ANNEX 2: CONCEPT NOTETechnical Workshop
Statistical Literacy and Capacity Development for the PacificNadi (Fiji) 24th to 28th of October 2022)

Background
SPC (Pacific Community), being a development organization, is working with multisectoral international andnational stakeholders to respond to the Pacific challenges. SPC’s Statistics for Development Division (SDD)
has the principal role in the implementation of the Ten Years Statistics Strategy (TYPSS) which outlines thedevelopment of capacity and capability across the region as an important milestone to achieve in the comingyears. SDD in this regard works closely with a wide community of donors, the United Nations, and its divisions,for example, the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) which also serves as the secretariat of the Global
Network of Institutions for Statistical Training (GIST), and the UN’s Statistics Institute for Asia and the Pacific(SIAP). This collaboration builds more sustainable statistical capacities through efficient, effective, andharmonized delivery of training at the sub-regional level that will enable the production and use of quality
data and statistics.
One of the challenges, for the Pacific countries, is the statistical capacity scores, e.g., Statistical Capacity
Indicator (SCI) and Statistical Performance Indicator (SPI) developed by the World Bank, which consistently
fall below the average scores from other regions of Asia and the Pacific. The challenges to improvement ofscores also are linked to the applicability of such scores for the Pacific which requires region-specificcontextualization and then Pacific Statistical Capacity could be benchmarked that could help the region todevelop over the years on these grounds.
The issue
Pacific Island Countries and Territories (PICTs) differ significantly in statistical capability and capacity,reflecting multiple factors ranging from the scope and size of the NSOs to the country-specific statisticalsystems. To better understand the challenges around statistical capacity and capability, from the NSOs’
perspective, this opportunity will help understand the unmet need for capacity building within NSS to ensurethat national development goals and policies are drawn through adequate analysis of quality and timely
official data. It also requires identifying key stakeholders in the national system who can take the lead on thisto have a more sustainable impact.
As per the discussions during the GIST meetings and on the advice of the Director, Statistics Division, UNESCAP, a panel discussion with representatives from NSOs is planned to help highlight the differential needs
and current practices and needs in this regard. A Stats Café is taking place in September with a few Pacific
NSOs presenting specifically on statistical literacy, and a regional workshop will follow in October/November
this year to cover the Pacific as a sub-region for comprehensive understanding. Following the workshop, thedifferent parameters of capacity intervention needs will be quantified through a survey, which will gather
capacity needs at the individual staff level of NSOs, NSS, and User groups.

Pacific Community (SPC) Headquarters: Noumea, New Caledonia. Regional Offices: Suva, Fiji;
Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia; Port Vila, Vanuatu.
www.spc.int spc@spc.int
Siège de la Communauté du Pacifique (CPS) : Nouméa (Nouvelle-Calédonie). Antennes régionales : Suva (Fidji) ;Pohnpei (États fédérés de Micronésie) ; Port-Vila (Vanuatu).
www.spc.int spc@spc.int

Annex 2Workshop on Statistical Literacy and Capacity Development for the PacificNadi (Fiji) 24th to 28th of October 2022

In this regard, it is recommended to have three sub-regional workshops. First workshop is scheduled for last
week of October at Nadi, Fiji, where delegates from Fiji, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Kiribati, Tuvalu, and Tonga
will be invited. The second workshop is scheduled in the first quarter of year 2023 at Noumea, New Caledonia
where delegates from Cook Islands, Nauru, Niue, Papua New Guinea, and Vanuatu will be invited. The lastand third workshop is scheduled either in Guam or Palau in the second quarter of year 2023 with delegatescoming from Federate States of Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau, and Guam will be invited.
Outcomes

A general understanding of Pacific-specific statistical capacity and capability challenges to set thefoundations and understanding for a wider and comprehensive needs assessment and capacitybuilding plan for the Pacific with sub-regional differentials.

Better positioning SPC and partners to understand and structure their training programs that canhelp improve PICTs NSOs/NSS and Data Users’ capacity.

Identifying the challenges, and areas for strengthening, and highlighting/discussing the role of NSOs
in the broader national statistical system, and identifying key stakeholders at each cycle of the datadriven policy-making cycle.

Development of the Pacific Capacity Development Framework and identification of key entry points
for a more sustainable capacity development approach2Annex 2
Workshop on Statistical Literacy and Capacity Development for the PacificNadi (Fiji) 24th to 28th of October 2022

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Annex 2
Workshop on Statistical Literacy and Capacity Development for the PacificNadi (Fiji) 24th to 28th of October 2022

The conceptual framework explained
Areas

Dimensions

Institutional mapping forstatistical capacity
building

Countries committing to international development goals heavily rely on
official statistics and the interplay between national institutions is essential
to make progress toward the multidimensional nature of socio-economicdevelopment.

Statistical Literacy anddata use

Where do the Pacific countries stand? – a perspective from theNSOs/NSS/Users?

Pacific-specificchallenges andcontextualization

Understanding the changing context within the pacific. General discussion
and identification of key areas; understanding the variation within thePacific; and identification of priority areas by this variation.

Quantity ofinformation and sizeof the audience

The discussion around these points will inform about the type of information
being preferred/collected and who is the audience for such data collection
process – to see if any groups are not mapped as important audiences andhow to address this gap.

Mapping: SL andstakeholders

Any notable SL intervention in the Pacific. The stakeholders to focus on this
could be from UN, ABS, StatsNZ, Paris21, etc. Countries and stakeholders(participating) would be encouraged to discuss the stories and lessons
learned.
Identification of the best practices towards SL within the Public and Private
Sector, may be based on any example, or what could be the optimal
solutions to this challenge?
The outcome would be to have an outline of who to work with on regularbasis and what areas to cover for increasing SL and utilization of data toreflect on the national policies.

National development
plans and data

Understanding the data flows from NSOs within NSS and Users, data
completeness and timeliness, and the level of analysis being performed at
the national level.

Lead organizations andpolicy-making process

Identification of lead organizations at the various levels of the data cycle,
particularly at analysis and interpretation levels: Production (NSO+?);
Analysis (who in NSS?); policies & plans (?); and implementation &monitoring (?) – identifying the capacity needs at each cycle leader level.
To what extent do policy-making processes rely on the use of official
statistics? Discussions and examples based on current country development
plans.

NSDS and legislation

From the strategic perspective, NSDS plays a key role in the overalldevelopment of statistics in countries, however, depending on the nationalstructure, capabilities, and legislation, there may be challenges to thedevelopment and implementation of NSDS.
Also, it is important to initiate and discuss the evidence-based policy-making
process, data sharing, and in-depth analyses possibilities, and to relate to anextent this would be possible in the regional and country contexts.

Local pathways tocapacity enhancement

Existence and need for national statistics training programs, the need forsuch programs. How are national statistics dissemination and advocacyhappening? Identification of focus areas for training programs,dissemination, advocacy support, etc.

4Annex 2
Workshop on Statistical Literacy and Capacity Development for the PacificNadi (Fiji) 24th to 28th of October 2022

Benchmarking Statistical
Capacity for the PacificAn overview of the existing statistical capacity indices: what works and what
does not for the Pacific.
Technical discussion around SCI and SPI – its applicability to Pacific bydimensions – why Pacific could not provide data for all dimensions.
Which areas could unanimously be agreed upon to benchmark Statistical
Capacity for the Pacific?

Data accessibility andharmonization

Data communication and harmonization across national stakeholders(Standardization, duplication, and common national definitions); key issues
in the operationalization of national indicators as per international
standards.
The commitment and capacity towards data releases, products, dashboards,etc., and support required.

Ways forward for thePacific

A final approach towards short and long-term capacity needs, developmentof statistical capacity frameworks at region or sub-regional level, andcapacity building program framework for next years.

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