1. Indicator framework for monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals
Working Group on on Education and Training Statistics 1 June Agenda Item 2-2
Nicola Massarelli / Fritz Gebhard Eurostat - Unit E2

2. 2030 Agenda: goals, 169 targets

3. SDG 4: 10 targets
Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote Life-long learning for all

4. Different levels of SDG Monitoring
Source: SDSN Report «Indicators and a Monitoring Framework for the SDGs», 2015

5. Global (UN) monitoring
Level
Reference to be monitored
Main Actors
Indicator set
Global (UN)
Agenda 2030 goals and targets
UNSC,
IAEG-SDGs,
"Custodian" agencies,
ECOSOC & UN GA
Global list of 232 SDG indicators. Includes unavailable indicators
UN region (UNECE)
Developing guidance for member countries but no monitoring carried out. EU
SDGs in an EU context - focus on EU policies
Eurostat, EU MS, other Commissions services
EU SDG indicator set. Based on 100 existing indicators.
National
National SD strategies, incl. implementation of Agenda 2030
National statistical offices and other national agencies
National SD indicator sets (exist in some countries, are being developed in others)

6. Set of 232 global SDG indicators
Agreed by 48th UNSC in New York in March 2017
Tier classification for data availability and methodological development:
Tier 1: Data regularly produced (35%)
Tier 2: Methodology exists but no data (26%)
Tier 3: No international methodology exists (36%)
Multiple rating: (2%)

7. "Custodian" agencies
Mostly UN thematic agencies: UNEP (30), ILO (14), UNESCO (21), WHO (30), OECD (20), etc.
Collect and compile country data
Coordinate methodological development of tier 3 indicators
Contribute to UN SDG report in their area of work

8. Global indicators for SDG 4
UN list includes 11 global indicators
9 of 11 indicators: UNESCO-UIS as custodian agency; plus OECD (1) and UNICEF (1)
Tier classification: - Tier 1  3 (27%) indicators - Tier 2  4 (36%) indicators - Tier 3  2 (18%) indicators - multiple  2 (18%) indicators
Agreement between UNESCO, UNESCO-UIS and OECD of 17 March 2017 for collaboration in context of goal 4 indicators

9. 11 Global indicators for SDG 4
UN global SDG Indicator
Tier
Custodian Agency(ies)
Alignment with EU SDG indicator set
4.1.1 Proportion of children and young people: (a) in grades 2/3; (b) at the end of primary; and (c) at the end of lower secondary achieving at least a minimum proficiency level in (i) reading and (ii) mathematics, by sex
III (a) & II (b,c)
UNESCO-UIS
Not considered for EU SDG indicator set as no data available
4.2.1 Proportion of children under 5 years of age who are developmentally on track in health, learning and psychosocial well-being, by sex
III
UNICEF
4.2.2 Participation rate in organized learning (one year before the official primary entry age), by sex I
Link to EU SDG indicator "Early childhood education and care"
4.3.1 Participation rate of youth and adults in formal and non-formal education and training in the previous 12 months, by sex II
Link to EU SDG indicator "Adult participation in learning"
4.4.1 Proportion of youth and adults with information and communications technology (ICT) skills, by type of skill
UNESCO-UIS, ITU
Not considered for EU SDG indicator set to respect the limit of 6 indicators per goal.
4.5.1 Parity indices (female/male, rural/urban, bottom/top wealth quintile and others such as disability status, indigenous peoples and conflict-affected, as data become available) for all education indicators on this list that can be disaggregated
---
4.6.1 Proportion of population in a given age group achieving at least a fixed level of proficiency in functional (a) literacy and (b) numeracy skills, by sex
Link to EU SDG indicator "Underachievement in reading, maths and science"

10. 11 Global indicators for SDG 4
UN global SDG Indicator
Tier
Custodian Agency(ies)
Alignment with EU SDG indicator set
4.7.1 Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development, including gender equality and human rights, are mainstreamed at all levels in: (a) national education policies, (b) curricula, (c) teacher education and (d) student assessment
III
UNESCO-UIS
Not considered for EU SDG indicator set as no data available
4.a.1 Proportion of schools with access to: (a) electricity; (b) the Internet for pedagogical purposes; (c) computers for pedagogical purposes; (d) adapted infrastructure and materials for students with disabilities; (e) basic drinking water; (f) single-sex basic sanitation facilities; and (g) basic handwashing facilities (as per the WASH indicator definitions) II
Not considered for EU SDG indicator set as assumed to be close to 100% in EU MS
4.b.1 Volume of official development assistance flows for scholarships by sector and type of study I
OECD
Not considered for EU SDG indicator set as referring to EU external policy
4.c.1 Proportion of teachers in: (a) pre-primary; (b) primary; (c) lower secondary; and (d) upper secondary education who have received at least the minimum organized teacher training (e.g. pedagogical training) pre-service or in-service required for teaching at the relevant level in a given country

11. Eurostat's role in global monitoring
Support to UN process for global indicators
Coordinates EU common position at UN level (e.g. at UNSC)
Member of UN sub-groups on SDMX (data exchange) and geospatial information
Support custodian agencies in developing tier 3 indicators relevant from an EU perspective

12. What Eurostat will not do
Eurostat does not plan to be an EU data hub for global SDG reporting
Eurostat’s does not intend to enlarge current ESS data collection exclusively in order to fill data gaps on particular global SDG indicators

13. EU SDG monitoring EU SDGs in an EU context - focus on EU policies
Level
Reference to be monitored
Main Actors
Indicator set
Global (UN)
Agenda 2030 goals and targets
UNSC,
IAEG-SDGs,
"Custodian" agencies,
ECOSOC & UN GA
Global list of 232 SDG indicators. Includes unavailable indicators
UN region (UNECE)
Developing guidance for member countries but no monitoring carried out. EU
SDGs in an EU context - focus on EU policies
Eurostat, EU MS, other Commission services
EU SDG indicator set based on 100 existing indicators.
National
National SD strategies, incl. implementation of Agenda 2030
National statistical offices and other national agencies
National SD indicator sets (exist in some countries, are being developed in others)

14. EU SDG indicators: policy background
Communication COM(2016) 739 on Next steps for a sustainable European future, released on 22 Nov. Page 16:
From 2017 onwards, the Commission will carry out more detailed regular monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals in an EU context, developing a reference indicator framework for this purpose

15. EU SDG indicators - process
Broad consultative process, involving Eurostat (coordinator), Commission DGs, SDI working group, EU Council Committees (EMCO, SPC, EFC), ESAC, academia and civil society
ESSC gave favourable opinion on 18 May
EU SDG indicator set open to new indicators, when relevant and available. Sufficient quality is a pre-condition for inclusion. Possibility of a larger alignment with UN global indicators to be explored. EU longer term vision beyond will likely have an impact
Indicator list online:

16. Principles for EU SDG indicators
Measuring progress towards the SDGs in an EU context
Principles to maximise relevance and statistical quality of the indicator set:
Strong links with Communication & long-term EU policies: Europe 2020, 10 Commission Priorities, Circular Economy etc.
Only already available indicators, meeting minimum quality requirements
Limit of 100 indicators, balanced between all 17 SDGs
Use of multipurpose indicators to broaden the number of indicators for monitoring per goal.

17. Main characteristics: Number of indicators per goal
+ 41 mpi
Eurostat

18. Number of ESS/non-ESS indicators
Eurostat

19. Number of annually updated indicators
Eurostat

20. Number of indicators aligned to UN set
Eurostat

21. EU SDG indicators for goal 4
all already used in context of existing EU policies
04.10 Early childhood education and care
Indicator consistent with ET 2020 priorities (EU target 95%).
Similar to global SDG indicator 4.2.2
04.20 Early leavers from education and training
Indicator consistent with ET 2020 and EU2020 strategy target (less than 10%).
Impact indicator referring to the 10 Commission priorities.
04.30 Tertiary educational attainment
Indicator consistent with ET 2020 priorities and EU2020 strategy targets (>40%).
04.31 Employment rate of recent graduates
Indicator consistent with ET2020 priorities (EU target 82%).
04.40 Adult participation in learning
Indicator consistent with ET 2020 priorities (EU target 15%).
Similar to global SDG indicator 4.3.1
04.50 Underachievement in reading, maths and science
Identical to global SDG indicator 4.6.1
08.20 Young people neither in employment nor in education and training
Multipurpose indicator selected for goal 8
Identical to global SDG indicator 8.6.1

22. EU SDG monitoring
First ad hoc publication on 22 November 2016, in parallel with Communication
November 2017:
1st regular EU SDG monitoring report
New EU SDG dedicated section
EU SDG indicator set online

23. Conclusions (1)
The 2030 agenda foresees different complementary monitoring levels
EU and UN monitoring have different policy backgrounds
Alignment of EU SDG indicator set to UN global indicators is realtively large, considering that UN indicators are often not available and/or not always relevant in an EU context

24. Conclusions (2) UN global indicators:
Eurostat supports the process but will not be the EU data hub
No new EU SDG data collections planned
EU SDG indicator set:
Result of a broad, inclusive process
Based on existing, high quality indicators, relevant in an EU context
Open to future changes: new data, further alignment with UN indicator list, new EU policies