September 3, 2015 National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda 1 NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF STATISTICS OF RWANDA MANAGING THE NSDS BASKET FUND By Odette Mbabazi

 Who are we?  Our journey  Evolution of the BF  How does the BF work?  How did the BF help on our journey?  What hurdles did we face along the way?  Way forward  Some tips September 3, 2015 National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda 2 Scope

Who are we?  NISR) was created in 2005 to replace the former Department of Statistics  It was established by the law No.09/2005 a mandatory producer of official statistics  Coordinating Agency of the NSS  Semi autonomous-Governed by a BOD  Operates on the basis of a Performance Contract with MINECOFIN which plays an oversight role September 3, 2015 National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda 3

Our Journey Conducive environment  Legal and regulatory framework The law on state finance and property Ministerial orders relating financial regulations Manual of Policies and Procedures Finance and Accounting Strengthened Internal Audit function backed by laws and regulations and procurement law and regulation  Preparation and approval of NSDS  Restructuring to rise to the challenge  Scattered data collection and production of statistics  Establishment of Basket Fund mechanism September 3, 2015 National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda 4

September 3, 2015 National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda 5 Evolution of NISR Basket Fund Previous Basket Fund (2007/2010)  Managed by UNDP: To implement NISR’s 1 st Strategic Plan ( ) Project Coordinator based at NISR Expenditures approval done by NISR  Development partners involved: DFID, EU, and UNDP NISR, DFID and EU advocated strongly for devolving management of the Basket Fund to NISR

September 3, 2015 National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda 6 Evolution Of NISR Basket Fund Cont… Current Basket Fund (2010/2014)  Management and supervision An MOU between GOR and BF Partners signed based on NSDS Budget Oversight of the NSDS BF is provided by a steering committee of all partners – UNDP, UNICEF, WB, DFID, UNFPA, MINAGRI, MINISANTE, IPAR etc and chaired by MINECOFIN Managed by NISR and NISR DG is National Coordinator Managed by a Technical Coordinator with support from accountant and Planning officers Development Partners involved-DFID,EU and soon WB

Evolution of NISR’s Basket Fund: Functions Cont… Roles and Responsibilities Strengthen NISR capacity to implement NSDS implementation (2010/2014) and track indicators of EDPRS Ensure the implementation of all activities contained in the NSDS Harmonization of data production, management and dissemination in the country Strengthen PFM cycle within NISR- Budgeting and Planning, budget execution and reporting Putting an M&E framework/system Donor coordination through Steering Committee September 3, 2015 National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda 7

September 3, 2015 National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda 8 How does BF work? Stronger Planning, Budgeting and Delivery Processes  A set of agreed annual and quarterly objectives based on the NSDS strategic  Required hard prioritization to keep it achievable yet ambitious  Guiding staff’s objectives and linking resources to priorities  A SC meeting is convened at the beginning of a quarter, discusses and approves annual plan  Individual staff performance objectives are defined contracts signed Implementation, Monitoring &Evaluation  Performance Indicators defined and Results monitoring framework in place TO

How does BF work?  Appoint strategic objective leaders to monitor implementation as required  Produce financial and performance reports (weekly/flash monthly, quarterly, annually, )  SC meeting convened and present quarterly progress reports and next quarter’s action plan  An independent review is conducted at the end of every fiscal year  An external audit is carried out and a report presented to SC  Annual disbursements done based on performance September 3, 2015 National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda 9

How did the BF help on our journey? ( Both Donors and Govt )  Harmonization of statistical activities for the benefit of all partner  Effective donor coordination through SC, less duplication of resources, harmonized procedural requirements  Institutional focus on delivering results - no chasing each other  Team culture stakes are so high that only collaborative working could help rise to the challenge (GOR and Donors)  Predictability of funding – planning with ease, strategic thinking  Greater Ownership: Donor and Govt in the driving seat due to joint programming ( them and us is avoided)  Improved respectability of Statistical methods and standards  Production and availability of respected statistics September 3, 2015 National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda 10

What hurdles did we face along the way? Institutional outlook  Un able to effectively coordinate entire NSS  Slow shift in mindsets: resistance to change, tendency to keep status quo both from NISR and some donors  Very high performance expectations that might overstretch current institutional capability Donor Perspective  Capacity substitution instead of CB – dependency on consultants  Incentives not commensurate with required performance improvements – hard to recruit and retain the right skills and expertise – labor market September 3, 2015 National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda 11

Stronger NSDS BF  BF to be beefed up with Specialists in M&E, ICT, Procurement and Finance management  BF to coordinate and finance existing plans of five priority sectors - agriculture, education, health, population and macro economy as phase one  NISR integrated in 5 Sector Working Groups and yet to form sub committees on statistics  BF consolidating and reviewing Sector statistical plans  BF develops an operations manual to guide implementation of all NSS statistical plans September 3, 2015 National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda 12

Some Tips  Good rapport, transparency, trust building, nurture the partnership  Collaboration is the key to a successful NSDS implementation  Basket Fund an effective resources mobilization and management mechanism  A good dose of luck  No specific tips here – but we wish you good luck!!!!!!!!!!!!!! September 3, 2015 National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda 13

End Together We Must Stand !!!!!!! September 3, 2015 National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda 14