The UN’s High-level Group for Partnership, Coordination and Capacity-Building for Statistics for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (HLG-PCCB) met to review implementation of the Cape Town Global Action Plan for sustainable development data, in light of needs for capacity development and financial resources for national statistical offices (NSOs).
The HLG held its 24th meeting in a hybrid format on 3 and 7 October 2021, just before the third UN World Data Forum in Bern, Switzerland. The UN Statistics Division serves as the Secretariat for the HLG.
The implementation review of the Global Action Plan included a global survey of over 100 NSOs in August and September 2021, using a questionnaire developed by PARIS21, the UN Statistics Division and the World Bank. The survey assessed demand from NSOs for capacity development and financial resources based on six strategic areas defined by the Global Action Plan.
On capacity development, the survey confirmed resource bottlenecks, priority areas for capacity development, opportunities to improve coordination, and the importance of improving infrastructure and training. On financing needs, the survey results formed a key input to the Bern Network’s Clearinghouse for Financing Development Data – a new online platform on data financing flows, funding gaps, and communities of experts. A more detailed study took place in four pilot countries (Malawi, Niger, Gambia and Rwanda) on decision-making processes behind financing to statistics and data. The Clearinghouse was developed by the secretariat of the Bern Network on Financing Data for Development, a multi-stakeholder alliance created in 2019 by the Government of Switzerland.
Another new facility discussed during the HLG meeting was the World Bank-hosted Global Data Facility, which aims to support investments in both the fundamentals and the frontiers of data and statistics. It is expected to leverage the Bern Network Clearinghouse to serve as a global coordination mechanism.
A new framework for the Global Action Plan will be reviewed during the 54th session of the UN Statistical Commission in March 2022. It will be launched at the fourth UN World Data Forum, planned for early 2023.
Participants also discussed an outcome document on the Bern Data Compact for the Decade of Action on the SDGs. The Bern Data Compact was announced at the close of the 2021 World Data Forum. The Compact sets out a vision for accelerating action on the Cape Town Global Action Plan for sustainable development data. It also calls for further commitments on developing data capacity, establishing data partnerships, producing data to leave no one behind, understanding the world with data, and building trust in data.
Looking towards the next Forum, the HLG considered criteria for selecting the host country. Desirable criteria include sustainability commitments (e.g. carbon neutrality, convenient local transport, and waste management), while required criteria include disability access, gender balance, and leadership by the country’s national statistical organization or system (NSO/NSS).
The next meeting of the HLG is scheduled for 27 February 2022. [Meeting webpage] [Global Action Plan implementation review]