctive means training products that are recognized as SIAP products. Quality means

training is delivered by quality-certified expert trainers based on quality-certified training
materials and that the training is objectively evaluated as meeting the learning objectives.

28.

Training resources include human resources (SIAP faculty, staff of national statisticaltraining institutions and experts/resource persons from national, sub-regional and3

http://unstats.un.org/unsd/dnss/gp/FP-New-E.pdf

4

http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/statorg/Principles_stat_activities/principles_stat_activities.htm

7|Pageinternational organizations) and training materials (curricula, syllabuses and training

manuals and presentation materials). Excellence in human resources means training isdesigned and delivered by a pool of trainers with the right combination of expertise in thesubject matter and effectiveness as a trainer for face-to-face and e-learning courses.

Excellence in training materials means applying appropriate learning models, core skills

frameworks, and results of training needs assessments and evaluations in designing andpreparing training materials for different modalities. Excellence in training resources alsomeans quality certified resources. Excellence also refers to having standardized materials
that facilitates well-organized and coordinated training by the Network members.

29.

As a regional training institution for development, SIAP traditionally has a wide

range of key stakeholders: statistics producers, users, policy makers and governments ofmember and associate member States; statistical training institutions, donors anddevelopment partners.

With the new demands on training requiring high-level ofstatistical expertise and expertise in adult learning and in e-learning, academic institutions

are also recognized as stakeholders of SIAP. Likewise, the private sector has an interest in
statistical training in part linked to increasing buy-in to corporate social responsibility, andprivate-public partnerships for increasing training resources, including statistics-related
and IT products. A stakeholder’s analysis matrix that looks at their mandate, interests instatistical training and resources is presented in Annex Table 3. Strengthened engagementwith stakeholders means leveraging their interests in statistical training to advocate forsupport for statistics development such as through the Network for the Coordination of
Statistical Training in Asia and the Pacific (the “Network”) and the training framework of

the Asia-Pacific Regional Action Plan of the Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and
Rural Statistics (RAP).

30.

Many of these stakeholders have traditionally been SIAP’s partners, a list of which isprovided in Annex Table 4. Partners have been engaged in training delivery through costsharing and co-funding arrangements and sharing of resource persons and experts.

Others have contributed their knowledge and expertise to discussions such as the Friendsof the Chair and the workshops on forging partnerships for statistical training. Still others

have signed on to developing collaborative open online courses as a means of forging

partnerships for coordination of statistical training. Partners have likewise registered as
members of the newly established “Network”.

31.

Strengthening engagement with stakeholders means building on the initiatives

32.

Stewardship is an ethic that embodies the responsible planning and management of

mentioned above that institutionalize partnerships and create specific mechanisms forcollaboration and coordination.

8|Pageresources 5 .

This requires processes and structures for managing, allocating andmonitoring resources—staff, financial resources and infrastructure.

Excellence in

stewardship means sufficient resources are generated, expenditure decisions reflect costeffectiveness, decision-making is transparent and collaborative, and accountability ismonitored. .

5

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stewardship

9|Page

III.
33.

SIAP and Its Environment

This section identifies the main assumptions about external and internal

environments that have a bearing on the strategic challenges and consequent decisions on

broad directions of the Plan.

A.

Competencies in a changing world

Developments in statistics impacting on capacity building needs

34.

The landmark Report of the High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015

Development Agenda 6 calls for a ‘data revolution’ that would offer new opportunities tomake informed decisions towards inclusive and sustainable development. It seeks toensure that the statistical information needed to eliminate poverty and to monitor

development progress is available to the right people at the right time and in the rightformat.

Thus, this revolution challenges official statistical systems to map outtransformational shifts in the production and dissemination of data.
35.

An adequate response by statistical systems to this call for a data revolution isimperative to meet monitoring requirements of the post-2015 development agenda—
currently defined by 17 goals and 169 targets as proposed in July 2014 by the OpenWorking Group (OWG) for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In September 2014,

the United Nations General Assembly will consider the proposal; whichever goals andtargets are eventually agreed on, the targets will be further elaborated through indicatorsfor measuring outcomes. In the ESCAP region, the 70th session of the Commission
recommended the need to undertake effective monitoring, evaluation and reporting, forbetter accountability, on progress in the implementation of the SDGs.
36.

Monitoring progress towards the proposed SDGs will require new data such as on

disasters, human rights and governance as well as measures of progress on sustainable
development that complement GDP.

Furthermore, it will require data and statistics

disaggregated by income, gender, age, race, ethnicity, migratory status, disability,
geographic location and other characteristics relevant in national contexts.
37.

The challenges posed in using alternative data sources such as big data and the38.

At the same time, findings from the MDG monitoring process and various

impact of releasing and using open data would need to be understood and addressed. In
this context, geospatial data are also expected to play an important role.

assessments conducted by ESCAP and UNSD show that there is still a large unfilled
demand for basic data at the national level. And, with inclusive development as a basic
6

http://www.un.org/sg/management/pdf/HLP_P2015_Report.pdf

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dimension of the post-2015 agenda the requirements for “from data to evidence” isexpected to increase, with increasing importance of local and sub-national statistics. Muchof this data will come from administrative reporting systems, rather than traditional
surveys.
39.

The two overarching strategic goals for 2020 agreed to by member States throughthe Committee on Statistics reflect their aspirations to have the capability to provide a
basic range of population, economic, social and environment statistics and a more adaptive

and cost effective information management environment for NSIs through strong
collaboration.

Capability building through training is called for by the regional

programmes on economic statistics, civil registration and vital statistics, agricultural andrural statistics (RAP), environment statistics and gender statistics.
Responding to increase in demand for training

40.

These demands for more available data and new data directly translate to demandfor capacity development, with training as one of the means to do so. New training courses

needs to be developed for improving competencies on the new content areas, specializedskills and advanced statistical methods.

At the same time the need for training infoundations of statistics will continue to remain high. Within its expected available
resources, SIAP by itself will not be able to focus on both. Thus, modalities for ‘sharing’ theresponsibility of designing courses and delivering training in the region throughappropriate modalities of collaboration and coordination is needed.

41.

The increase in demand also means more people need to be trained. Expanding

delivery of internet-based e-learning both enlarges the scope of topics, increasing thenumber of course offerings and training more participants. Development of these courses
likewise would benefit from collaboration.
42.

In countries, the needs for continuous training on foundations of statistics arise fromstaff movement and the influx of new entrants. In this light, strengthening the training
capacity of statistical institutions to assess competencies and deliver the needed level oftraining would lead to sustainable training programmes.

B.

43.

Financial Challenges

The financial resources of SIAP are principally derived from the cash contributionsof the host Government and other member and associate members of ESCAP. The annual
contributions provided by Government of Japan constitute the main bulk of the total
annual cash contributions received from member and associate members.
44.

Financial sustainability is expected to remain a continuing concern to the Institute.
11 | P a g e

Over the last five years, SIAP had a significant shortfall of financial resources mainly due tothe substantial increase in staff costs as a result of continuous currency fluctuations. This

enforced a temporal severe saving of personnel costs that to some extent has had an

adverse impact on the rate and efficiency of service delivery.
45.

In addition, many of the traditional donors are still dealing with the effects of the2007 financial crisis. It is to the credit of member and associate member States of SIAP

that the levels of cash contributions to SIAP over the last five years have remained constant.
However, for some with recent budget cuts, this may have an effect on future contributions.
46.

On a broader scale, scaling down of donor aid to countries may mean that affected

statistical systems may increasingly look to SIAP as a provider of training. This is where,
the need for strengthening national capacity to provide training internally again becomes
important.
47.

C.

SIAP’s Strategic Challenges

This Plan assumes the following main challenges for SIAP over the next five years:

•

•

•

Addressing increase in demand for training. Balancing the continuing need fortraining on basic statistics with demand for training in new topics, wider reachand diversity of training needs.

Facilitating clear articulation by member and associate member States of theirtraining needs.

Targeted and appropriately designed training to increase

efficiency and effectiveness of training in light of increased demand.

Maintaining highly qualified and technologically-competent core staff.

Providing leadership for developing, coordinating and providing regional
•

•

•

•

training requires maintaining a staffing pattern and acquiring staff with areas ofexpertise and competencies that match the priority areas.

Developing a viable model for e-learning and blended learning courses.
Setting criteria to select appropriate instructional design and modalities for
optimal utilization and impact of web-based training.
Making collaborative mechanisms work.

To institutionalize partnerships,

facilitate sharing of training resources and mobilize financial resources,
collaboration is essential.

Measuring quality of programmes and training resources. Quality redounds

to excellence and needs to be effectively and convincingly measured, withparticular challenges in evaluating impact of web-based courses.

Attaining financial sustainability. Assured funding to ensure continuity andstability needed for short-term and long-term commitments.

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D.
48.

Broad Strategic Directions

To respond to the challenges in the Plan period, SIAP will follow four broad

directions: more focus, effective coordination, more efficiency and greater adaptability.

Focus and coordination are key to attaining excellence in providing training and excellencein training resources.

Coordination and adaptability are crucial in strengthening

engagement with stakeholders. Adaptability and efficiency are foundations for attaining
excellence in leadership.
More Focus

49.

In terms of rationalizing priority areas, SIAP will be guided by:•••

Data requirements for the regional accountability and monitoring
framework for the post-2015 development agenda

Priorities expressed by ESCAP member States through the Committee on
Statistics as embodied in its two strategic goals for 2020 and by its
decisions and Commission resolutions 7; andAsia-Pacific Regional Action Plan to Implement the Global Strategy to
Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics

50.

Priorities will be identified by engaging with governance structures of the regional

51.

Focus will shift to targeted training (sub-regional and in-country) from broad-based

programmes on improving statistics including consultations with the respective steeringcommittees and advisory groups.

(regional) training. Sub-regional training will engage sub-regional entities through theirstatistical committees of ASEAN, SAARC and the Pacific Island countries.
Effective Coordination

52.

The Network for the Coordination of Statistical Training in Asia and the Pacific wasestablished by the Bureau of the Committee on Statistics with the Statistical Institute for

Asia and the Pacific (SIAP) as its secretariat. The Network will facilitate information

sharing and promoting coordination among national statistical training institutions,regional and international statistical training providers, and donor agencies providing
funding for statistical training in the Asia-Pacific region.
53.

SIAP will leverage its position as secretariat of the Network to promote coordination,

including establishing a system of training institute affiliates, certification of trainers

through a training-of-trainers programme, quality certification of training materials,

7

Statistics capacity development (res. 67/11 in 2011), Economic statistics (67/10 in 2011), Populationand social statistics (69/16 in 2013), Civil registration and vital statistics (res. 67/12 and 69/15 in 2011
and 2013), Disaster-related statistics (70/2 in 2014)

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developing and offering collaborative open online courses and implementing the training
component of the. RAP-GS.

Efficiency and adaptability

54.

Availability and periodic application of training needs assessment tools and a coreskills framework allows for better targeting and adapting design of courses and materials.

Regular evaluation of results of training through a well-defined framework allows for
improving efficiency and effectiveness of training results. The Network will be at thecentre of development and implementation of these tools and frameworks. This willfurther redound to improved coordination and better focus.
55.

More focus, better coordination and adaptability result in efficient use of resources

that, in turn, preserves resources promotes doing more with less.

14 | P a g eIV.

Objective, Outcomes and Strategic Initiatives for 2015-2019
A.

56.

Overall Objective

For the Plan period 2015-2019, SIAP will carry out its mission with the overall

objective of•Strengthening the capacity of ESCAP member and associate member States to

produce, process, analyze and disseminate official statistics in accordance withinternationally agreed standards and good practices in support of measuring
progress towards development goals for inclusive, sustainable and resilient57.

societies

The capacity-building objective continues to aim for increasing availability of quality

basic data for monitoring progress in achievement of development objectives. In this Plan
period, the focus is on the post-2015 development indicators.

B.

58.

Institutional Goals and Outcomes

The institutional goals define the broad areas within which the Plan outcomes andstrategic initiatives are identified. The outcomes and strategic initiatives for the Plan
period are stated below.
Goal 1

Excellence in providing training

Outcome:

Improved knowledge and skills of government officials and statisticians to

produce, process, analyze and manage quality official statistics in support of measuring

progress towards sustainable and inclusive development goals
Strategic Initiatives:•

Develop a programme of courses that focus on production of data for core setsof economic, social and population, gender and agricultural statistics•

prioritized by regional programmes, based on periodic appropriately designed
training needs assessment

To address the demand for training in new areas, develop a programme oftraining on statistical methodologies and IT applications and adopt related••

themes for seminars/workshops on effective and innovative leadership andmanagement

For better targeting of participants and common training needs, in the deliveryof courses, increase the number of sub-regional courses relative to regionalcourses

Increase the use of web-based training to improve cost-effectiveness and
15 | P a g e•efficiency of training by offering more blended-learning courses and e-learning

courses

Design and conduct a cost-effective research-based training course based onpriority needs of countries, aiming for quality publications

Goal 2

Excellence in training resources

Outcome:Strengthened capacity of national statistical systems to provide

appropriate statistical training

Strategic Initiatives:•

With the Network as the main mechanism for doing so:oEstablish a nodal network of training institutions as SIAP training focal

points who will deliver training on specific statistical areas (Indicative

areas:

agricultural

statistics;

SystemofEnvironmental-Economic

Accounting (SEEA); vital statistics and civil registration; IT applications inostatistics)

Implement a Training-of-Trainers for Statistics Training Programme tocertify trainers in specific statistical areas (Indicative areas: basic statisticalmethods;oo•administrative-based

statistics;

sampling

methodologies;

national accounts; SEEA; agricultural statistics; IT applications in statistics)

Implement collaborative open online courses in partnership with statisticaltraining institutions

Implement a certification process to quality-certify training materials to bemade available through a shared online platform

Work with agricultural statistics experts, relevant ministries and research andtraining institutions in implementing the RAP-GS training component

Goal 3

Strengthened engagement with stakeholders

Outcome:

Delivery of statistical training in the region is well-coordinated andenhanced by partnerships and innovation
Strategic Initiatives:••••

Ensure a well-functioning Network for the Coordination of Statistical Training
in Asia and the PacificEngage with academic institutions through the GS-RAP and the Network
mechanisms

Prepare advocacy messages for statistics development and the use of official
statistics for taking informed, rational and data-aided policy decisions

Present/ publish papers/reports in relevant forums on training innovations forofficial statistics:

16 | P a g e

Goal 4

Excellence in Organizational Stewardship

Outcome:Sustained resource support by ESCAP member and associate member

states and statistical development partners for cost-effective regional statistical training

provided and coordinated by SIAP
Strategic Initiatives:•••

Establish appropriate staffing pattern for SIAP operations and ensure that
positions are filled by staff highly qualified to lead, manage and implement thePlan

Develop and implement effective communication and advocacy strategy forincreasing exposure of SIAP to aid resource mobilization, including theeffective use of the website

Develop online databases and platforms for sharing information and materials
and delivering e-learning

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V.
59.

Expected Results for 2015 – 2019

This section presents, in a coherent framework, the priority outputs and indicative

activities that will be undertaken to achieve the desired outcomes and overall objective of
the Plan presented in Section IV. The outcomes and key outputs are framed around thefour institutional goals, emphasizing the logical link between the overarching aspiration of

SIAP to be a widely recognized centre of excellence and a model of relevant and practicaltraining in official statistics as it carries out its mission. The section also describes thebudget framework, presenting the projected expenditures and the projected resources

necessary to implement the Plan. The final part of the section describes the monitoringand evaluation framework for the plan.

A.

60.

Priority Outputs and Key Activities

Expected results of the Plan are defined at three levels: one overarching objective, four

outcomes—one for each institutional goal and priority outputs for each of the outcomes.

The overall objective and outcomes are as presented in Section IV. The key activities to beundertaken to implement the strategic initiatives and the resulting outputs are
summarized below.
61.

It is important to note that while the expected outputs are designed to achieve four

separate outcomes, these are actually inter-related— directly or indirectly. For example,
outputs designed for outcome B feed in directly to outputs of outcome A.

Outputsdesigned for outcome C support the outputs for outcomes A and B. Outputs of outcome D
are essential for producing all the outputs.

Outputs and Activities: Excellence in providing relevant, innovative, distinctive and highquality training (Outcome A)

62.

The outputs to achieve outcome A have to do primarily with the delivery andevaluation of the impact of training. The outputs relating to delivery of training reflect thethree strategic approaches to delivery of training— defining programme areas withcourses within each programme designed as a series; responding to diverse needs throughregional, sub-regional and in-country courses; and increasing use of web-based andblended learning modalities to increase the scope of training topics and participation.
63.

The programme areas and indicative priority topics are:•Foundations of official statistics: legal framework, data collection, processing,statistical analysis, and dissemination of basic data for goal monitoring statistics and•indicators; statistical methodologies
Specific domains:

18 | P a g eoPopulation and social statistics: principles and recommendations for
population censuses; analysis and use of census data; regional core set ofoosocial and population statistics

Gender statistics: regional core set of gender statistics and indicators

National accounts & economic statistics: introduction to national
accounts; advanced topics in national accounts; regional core set of
economicoo•statistics;

statistical

Comparison Programme/PPP

businessregisters;

International

Agricultural & rural statistics: priority areas of the Global Strategy to
Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics

Environment statistics: introduction to SEEA central framework; SDG
indicators; disaster-related statistics

Advanced Statistical methodologies and IT applications: use of registers andother administrative reporting systems for official statistics; small-area estimation;

analysis of complex survey data; data processing; standards and frameworks forstatistical data production; post-2015 and the ‘data revolution’: big data; open data;•

geospatial statistics•

methodologies and analyzing data relevant to immediate concerns of countries

Research-based

training

programme:thematic

topicsondeveloping

Leading, Managing and Modernizing for Quality Statistics: high-level

management seminars for discussing and debating leadership and management
issues; senior-level workshops on quality assurance; modernizing statistical64.

information systems.

Training needs assessments and objective of evaluation of the impact of SIAP

training requires the adoption of a suitable evaluation framework and development oftraining needs assessment tools and evaluation instruments.

Outputs and Activities: Excellence in training resources (Outcome B)

65.

Outputs designed to achieve outcome B focus on information-sharing on training

resources, development of training courses and training materials through stronger

coordination and collaboration among training providers and quality certification oftrainers and training materials.
66.

The main outputs and key activities are:•

Nodal network of training institutions: national training institutions serve as SIAP

focal points for training on specific areas (Indicative areas: agricultural statistics;
SEEA; vital statistics and civil registration; IT applications in statistics)

19 | P a g e••Outputs relating to the training component of the RAP-GS: coordination oftraining and training resources development activities by SIAP

Training-of-Trainers for Statistics Training Programme: training to certify
trainers in specific statistical areas (Indicative areas: basic statistical methods;
administrative-based statistics; sampling methodologies; national accounts; SEEA;••

agricultural statistics; IT applications in statistics)

Collaborative open online courses: setting-up platform; developing and offering
online courses•

Database on statistical experts: information-sharing and access facilitated•curriculum, syllabuses and training tool kits for onsite and e-learning courses

New training materials developed collaboratively: identifying gaps; developing
Quality certified trainers and training materials: certification process

Outputs and Activities: Strengthened engagement with stakeholders (Outcome C)

67.

Outputs designed to achieve outcome C are based on strategies to strengthen

68.

The main outputs and key activities are:coordination among statistical training providers and development partners and advocacy
for statistical development in general and statistical training, in particular.
•

Well-functioning Network for the Coordination of Statistical Training in Asiaand the Pacific: SIAP, as secretariat of the Network, facilitates and contributes to the•implementation of its programme of work

Partnerships with academic institutions: improving statistics curricula inuniversities to include official statistics; collaboration on research-based training;•collaboration on e-learning and open online courses

Contributing to relevant forums on official statistics: presentation andpublication of papers advocating for innovative leadership and management of•statistical institutions and support for statistics development

Reporting to intergovernmental bodies (ESCAP Commission, Committee on
Statistics, United Nations Statistical Commission): preparing reports andproviding substantive inputs in deliberations of intergovernmental bodies

Outputs and Activities: Excellence in Organizational Stewardship (Outcome D)

69.

Outputs designed to achieve Outcome D relate to ensuring recruiting andmaintaining high-calibre staff in the required areas of expertise, obtaining and maintaining

first-class training facilities and sustainability of financial resources. With the importance
20 | P a g e

of a strong sense of ownership and support of member States towards mobilization offinancial and human resources and in the effective management and administration ofthese resources, the Plan prioritizes the development and implementation of an effective

communication and advocacy plan that would serve to instill this sense of ownership.
Through monitoring and evaluation, SIAP assures proper accountability that is the basis
for communicating and advocating for sustained resources.
70.

The main outputs and key activities are:•Appropriate staffing pattern and positions filled by qualified staff:
implementing a staffing pattern and recruiting appropriate staff to lead, manage and•implement the Plan

Effective communication and advocacy plan that increases SIAP recognitionand strengthens ‘sense of ownership’ of SIAP by member and associate•

member States: preparing and implementing plan

Availability and effective use of appropriate training facilities and equipment
and web-based technologies.

Maintaining SIAP website; e-learning platform

development; setting up and maintaining online sharing platforms and databases•

Favourable audit reports•

Favourable evaluation findings

21 | P a g e

B.

Results Framework

71. This section presents the results framework for the Plan and the indicators to be used tomeasure achievement at the outcome and output levels. Outcome and output indicators are
specified. The achievement of an institutional goal is measured against the totality of the associatedoutcome and output indicators. Whether or not the overall objective aimed for by the Plan isachieved will be measured against the achievement of the outcomes.

72. Baseline values of indicators that have been used in the 2010-2014 Plan are derived from theresults of this Plan. In general, the targets reflect increases in these values and represent thequalities of excellence and recognition that SIAP aspires for. The target number of courses is basedon the average annual course offerings during the preceding 5-year period. During the Plan period,
the target is to increase sub-regional courses; blended learning and e-learning modalities willaccount for an increasing share in the training modalities compared to face-to-face training, as well.
With the strategy of offering more e-learning courses, either as part of the SIAP training
programmes or collaborative open online courses, the target is to double the total number ofparticipants trained.

73. Achievement of the objective and expected results of the Plan is contingent on the following
major assumptions:••

Relevant stakeholders at the national, regional and international levels continue to accord thenecessary priority to statistical capacity building through training;

National statistical institutions and statistical units who are the intended beneficiaries of SIAP
training:
o

o
o
o
•

o

74.

Integrate e-learning as a modality for training in their own human resource
development programme;
Nominate officials with appropriate qualifications for the training course;

Provide trainees with appropriate opportunities to develop and implement action plans
for applying training received

National and international training providers are willing to pursue regional cooperation on
statistical training, including:o•Consider SIAP training as an integral part of their own human resource development
programme;

Actively contributing to the work of the Network for Coordination of Statistical Training
in the Asia and Pacific Region

Participating in certification and related processes for establishing satellite training
institutions affiliated with the Network for Coordination of Statistical Training in the
Asia and Pacific Region and certifying trainers and training materials

Adequate extra-budgetary resources are mobilized to ensure that the supporting technologicalrequirements are in place and utilized and key activities are undertaken

The logical framework matrix for the Plan is presented below.

22 | P a g e

Logical Framework Matrix
Objective:
To strengthen the capacity of ESCAP member States to produce, process, analyze and disseminate official statistics inaccordance with internationally agreed standards and good practices in support of measuring progress towards development goals forinclusive, sustainable and resilient societies
Institutional Goal 1:

Excellence in Providing Training

Outcome A.

Improved knowledge and skills of government officials and statisticians to produce, process, analyze andmanage quality official statistics in support of measuring progress towards sustainable and inclusive
development goals
Indicator of achievement: Number of member States who availed of SIAP training who report that training
contributed to increased availability and quality of basic statistics and development indicators through costeffective and efficient means of data collection

Priority Outputs

1. Training courses on foundations of official
statistics conducted

2. Regional, sub-regional and in-country
training courses in the following programme
areas conducted, applying appropriate
learning technologies (face-to-face, elearning, blended):• Population and social statistics• Gender statistics• National accounts & economic statistics
8

Activities

Conduct SIAP-JICA residential courses•••

Expected number: at least 2 per year

Conduct short courses•

Indicators of Achievement

Expected number (per year) by type: Regional: 6
 Sub-regional: 10
 In-country: 6
Expected number (per year) bymodality•

Number of participants who
successfully completed training
coursesTarget: 1,000 per year
Baseline: 8515 per year
% of participants who report much
improved confidence in applying
training received in their job
Target: 70%
Baseline: 60%

Baseline values are generally derived from the corresponding 2010-2013 performance indicator values.

23 | P a g e

Institutional Goal 1:

Excellence in Providing Training

Outcome A.

Improved knowledge and skills of government officials and statisticians to produce, process, analyze andmanage quality official statistics in support of measuring progress towards sustainable and inclusive
development goals
Indicator of achievement: Number of member States who availed of SIAP training who report that training
contributed to increased availability and quality of basic statistics and development indicators through costeffective and efficient means of data collection

Priority Outputs•••

Agricultural & rural statistics
Environment statistics
Statistical methodologies and IT
applications

3. Research-based training courses based onpriority needs of countries conducted

ActivitiesFace-to-face: 8
Blended learning: 8
E-learning: 6

Conduct research-based training• Expected number: 1 every other year

Indicators of Achievement••% of participants who evaluate thecourse as very useful for their work
Target: 60%
Baseline: 40%
Increase in number of e-learningand blended-learning courses
Target: 5 per year
Baseline: 2 per year•

Target: 500 per year
Baseline: 100 per year•

Number of participants who avail ofe-learning courses
No. of research papers prepared
during course that are published ina statistical journal or presented ata regional/international technicalconference
24 | P a g e

Institutional Goal 1:

Excellence in Providing Training

Outcome A.

Improved knowledge and skills of government officials and statisticians to produce, process, analyze andmanage quality official statistics in support of measuring progress towards sustainable and inclusive
development goals
Indicator of achievement: Number of member States who availed of SIAP training who report that training
contributed to increased availability and quality of basic statistics and development indicators through costeffective and efficient means of data collection

Priority Outputs

4. Seminars/workshops on effective andinnovative leadership and management ofstatistics for development conducted

5. Training needs assessments and evaluation of
impact of training conducted

Activities

•

•

•

Indicators of Achievement

Conduct management seminar for headsof statistical offices
 Expected number: 1 per year
Conduct statistical quality workshops
for senior-level managers
 Expected number: 1 per year•

Develop and implement an evaluation
framework and instruments forassessing training needs and measuring
impact of training••

Target: 5 per course
Baseline: -Attendance rate of target
participants (e.g., heads; seniorlevel managers) invited to events
Target: 80%
Baseline: Innovations, policies or
improvements implemented
reported by member States as aresult of seminars/workshops
Target: [To be determined]
Baseline: Evaluation of training impact
conducted

25 | P a g e

Institutional Goal 2:

Excellence in Training Resources

Outcome B.

Strengthened capacity of national statistical systems to provide appropriate statistical training

Indicator of achievement: Increased availability to and utilization of training resources on statistics bystatistical training institutions and other providers of training on official statistics

Priority Outputs

Activities

1. Training component of Asia-Pacific Regional
Action Plan of the Global Strategy to Improve
Agricultural and Rural Statistics implemented

Coordinate development of materials anddelivery of courses with regional
implementing partners and global and interregional initiatives

•

•

•

Number of participants who are
certified as statistical trainers
Target: 10 per year
Baseline: -Develop and make available collaborative •open online courses on selected topics

Number of open online courses
made available

2. Programme for Training-of-Trainers for
Statistics for certification of statisticaltrainers implemented

3. Coordinated network, comprised of national
training institutions, of SIAP affiliates for
conduct of regional, sub-regional and incountry training established

4. Programme of collaborative open online
courses on selected topics offered on a

Indicators of Achievement

Conduct Training-of-Trainers courses on •selected areas of official statistics• Expected number: 1 per year•

Identify focal points/centres of
excellence for delivery of training on
specific areas and establish
institutionalized partnerships with SIAP
SIAP affiliates conduct sub-regional andin-country courses
 Expected number of collaboratively
conducted courses= 5 per year

[as specified in M&E framework of
the Global Strategy]

Number of training courses
delivered on a regular basis by focal
points/centres of excellence under
the institutionalized partnershipwith SIAP
Target: 5 per year
Baseline: -26 | P a g e

Institutional Goal 2:

Excellence in Training Resources

Outcome B.

Strengthened capacity of national statistical systems to provide appropriate statistical training

Indicator of achievement: Increased availability to and utilization of training resources on statistics bystatistical training institutions and other providers of training on official statistics

Priority Outputs

Activities

region-wide basis

5. Database of experts in statistics established,
shared and utilized for identifying external
trainers/resource persons

Indicators of Achievement•

Create, maintain and systematically update
database of statistics experts available toprovide training•

Annual updating exercise••

Target: 2 new courses per year
Baseline: Number of participants registeredfor courses
Target: 100 per course
Baseline: Number of experts included indatabase
Target: [To be determined]
Baseline: Number of external
trainers/resource persons
providing training who have been
identified through use of thedatabase
Target: [To be determined]
Baseline: -27 | P a g e

Institutional Goal 2:

Excellence in Training Resources

Outcome B.

Strengthened capacity of national statistical systems to provide appropriate statistical training

Indicator of achievement: Increased availability to and utilization of training resources on statistics bystatistical training institutions and other providers of training on official statistics

Priority Outputs

Activities

6. Training materials on areas where gaps inavailability of training materials exist andnew topics developed collaboratively withmembers of the Network based on training
needs assessments

Conduct region-wide training needs
assessments• In 2015 and in 2017
Identify topics (indicative new: big data,
open data) and prepare training materials(curriculum, syllabuses and training toolkits) in collaboration with Network
members• Annual network/experts meetings•

Number of topics for which training
materials developed collaboratively
Target:training
materials
developed for 2 topics per year
Baseline: -••Number of training courses
conducted by STIs utilizing quality
certified training materials
Target: [To be determined]
Baseline: -•7. Quality-certified training materials madeavailable, accessible and utilized for regional,
sub-regional and in-country training
conducted by statistical training institutions(STIs)•

Review, piloting and finalization

Develop and implement system for
quality certification of training materials
Develop and maintain an online
platform (e-library) for sharing qualitycertified training materials

Indicators of Achievement

28 | P a g e

Institutional Goal 3:

Strengthened Engagement with Stakeholders

Outcome C.

Delivery of statistical training in the region is well-coordinated and enhanced by partnerships and innovation

Indicator of achievement:delivered

Priority Outputs

1. Well-functioning Network for the
Coordination of Statistical Training in Asiaand the Pacific••

Number of training events that are collaboratively developed, organized andActivities

Organize annual Workshops on Forging
Partnerships
Contribute to and, as secretariat to the
Network, manage programme of work
 Organize meetings/discussions ofworking/subgroups of Network
 Monitor progress in programme
implementation

Indicators of Achievement
•

•

•

•

2. Academic institutions in Asia and the Pacific•Engage academic institutions in

Number of Network members who
participated in Workshops on
Forging Partnerships
Target: 80 percent of members
Baseline: Programme of work of Network
implemented (by expected outputs)
Target: [To be determined]
Baseline: Contributions by members of
Network to operational costs
Target: [To be determined]
Baseline: Number of collaborative training
activities supported by the Network
members
Target: [To be determined]
Baseline: -Number of collaborative activities

29 | P a g e

Institutional Goal 3:

Strengthened Engagement with Stakeholders

Outcome C.

Delivery of statistical training in the region is well-coordinated and enhanced by partnerships and innovation

Indicator of achievement:delivered

Number of training events that are collaboratively developed, organized andPriority Outputs

Activities

are engaged in statistical training and related
development activities for official statistics

improving statistics curricula inuniversities
Establish partnerships with academic
institutions to collaborate on the
research-based training courses [3courses]•

3. Reports provided to and meetings ofintergovernmental bodies organized andserviced, as appropriate•

4. Participated and substantively contributed tointernational, regional and national events on
official statistics

•

•

•

Prepare reports and serve as secretariat
to the SIAP Governing Council
Prepare reports and service ESCAP
Commission annual meetings
Advocate for state-of-the-art
management and leadership of national
statistical systems
Advocate for support to statistics
development

Indicators of Achievement
Target: 4
Baseline: -Meetings organized and reports/inputs
preparedTarget: 2
Baseline: 2••

Number of events where SIAP
participated in as speaker (chair,presenter, discussant)Target: 4 per year
Baseline: 4 per year
Papers published
Target: 1 per year
Baseline: -30 | P a g e

31 | P a g e

Institutional Goal 4:

Excellence in Organizational Stewardship

Outcome D.

Sustained resource support by ESCAP member and associate member states and statistical development
partners for cost-effective regional statistical training provided and coordinated by SIAP
Indicator of achievement: Training needs identified by ESCAP member and associate member states are met

Priority Outputs

1. SIAP is staffed at required levels andexpertise for providing, managing andleading regional training in Asia and thePacific
2. Effective communication and advocacy
strategy in place and implemented

3. State-of-the-art training facilities andinfrastructure and appropriate ICT
equipment and facilities provided by the host
Government of Japan

Activities

Contract professional and support staff
according to desired qualifications based onprogramme priorities
Prepare communication and advocacy
strategy and put it to use in liaising withstakeholders

Continuing collaboration in determining
appropriate
training
andtraining
development facilities in support of SIAP
goals

Indicators of Achievement

•
•
•

•

•

•

•

Number of core staff = 6
Professional and 3 GS staff
Qualifications of staff

Number of calls for funding to SIAP
stakeholders by Director
Target: 2 per year
Baseline: 2 per year
Success rate in obtaining approvals
for technical cooperation projects
Target: 50 %Baseline: SIAP website is an effective andreliable tool for training,communication and advocacy[usage]Online platforms for sharing
training materials and databases
are supported by ICT facilities
E-learning platform for conducting
32 | P a g e

Institutional Goal 4:

Excellence in Organizational Stewardship

Outcome D.

Sustained resource support by ESCAP member and associate member states and statistical development
partners for cost-effective regional statistical training provided and coordinated by SIAP
Indicator of achievement: Training needs identified by ESCAP member and associate member states are met

Priority Outputs

4. ESCAP and/or external audit reports on SIAP
prepared
5. Evaluation reports on SIAP prepared andresponded to

Activities

Conduct audit inspections under ESCAP
system [Note: Schedules are determined by
ESCAP/United Nations]

Conduct evaluation exercises[Note:
Evaluations are to be done within the ESCAP
M & E Framework]• Mid-term evaluation• Final evaluation

Indicators of Achievement••

training courses meet the needs for
applying appropriate training
technology and anticipatedincreased volume of participation
Audit report opinions
Target: No adverse opinions

Findings of evaluation
Target: Mostly favourable findings

33 | P a g eC.

Budget Framework

75. With reference to the United Nations budgetary framework, SIAP is funded fully
through extra-budgetary resources. The financial resources of the Institute are generated
mainly from (a) voluntary cash contributions provided on an annual basis by ESCAP
member and associate member States, (b) technical cooperation project funds and (c) inkind contributions provided by ESCAP member and associate member States including
cost-sharing and co-funding arrangements with national statistical training institutions
and regional and international statistics development partners.

76. These resources are utilized to cover expenditures for personnel, travel, training,
miscellaneous and programme support cost.
Voluntary Cash Contributions

77. The annual cash contributions from member and associate member States of ESCAP
will continue to be the major source of funding for the implementation of this strategicplan. The host government of SIAP, Government of Japan, has provided the main bulk ofthese contributions. From 2010 – 2013, its average annual cash contribution was $1.662M.
For the strategic plan period, it is anticipated that Japan will continue to contribute at leastat the same levels, contingent on its relevant and applicable laws and regulations and inaccordance with its budgetary appropriations.

78. During the period 2010-2013, SIAP received cash contributions from 34 of 58 ESCAP
member and associate member States from Asia and the Pacific—26 of whom contributedon a regular basis. Annual contributions during this period averaged $440M, ranging from
US$1,000 to US$100,000. With the innovations of the initiatives outlined in this Strategic
Plan aiming for increased relevance, accessibility and stronger support to institutional
strengthening and with continuing advocacy for implementing recommendations of theCommission for increasing contributions to SIAP, it is anticipated that an increased
number of countries will start to contribute and current contributors will increase theirlevels of contributions.
Technical Cooperation Project Funds

79. The training programme in support of the Asia-Pacific Regional Action Plan of the
Global Strategy to Improve Agricultural and Rural Statistics will be primarily fundedthrough the 2013-2017 ESCAP-FAO technical cooperation project. The Global Strategy
also continues to seek additional funding support from donors.

80. In addition, it is imperative that SIAP raise funds to support training development
activities and operational costs of the Network for the Coordination of Statistical Training
in Asia and Pacific, the Training-of-Trainers for Statistics programme and special training
programmes in support of capacity-building for population and housing censuses and SDG
monitoring indicators.
Cost-sharing and Co-funding

81. Support for the strategic initiatives of strengthening statistical training institutions
as focal centres for training in specific areas and the Network will be provided throughcollaborative cost-sharing arrangements with training institutes and co-funding modalities
with development partners.

34 | P a g e

Medium-Term Budget Framework
82. Projected expenditures and financial resources for the five-year period from 1
January 2015 to 31 December 2019 are summarized in Table A.

83. In addition, the host government will continue to provide substantial in-kind
contributions covering (i) office space, training facilities, LAN-network, equipment andcosts of maintenance and office supplies for SIAP headquarters in Chiba, Japan andsupport services of officials and temporary staff assigned by the Ministry of Internal
Affairs and Communication to SIAP and (ii) fellowships for the SIAP/JICA residential
courses through the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). These items are notreflected in Table A.

Table A. Medium Term Budget Framework: 2015 – 2019
(In United States Dollars (thousand dollars))

Projected
Resource Resources
Expenditures
A
B&C
Personnel
9,300(Professional
staff,
general support staff)

Projected Financial Resources

Travel300

2,500*

Training

300

B.
Technical cooperation
projects

Miscellaneous

100

TOTAL

14,700Programme
Cost

SupportTOTAL (A+B+C)

1,300

11,300

3,400

3,400

14,700A.
Cashcontributions
from ESCAP member
and associate member
StatesC.
Co-funding/costsharing

11,300900* Under the ESCAP-FAO technical cooperation project, funding of $1.5 million is expected to bereceived during 2015-2019. Two new projects in partnership with UNFPA and the World Bank
to raise the remaining $1 million are being planned.

35 | P a g e

D.
84.

Monitoring and Evaluation Framework

SIAP will regularly monitor progress in the implementation of the Strategic Plan andwill evaluate achievement of its institutional goals and outcomes. The basis for monitoringand evaluation is the results framework presented in the previous section.
Monitoring progress

85.

Progress in plan implementation will be based on the indicators of achievements forthe priority outputs. These will be compiled on an annual basis and reported by the

Director to the SIAP Governing Council at its regular sessions for its review andrecommendations.
86.

The main sources of verification for the indicators of achievement consist of thefollowing:
•
•

•
•
•
•

87.

For ratings on effectiveness of training (reaction and learning levels): Evaluation
forms for training courses

For ratings on effectiveness of training (behavior level): Evaluation forms fortraining courses and reports on implementation of action plans on application oftraining (from participants and supervisors)

Number of participants, courses/workshops, frequency: administrative reports

Use of training materials, experts database: surveys on activities of training
providers

Feedback survey of stakeholders

Others: administrative reports of SIAP

Evaluation of effectiveness of specific course outcomes will be based on a coursemonitoring and evaluation framework and guidelines that are being developed and will bein place at the beginning of the Plan period. In addition to measuring outcomes at theindividual level, the framework will include measurement of impact at the institutional
level.

Annual Planning and Review of Expenditures and Financial Resources

88.

The Director will report progress to the Governing Council at its annual sessions

including a presentation of the annual expenditures and income statement prepared by
ESCAP. An annual programme of work and a gap analysis of projected expenditures vsincome will also be presented and reviewed by the Council.

Evaluating Achievements

89.

Evaluation of achievements will be based on the progress indicators and, in addition,

the four outcome indicators. Outcome indicators will be the main basis for assessing
achievement. The sources of verification for these indicators will be through an evaluation
36 | P a g e

survey which can be conducted by SIAP or as part of an external evaluation.

90.

A mid-term review and an end-term external evaluation covering the five-year plan

period will be sought from the Programme Management Division of ESCAP.

37 | P a g e

Annexes
Notes from Friends of the Chair Deliberations
Table 1.
Table 2.

Table 3a.

Table 3b.
Table 4.

Stakeholders’ Analysis Matrix
List of Partners

Trends in number of courses and participants by training programme: 1
January 2010- 31 December 2013

Trends in number of courses and participants by training modality: 1 January
2010- 31 December 2013

Performance Indicators: 2010 – 201338 | P a g e

Summary Notes from FOC Discussions [Excerpts from Report of the Friends of the Chairon its First Meeting, 9th session of the SIAP Governing Council] on the Review of the
2010-2014 Strategic Plan
The FOC noted that the strategic plan addressed three main challenges-(i) developing

MDG related statistics, (ii) developing integrated economic statistics and implementation of the2008 SNA and (iii) modernizing statistical information systems. While expected results under(i) and (ii) were mainly achieved, expected results addressing (iii) were not achieved becauseof the lack of in-house expertise on ICT-related frameworks and tools. Likewise, the goal

included fostering the development and dissemination of key environmental statistics, among
others, but in-house expertise on environmental statistics is missing. The group noted thatenvironmental statistics will be a more important area for training after 2015.

As a result of the review, the FOC highlighted issues that needed more consideration andalso made some initial recommendations, as follows:

•

•

•

The question of which is the ultimate goal of SIAP-is it to increase the use ofstatistics for decision-making or is it to increase the statistical capacity to produce,
disseminate and use statistics-- was raised and merited further discussion.

In formulating the strategic goals of SIAP, a distinction needs to be made between
overarching goals and aspirations on one hand and specific objectives (expected
outcomes) and actions (outputs) on the other hand.

A stakeholder analysis needs to be part of the strategic planning process.
Traditional stakeholders are member States, national statistical offices, bilateralcountry donors, and international organizations and donors. There is a need totake a closer look at nontraditional potential stakeholders such as othercomponent member institutions of national statistical systems, ministries of•finance and budget, academic institutions engaged in statistical education andresearch and the private sector and civil society organizations.

The broad strategic directions of the current plan would remain relevant to thenext five years, but new ones may need to be considered with corresponding

strategic initiatives. For example, collaboration and partnerships with member
States and international organizations has mainly been for request of resource

persons but the emergence of a 'physical' network of training institutions such as••

for e-learning and coordination has taken an important and needed role for costeffective training.

Better ways of assessing training needs and of evaluating training outcomes areneeded to foster increased accountability of both training providers and training
recipients.

On the focus areas of training, a move towards increased provision of training inspecialized skills and advanced statistical methods is highly relevant; at the sametime the need for training in foundations of statistics will continue to remain high.
39 | P a g e•Whether SIAP should focus on the former and national statistical training
institutes on the latter calls for new strategic thinking.

The current strategic plan focused on namely MDG statistics and indicators(mainly social), basic economic statistics and SNA and ICT. The focus areas in the

new strategic plan would need to be broader and include population statistics,
environment statistics, gender statistics and civil registration. The meeting notedthat the 2020 census round will have started during the period of the new plan and•should be a specific focus area; for the 2010 census round, training on censuses
started only in 2009.

Along the recommendation of the Council in its eighth session, SIAP is continuing

to expand delivery of Internet-based learning in terms of enlarging the scope of

topics, increasing the number of course offerings and accepting more participants.

E-learning blended with face-to-face learning. This approach should be extended.

The use of face-to-face learning could be used more strategically with anunderstanding of the nature of the courses for which this modality is essential.

The initiative on the effective use of Internet-based e-learning in collaboration with•member States and international organizations through a common platform
adapted from the MOOC approach should be pursued as a strategic initiative.

The commitments and goal areas in the strategic plan should reflect theimportance of a strong sense of ownership and support of member States towards•

mobilization of financial and human resources and in the effective management
and administration of these resources.

The strategic plan should be a document that can be utilized for resource
mobilizations. To serve this purpose, it should include an implementation plan

identifying priority outputs and indicative activities, such as number of training
courses and participants, and budget estimates.

40 | P a g e

Table 1a.

Trends in number of courses and participants by training programme:
1 January 2010- 31 December 2013

A. Number of courses by programme
Year

FOS

PSS

Gender

ECON

2010
2011
2012
2013
Total

11
11
5
4
31

3
3
6
6
18

1
5
1
1
8

3
5
4
8
20

Year

FOS

PSS

Gender

ECON

2010
2011
2012
2013
Total

236
197
96
79
608

55
54
112
120
341

20
112
13
21
166

57
106
81
217
461

Year

FOS

PSS

Gender

ECON

2010
2011
2012
2013
Total

1.17
1.16
0.71
0.98
1.05

0.67
1.16
0.75
1.50
1.01

1.50
0.78
1.60
3.20
1.05

0.97
1.26
0.80
1.13
1.07

B. Number of participants by programme

C. Gender ratios by programme

AGRI

ENV

MGMT

Total

5
5

1
1

2
1
1
4
8

20
25
17
29
91

AGRI

ENV

MGMT

Total

129
129

30
30

67
38
17
204
326

435
507
319
800
2061

AGRI

ENV

MGMT

Total

2.75
2.75

0.4
0.15
0.89
0.98
0.69

0.92
0.96
0.78
1.13
0.98

0.87
0.87

Abbreviations: FOS- Fundamentals of Official Statistics; PSS- Population and Social Statistics; Gender-

Gender Statistics; ECON- Economic Statistics and System of National Accounts; AGRI- Agricultural and

Rural Statistics; ENV- Environment Statistics; MGMT- Leading and Managing for Official Statistics

41 | P a g e

Table 1b. Trends in number of courses and participants by training modality:
1 January 2010- 31 December 2013
A.
Year
2010
2011
2012
2013
Total

B.
Year
2010
2011
2012
2013
Total

C.
Year
2010
2011
2012
2013
Total

Number of courses by training modality
SIAP-JICA
Residential
Courses
434213Regional
5
6
9
11
31

Number of participants
SIAP-JICA
Residential
Courses
70
72
78
32
252

Gender ratios
SIAP-JICA
Residential
Courses
0.84
0.64
0.44
0.52
0.61

Regional
89
100
140
244
573

Regional
1.07
1.08
0.63
0.92
0.89

Short Courses
SubCountry
regional
1
4
3
6
1
1
2
5
7
16
Short Courses
SubCountry
regional
26
94
62
111
21
20
44
129
153
354
Short Courses
SubCountry
regional
1.0
0.88
0.59
1.18
2.0
4.0
2.67
2.00
1.16
1.39

Total
10
15
11
18
54

Total
209
273
181
417
1080

Total
0.97
0.98
0.87
1.29
1.07

Distance
Training &e-learning
4
6
1
5
16
Distance
Training &e-learning
89
124
43
147
403
Distance
Training &e-learning
1.54
1.82
1.26
1.13
1.41

Seminars &Workshops

Total

2
1
1
4
8

20
25
17
29
91

Seminars &Workshops

Total

67
38
17
204
326

435
507
319
800
2061

Seminars &Workshops

Total

0.4
0.15
0.89
0.98
0.69

0.92
0.96
0.78
1.13
0.98

42 | P a g e

Annex Table 2.

Performance indicators: 2010 - 2013

Output A: Improved knowledge and skills of government officials/ statisticians to produce,
manage, and use data supported by appropriate information and communications technology

Indicator

2010 - 2013
(1 January – 31 December)
TargetResult1. Number of participants successfully completed the training courses1a) SIAP-JICA Residential Courses

3601c) Distance Training & e-learning

2341b) Short Courses

900

252

1080
403

2. Percentage of participants who indicated much improved confidence in applying
knowledge and skills acquired upon return1a) SIAP-JICA Residential Courses

65%

60%

30 %

42 %

1a) SIAP-JICA Residential Courses

65%

55%

1c) Distance Training & e-learning-

53%1b) Short Courses

3. Percentage of participants who have held at least one
training /seminar/ course based on SIAP courseware
within one year after the training*-

58%

4. Percentage of participants who indicated training activity was very useful to their work
1b) Short Courses

5. Number of research papers prepared during researchbased course that published in full

6. Acceptance of SIAP alumni into graduate programme by
the Tokyo International University (TIU) under SIAP-TIU
agreement* Based on reports on completed actions plans of SIAP-JICA courses

50%

57%

4

None**

Numberaccepted

7** The research-based training programme has not been conducted since 201143 | P a g e

Annex Table 2 (continued)
Output B: Improved remotely/guided learning

Indicator

1. Number of participants successfully completed the
SIAP-JICA distance training courses & e-Learning course
2. Number of sets of e-training materials developed

3. % of participants who found that the training or
training materials were very useful/useful
Output C: Increased multiplier effect of SIAP training
Indicator

1. Number of training activities organized by ESCAP
member States for which the knowledge and skills of
former participants in SIAP courses as well as training
materials or other training resources prepared by theInstitute are used.
2. Increased number of country partner institutions

2010 -2013(1 January – 31 December)
TargetResult234

403

None set
None set

15 CD-ROMs
Very useful:59%

Useful: 37%

2010 - 2013
(1 January – 31 December)
TargetResult60

86

None set

No increase44 | P a g e

Annex Table 2 (continued)
Output D: Improved skills of managers of national statistical offices2010 - 2013
(1 January – 31 December)
TargetResultIndicator

Management seminar for Heads of NSOs
1. Percentage of participants
statisticians/heads of NSOs

who

are

chief

55%

82%

60%

69 %

1. Percentage of participants who are deputy heads of
NSOs

55%

44 %

3. Percentage of participants who indicated that theseminar was very useful to their work

40%

66 %

60%

68 %

2. Percentage of participants who indicated that theseminar was very useful to their work

Statistical Quality Management and Fundamental Principles of Official

2. Percentage of participants who are mid-level managers
of NSOs

Output E: Improved coordination of statistical training in the region

Indicator

1. Number of participants: Workshop on Forging
Partnerships

2. Number of joint activities conducted with training
institutions and other partners

3. Number of national training institutions conducting
joint activities with SIAP and providing in-kind
contributions

2010 - 2013
(1 January – 31 December)
TargetResult
20

21

5

33

6 annually

5

45 | P a g e

Annex Table 3. Stakeholders’ Analysis Matrix
Stakeholder

Producers of official statistics•

National statistical offices

Related Mandate••

Production, processing,tabulation anddissemination of data andstatistics
Coordination

Interest in Statistical Training

•

•

•

•

•

•
•
•

Improving statistical skills
and increasing knowledge ofstaff in producing corestatistics and indicators andapplications of statisticalmethods
Increasing knowledge andskills in specialized fields ofstatistics
Capability to respond tostatistical data needs forpost-2015 development
agendaUpdating knowledge on
standards, recommendations
and methodologies
Capacity to apply IT to
increase efficiency instatistical data processing

Resources

•
•

•
•
•

Statistical experts
Good practices andexperiences in various
aspects of data collection,
processing anddissemination
Leadership and management
experience
Training resources
Attract financial resources
for training

Sharing knowledge, practices
and experiences
Improving quality ofstatistics

Capability to provide basic
training to staff

46 | P a g e

Stakeholder

Related Mandate

Interest in Statistical Training••

Other producers of official
statistics who are also data
users (e.g., ministries; central
banks; civil registration
offices)•••

Data production usuallyfrom administrative
reporting systems
Data analysis
Policy monitoring•••
Statistical training and research Providing statistical training and •institutions
education; conducting statisticalresearch
•
•
•
•
•
•
•

•

Communication andadvocacy skills for statistics

Resources

Improving statistical skills
and increasing statisticalknowledge of staff applicableto subject area•

Providing relevant training tomeet local demand
Recognition as provider ofquality training
Providing training for othercountries
Training-of-Trainers
Research-based training
Sharing training materials
Access to and availability of
external experts
Collaborative offering oftraining courses, including elearning
Collaborative development oftraining materials•

Improving quality of datafrom administrative
reporting systems
Data analysis

•
•

•
•
•
•

Knowledge of subject area
pertaining to their mandates
Proximity to policy-makers
Advocacy for resources forstatistics
Experts

Training expertise
Training infrastructure
Training materials
Financial resources

47 | P a g e

Stakeholder

Policy-makers
Governments
Academic institutions

Related Mandate

Formulating
policies and plans

Interest in Statistical Training

development ••Ensure the availability of quality •data
Provide formal education and •conduct methodological research•••

Development partners

Supporttostatistics •development
andcapacitybuilding in programme areas

DonorsDevelopment assistancePrivate sector

Private-public partnershipResources

Data availability
Use of statistics for policy
and planning•

Collaboration on statisticaltraining, including e-learning
Development and sharing ofteaching materials
Training and learning models
Potential employment ofstatistics graduates•

Reliable data for monitoring
progress and achievement ofdevelopment goals

•
•

•
•
•

Timely and reliable data andstatistics in their programme
areas including:• Formulating national
statistical development
strategies•

Corporate social
responsibility
Training facilities andproducts•••

Advocacy for adequate
resources for statistics

Allocation of resources
Enabling environment

Expertise on adult learning
Statistical experts
Curricula, syllabuses andtraining materials
Infrastructure
Technical experts andfacilitation of sharing oftraining resources andexpertise
Financial resources
Advocacy for statistics

Capacity development as part of Financial resources
development
assistanceprogramme•••

Financial resources (under
UN Guidelines)
Technologies and expertise48 | P a g e

Stakeholder

Related Mandate

Interest in Statistical Training•

Resources

Statistical products

49 | P a g e

Annex Table 4. Partners in Training 2010 – 2013
A. National Statistical Organizations•

Australia: Australian Bureau of Statistics•

Bangladesh: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics•

Cambodia: National Institute of Statistics•

China: National Bureau of Statistics•

India: Central Statistical Organization•

Indonesia: BPS-Statistics Indonesia•

Japan: Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications•

Malaysia: Ministry of Human Resource•

Malaysia: Department of Statistics Malaysia•

Maldives: Department of National Planning•

Indonesia: BPS-Statistics Indonesia•

Mongolia: National Statistical Office•

Myanmar: Central Statistical Organization•

New Zealand: Statistics New Zealand•

Norway: Statistics Norway•

Philippines: National Statistical Coordination Board•

Philippines: National Statistical Office•

Republic of Korea: Statistics Korea•

Republic of Korea: Bank of Korea•

Russian Federation: Federal State Statistics Service•

Sri Lanka: Department of Census and Statistics•

Timor-Leste: National Statistics Office•

Thailand: National Statistical Office•

Viet Nam: National Statistical Office•

Vanuatu National Statistics Office•

Uzbekistan: State Statistics Committee of Uzbekistan

B. Training Institutes•

China International Statistical Training Centre•

India: National Academy of Statistical Administration (NASA)•

Indonesia: Education Training Center, BPS-Statistics Indonesia•

Islamic Republic of Iran: Statistical Centre of Iran (SCI)•

Malaysia: Statistical Training Institute, Department of Statistics Malaysia•

Philippines: Statistical Research & Training Center•

Republic of Korea: Statistical Training Institute, Statistics Korea

50 | P a g e

51 | P a g e

C. International and Regional Organizations•

ADB: Asian Development Bank•

Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean: CELADE•

Economic and Social Commission for Asia & the Pacific (ESCAP): Statistics Division,
Environment & Development Division, Pacific Office, Sub-regional Office for East andNorth-east Asia, Sub-regional Office for South and South-west Asia, United Nations Asianand Pacific Training Centre for Information and Communication Technology for
Development, Centre for Alleviation of Poverty through Sustainable Agriculture,
Macroeconomic Policy and Development Division•

FAO : Food and Agriculture Organization, Asia Pacific Office•

ILO: International Labour Organization•

IMF: International Monetary Fund•

ISI: International Statistical Institute•

PARIS21- The Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century•

SPC: Secretariat of the Pacific Community•

UNFPA: United Nations Population Fund•

UNICEF: United Nations Children's Fund•UNSD: United Nations Statistics Division•

USP: The University of the South Pacific•

UNESCO: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization•

World Bank

52 | P a g e