Enhancing national capacity in child labour data collection, analysis and dissemination through technical assistance to surveys and training Enhancing national capacity in child labour data collection, analysis and dissemination through technical assistance to surveys, research and training EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. The current project proposal is aimed at responding to these continuing information and capacity building needs. It will involve support to counterpart training and catalytic support to national child labour surveys, to help both strengthen national CL knowledge bases and build national capacity in regular CL data generation and utilization. The project will also support the development of web-enabled mechanisms to ensure the effective dissemination and “mainstreaming” of child labour data. Moreover, it will assist countries in conducting in-depth research on the mechanisms and determinants of child bonded labour, one of the worst forms of child labour identified for priority action by Convention No. 182. 2. Project efforts will focus to some extent on five ILO Member States – Cameroon, Indonesia, Rwanda, Vietnam, and Yemen. None have yet benefited from a dedicated national child labour survey and all lack a comprehensive national picture of the magnitude, nature, distribution, causes and consequences of child labour (see below). Counterparts in the five countries point to hazardous forms of child labour as an area where the need for information is especially urgent. The five countries also share a recognized need to strengthen capacity not only in CL data collection methods but also in analyzing and drawing policy lessons from CL data once collected. The specific national implementing partners for the project countries shall be: (i) Cameroon: National Institute for Statistics (INS); (ii) Indonesia: National Statistical Office (BPS); (iii) Rwanda: National Institute of Statistics (NIS); (iv) Vietnam: Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA); and (v) Yemen: Central Statistical Organization (CSO). 3. The project will build on experience gained and progress made in several completed or current USDOL-funded projects, including: (i) Improving data collection, analysis and dissemination of information and research on child labour, especially its worst forms (2001); (ii) Investigating the worst forms of child labour (2002); (iii) Addressing some of SIMPOC needs: Increasing the use of SIMPOC data and information (2002); (iv) Implementation of SIMPOC External Advisory Committee recommendations: Refinement of SIMPOC instruments (2003); (v) National child labour surveys in selected countries (2005); and (vi) Development of survey methodology for national level estimates of child labour in the unconditional worst forms of child labour (2005). The project also builds on 2003 SIMPOC evaluation. Among the key evaluation recommendations were to (i) invest in training and capacity building of partners in the field and (ii) facilitate access to SIMPOC’s global database through its website, both of which are incorporated explicitly into the current project. 4. The proposed project will form part of the broader SIMPOC strategy of using information to mobilize and inform action against child labour. It will promote the regular generation of data on child labour and the effective use of this data in the design of policies and programs addressing child labour. The project will be structured around the following three overall objectives: a) increase national capacity in the collection, analysis and utilization of child labour data (selected ILO Member States); b) trengthen the national knowledge base on child labour (selected ILO Member States); and c) improve access to child labour statistics at the country, regional and global levels. 5. Strategies employed in realizing these objectives will be mutually reinforcing. Through support to surveys, research and training, countries will have increased capacity to generate reliable information on child labour at regular intervals, which will in turn contribute to strengthening the national child labour know