7 January 2014: The UN Statistical Commission’s (UNSC) Friends of the Chair (FOC) Group on Broader Measures of Progress released the first drafts of ten statistical notes prepared for the Open Working Group (OWG) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The FOC also released an information note that describes the statistical notes, as well as a note on the timetable and responsibilities for the review and submission of the statistical notes to the OWG.
The statistical notes aim to provide the OWG with statistical background information on available or needed data to monitor potential goals and targets in the areas covered by the OWG issue briefs. Each note addresses: policy issues, potential goals and targets; methodologies, existing and new indicators, including relevant Millennium Development Goal (MDG) indicators; and data requirements, challenges and limitations. The notes also serve as a first input in establishing a SDG and the post-2015 development agenda monitoring framework.
The ten statistical notes focus on: education and culture; energy; human rights; macroeconomic policy questions; means of implementation; needs of countries in special situations; population dynamics; science, technology and innovation, knowledge-sharing and capacity building; sustainable cities and human settlements; sustained and inclusive economic growth; and infrastructure development and industrialization.
The statistical note on energy, for example, highlights challenges in defining and measuring energy access, energy efficiency and the share of renewables in the energy mix. It concludes that the Sustainable Energy For All (SE4ALL) Global Tracking Framework “could be vastly improved.”
The statistical note on Needs of Countries in Special Situations outlines development priorities for African countries, Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), small island developing States (SIDS) and Middle-Income Countries (MICs), and then discusses existing and new indicators to measure these priorities, including indicators on decent work, disasters, food security, inequality and non-communicable diseases (NCDs). The note concludes that statistical frameworks and indicators exist for many identified priorities while noting further refinement or standardization may be required.
The final versions of the statistical notes will be available by 14 February 2014. The UNSC will review the notes at its 45th session in March 2014. [FOC Website] [Publication: Information Note Regarding the ‘Statistical Notes’ to the OWG] [Publication: Note on the Timetable and Responsibilities for the Review and Submission of the ‘Statistical Notes’ to the OWG]