1. Information for Decision-making for Sustainable Development (IDSD) Project A joint effort by the United Nations Division of Sustainable Development and the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States by Leisa Perch, Project Coordinator, GS/OAS

2. Information for Decision-Making for Sustainable Development (IDSD) Project Why focus on Information Management? Where did the IDSD Project come from? What are the challenges in the region regarding information management?

3. Why focus on Information Management? (I) Ready access to reliable data is key for decision- making SIDS lack readily available data on sustainable development and environment Sharing information regarding institutional procedures is key for implementation of decisions

4. Why focus on Information Management? (II) Countries in the region are overburdened by statistical and international reporting demands that are often far from the realities of the countries There is a need to train personnel in how to be more comfortable in using information for decision-making at the CARICOM level, at the sub-regional level and at the national level

5. Why IDSD and why now? (I) Environmental statistics is a relatively new field in the Caribbean region Unites Nations Statistics Division has recently completed effort in collaboration with CARICOM compiling social/gender and environmental statistics and indicators for the region Environmental statistics workshop held in Belize in 2000 launched the environmental phase of the above project

6. Why IDSD and why now? (II) Several countries have initiated compendiums of environmental statistics at the national level A lot of programmes/activities focusing on data, access,comparability, statistics etc A CARICOM Advisory Group has been established to develop programs and procedures for developing statistical compendia

7. What are the key challenges? What mechanisms are required for long- term information management? How does one harness information for decision-making purposes? Addressing the lack of consistency in reporting formats to MEAs

8. Objectives Identify and assess regional and country needs in information management systems for sustainable development Develop core curriculum and materials for training of local human resources Create a regional electronic site for accessing information on information management systems and techniques

9. Project Implementation Project will be executed by OAS UN will finance the project through a ---- US $271,000 contribution Four countries will be selected to participate as pilots

10. Main Project Activities Assessment of existing activities and capacity in the region Collation of best practices and tools, implementation of training course Facilitating sharing of information through website Enhancement of technical capacity through support for new equipment, training materials

11. Planning Missions ? Assessment of regional and country capacity for information systems management Meet with relevant UN-system partners, other international organizations, banks, academia, and NGO’s to explore opportunities, scope for project Main Reason: To find out what is already being done in the region or planned and to organize this project around the existing efforts, avoiding duplication of effort.

12. Outputs from the Initial Assessment Mission Established an initial baseline, scope of work Determined the needs in information management for the region Defined selection criteria for pilot countries Identified national and regional institutions to be involved Final Output: Assessment Report

13. Selection Criteria for Pilots Host to institutes with sustainable development orientation Have adequate human resources Involved in previous efforts to develop sustainable development indicators Positive track record in submitting regular reports to UNCSD, other MEAs

14. Project Action Plan

15. Expected Project Outputs (I) A pilot network of national, regional, and local institutions Resource persons from the region trained as information managers Training materials accesible through SIDSNET

16. Expected Project Outputs (II) A forum of exchange for experiences among information system managers throughout the region A final report on implementation, including an assessment and evaluation of the projects