The Arab Institute for Training and Research in Statistics (AITRS) Building Sustainable Statistical Capacity for the Implementation of the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs 30th CCSA session Muscat, 27-28 Sep. 2017 Presentation by The Arab Institute for Training and Research in Statistics (AITRS)

Who is AITRS ? AITRS is an Arab organization with a legal entity and financial and administrative independence. AITRS has a Board of Trustees composed of the heads of national statistical offices of the 22 Arab member countries. The Board of Trustees discusses and endorses AITRS  annual programs, plans, activities and budget.

Action Steps and Procedures Nov. 2016, A Board of Trustees requested the Institute's administration to study and prepare a plan for how AITRS will help NSOs respond to the requirements of measuring the quantitative indicators of the 2030 agenda and SDG’s 1- The United Nations Statistics Division adopted these sustainable development indicators in March 2016, as did the UN Economic and Social Council at its June 2017 meeting, where 244 indicators were agreed by the participants, including repeated indicators in one or more of the 17 targets , So that the number of non-refined indicators is 232, and each indicator has a target number at the end of the years of the sustainable development agenda.

Action Steps and Procedures After studying the indicators, it was found that 173 indicators are quantitative which need data to be statistically measured. The rest of the indicators are qualitative that do not require data to be statistically measured. They need to be answered yes or no to specific questions such as asking for A strategy or policy in certain topics of development.

SDG’s Quantitative Qualitative Total Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere 12 2 14 Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture 11 13 Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages 26 1 27 Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 10 Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls 4 Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all 8 3 Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all 6 Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all 15 17 Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable industrialization and foster innovation The aim of this analysis is to assist Arab statistical offices, other national institutions, regional and international organizations and donors to develop participatory plans for national statistical capacity building and enable them to provide the necessary data and statistics to measure indicators of the sustainable development agenda periodically.

SDG’s Quantitative Qualitative Total Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries 6 5 11 Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable 4 15 Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns 7 13 Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts 1 8 Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development 10 Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land 9 14 Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive 16 23 Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development 12 25 173 71 244

Action Steps and Procedures AITRS sent a questionnaire to the Arab NSOs with an Arabic list of the 173 quantitative indicators. The NSOs were asked to answer four simple questions for each quantitative indicator. The questionnaire also included the same code adopted by the UNSD for each indicator.

Action Steps and Procedures These questions are: Is the indicator clear or not? Is the responsibility of the NSOs regarding each indicator total or partial? Do NSOs need training or consultation regarding each indicator? Is the training priority of the indicator high or medium? The results of this survey will assist AITRS in reviewing its capacity-building work plan that be submitted to the Board of Trustees at its annual regular session in November 2017.

Action Steps and Procedures Internal analysis of the SDGs Since the large number of indicators are distributed by 17 goals, it had to be carefully reviewed. AITRS suggests categorizing them into specific domains in order to identify the training topics as well as determining how each indicator intersects with domains and goals. The analysis found that the quantitative indicators can be collapsed into the following 14 topics:

Suggested Domains Population and their characteristics Residential areas, buildings, basic facilities and infrastructure Poverty and Social and basic services Agriculture, nutrition and land tenure and use Industry, technology, communications and information Climate, environment and natural disasters Trade, transport and banks Macroeconomics and finance Health and disability Education and research Gender, time use and violence Water, energy and sanitation Employment, income and expenditure Justice, security and public institutions.

Distribution of indicators by domains and goals Total Population and their characteristics Urban areas, buildings, basic services and infrastructure Poverty and Social and basic services Agriculture and Nutrition Land tenure and use Industry, technology, communications and information Climate, environment and natural disasters Trade, Transport and Banks Macroeconomics and Finance Health and disability Education and research Gender, time use and violence Water, energy and sanitation Employment, income and expenditure Justice, security and public interests # Goal   1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 26 21 15 16 17 173 20

AITRS Training Plan for 2018-2019 Based on the above steps and analyzes, AITRS work plan for the next two years will include seven activities each year, half of which will be face to face and half will be e-learning. AITRS will bear the cost of training participants from Arab NSOs, while cooperating regional and international organizations can bear the cost of experts and participants from outside the NSOs. Because of the intersection of goals and indicators with the theme of each training workshop, a training day may be required for every three or four indicators.

AITRS Workshops Program (2018-2019) for SDG’s 2030 # Workshop Domain No. of indicator No. of days Type Expected date 1 Population and their characteristics 15 3 F-to-F 2018 2 Residential areas, buildings, basic facilities & infrastructure 4 e-Learning Poverty and Social and basic services 8 Agriculture, nutrition and land tenure and use 20 5 Industry, technology, communications and information 6 Climate, environment and natural disasters 9 7 Trade, transport and banks 21 10 Macroeconomics and finance 2019 Health and disability Education and research 11 Gender, time use and violence 14 12 Water, energy and sanitation 13 Employment, income and expenditure Justice, security and public institutions Total 173 55 The 2030 Agenda calls for capacity building to implement and monitor the SDGs. The implementation of this Cape Town Plan shall address gaps in national statistics and statistical coordination identified in response to the 2030 Agenda. Rather, the goal shall be to strengthen the national statistical systems so that they can be most responsive to statistical needs to achieve the 2030 Agenda and beyond.

Recommendations The Arab NSOs need to adapt and adjust their action plans to meet the increasing demand for SDGs related data. AITRS mandate limits its capacity building work to the 22 Arab NSOs; expanding its work to include other Arab official organizations requires more resources and support from regional and international donor agencies. Finally, AITRS looks forward for a wide cooperation / coordination with the regional and international agencies to overcome its limited resources available for capacity building of Arab NSOs. AITRS can sign agreements with international Donors for this purpose based on regulations and aims for each.

Regional Workshop on the Integration of Statistical and Geospatial Information 16-19 February 2015 Amman, Jordan

Regional Workshop on the R Software May 18-20, 2015 Amman Jordan

Generic Statistical Business Process Model Regional Workshop on Generic Statistical Business Process Model GSBPM (Version 5.0) 9-14 July 2017 Marrakesh, Morocco July 2017, AITRS conducted a 6-day workshop on GSBPM 5 with application on HH surveys Participants from 13 Arab countries (other countries apologized or had visa issue) plus participants from UNDP Arab Development Portal, Saudi Fund for Development and Kuwaiti Fund for Socioeconomic Development. Oct. 2017 – AITRS is going to conduct an eLearning training on GSBPM for participants from the Arab NSOs who couldn’t attend the July workshop.

SDG Preparation: Data Readiness and Developing a Monitoring Matrix Amman 8-12 May 2016 July 2017, AITRS conducted a 6-day workshop on GSBPM 5 with application on HH surveys Participants from 13 Arab countries (other countries apologized or had visa issue) plus participants from UNDP Arab Development Portal, Saudi Fund for Development and Kuwaiti Fund for Socioeconomic Development. Oct. 2017 – AITRS is going to conduct an eLearning training on GSBPM for participants from the Arab NSOs who couldn’t attend the July workshop.

Thank you Hayder Janabi IT Coordinator, AITRS hayder@aitrs.org