Statistics, the post-2015 agenda, and some lessons from the MDGs The clarity of the MDG framework improved the use and quality of statistics for better development policy - but there is a long way to go. Improving national statistical capacity is key: it should not be neglected in favor of data collection by agencies. Two big issues in the poorest countries: household survey programs and CRVS. Funding requests, both domestic and external, will succeed only if they are closely linked to policy initiatives. There is no panacea. Global progress monitoring is a different purpose to informing national policy. For global monitoring of the MDGs, only a handful of indicators mattered. To be central to the Data Revolution, statistical offices will need to change and innovate. New, alternative data sources exist: policy-makers will use them.