United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Statistical Division Good Practices of Donor Coordination in the EECCA Region The experience of the UNECE 25-27 March 2014, Luxemburg

UNECE Principles UNECE capacity building activities must comply with a certain number of principles: Output oriented (effective) Demand-driven Respond to UN initiatives and policies (Rio +20, post-2015 agenda…) Based on established partnership with UN agencies, other international organisations and bilateral partners Seek synergies from existing/planned capacity building activities Call for enhancing cooperation and coordination in capacity building activities

Benefits of the Coordinated Approach Expected benefits from coordinated capacity building programmes and projects: Improving synergies and interactions among projects and programmes Effective mobilisation of human and financial resources from international and bilateral donors Sparing human and financial resources from the beneficiary countries (absorption capacity) Reducing the statistical burden on respondents (avoid “one-shot” surveys) Improving sustainability and visibility Sharing good practices in conducting capacity building activities among international and bilateral donors

Good Practices and Tools UNECE and partner organisations have identified 3 tools for improving coordination of capacity building activities in the EECCA region: Adapted Global Assessments (AGAs) conducted jointly by Eurostat, EFTA and UNECE Eurostat(-UNECE) monitoring tool for the implementation of the recommendations from AGAs (self-assessment survey) Eurostat(-UNECE) donor coordination survey Formal and informal meetings and events (e.g. High-level Seminars for EECCA countries, MGSC, SPECA Project Working Group on Statistics…) also contribute to the coordination of capacity building activities in the EECCA region

Adapted Global Assessments Conducted by Eurostat-EFTA-UNECE in most EECCA countries Unique opportunity to get a comprehensive picture of the overall state of development of NSSs Deliver recommendations for the development of NSSs that should be incorporated into capacity building programmes and strategies Guide international and bilateral partners in designing, implementing and coordinating their contributions to the development of national statistical capacities Ideal tool for advocacy and fund raising Provide to all (NSI, national authorities, international and bilateral partners and other stakeholders) an objective evaluation of the achievements of capacity building programmes and activities

Self Assessment Survey Eurostat monitoring tool of the implementation of the recommendations based on a self-assessment survey: The tool is based on existing self-assessment surveys already conducted among EU enlargement countries Eurostat, jointly with UNECE, extended its coverage to EECCA countries (ENP-East and Central Asia) It allows partner organisations (donors) to assess the achievements but also impediments, of the implementation of the recommendations Results should be available to all international and bilateral donors for improving efficiency and effectiveness of capacity building activities Linkages with the annual donor coordination survey could be further improved

Donor Coordination Survey Eurostat survey on capacity building activities conducted since many years in Western Balkan countries and Turkey: Collects information from 3 different approaches: donor-implementing agencies-beneficiaries Reconciles these 3 approaches to deliver consistent information about concluded, on-going and planned activities Eurostat, jointly with UNECE, extended its coverage to EECCA countries (ENP-East and Central Asia) Coverage and response rate still to be increased for EECCA countries (donors are numerous and sometime different than in the WBCs) Dissemination of the results to donors and UN-Resident Coordinators would enhance coverage and quality of the results in the future

Major Achievements These 3 tools have improved the coordination of capacity building activities and in particular: Avoided overlap and gaps in capacity building activities Increased transparency and information on capacity building activities Enhanced accountability of donors and recipients Facilitated coordination of the NSS by NSI Provided coherence and predictability to beneficiaries For coordinated capacity building strategies (long-term)

Coordinated Follow-up Strategy AGA (recommendations) Master Plan – NSDS – Strategy Light review/assessment Work programme (annual) Self-assessment survey (annual) Fund raising / Technical cooperation Donor questionnaire (annual) Feedback

But to Conclude on Good Practices… Tools and favourable institutional environment can contribute to the coordination of capacity building activities but… At the end it remains that it requires the commitment and proactive contribution of all involved people to work together; on both sides: donors and beneficiaries Coordination of capacity building activities in a country starts with an NSI in charge de-jure and de-facto of the coordination of the NSS

Thank you for the attention United Nations Economic Commission for Europe Statistical Division Thank you for the attention For more information, please contact: Gabriel Gamez Regional Adviser Statistical Division United Nations Economic Commission for Europe gabriel.gamez@unece.org