MDG National Databases: recommendations from the IAEG Workshop on MDG Monitoring Beirut, 7-10 December 2009 MDG National Databases: recommendations from the IAEG United Nations Statistics Division

Recommendations from the IAEG In October 2008, Country representatives attending the Inter Agency and Expert Group on MDG Indicators requested that the IAEG: Reviews database platforms used by countries as central repositories for national indicators with a view to streamlining and avoiding using multiple data systems Assess the feasibility of extending the use of SDMX to countries for publishing and exchanging data.

Recommendations from the IAEG In October 2009, the IAEG on MDG Indicators made recommendations for improving the tools of communication between NSOs and line ministries, through: The creation of central MDG databases The use of standards for data exchange, such as SDMX. To address the concerns raised in previous IAEG meetings, the present workshop address the issue of National MDG databases in the following session and working groups.

National MDG Databases Establishment of national MDG databases as official repositories for all MDG data. Improve coordination: national data producers submit data to a common repository Facilitate dissemination of data to national and international users

Database Technology Country representatives in the last IAEG suggested that MDG databases should have: Tools for producing charts, maps and cross-tabulations; Ways to store and export metadata along with data; On-line interfaces to promote data dissemination, allowing for exports using SDMX. As NSOs develop competent IT units, open source database applications are preferred, so NSOs can adapt them to their own needs.