1. Tool for Assessing Statistical Capacity (TASC)
The development of TASC was sponsored by the United States Agency for International Development

2. Outline About the TASC Modules and Subsections Scoring
Strengths and Limitations
Conclusion

3. About the TASC The TASC 2.0:
Measures and quantifies the capacity of an NSO to conduct a household based census or survey
Draws from and builds on dimensions used in measuring statistical capacity, such as the IMF Data Quality Assessment Framework and The World Bank Statistical Capacity Indicators
Is designed to be a self-administered tool taken by staff and managers
Has been used in countries across South America, Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and the Caucuses- by the USCB, the Inter-American Development Bank, The World Bank and by NSOs

4. About the TASC
We use the World Bank definition of Statistical Capacity:
Statistical capacity is a nation’s ability to collect, analyze, and disseminate high-quality data about its population and economy
-The World Bank

5. About the TASC
Results from the TASC can be used by NSOs and their stakeholders to:
Provide a measurable score for statistical capacity
Identify specific areas where the NSO could benefit from further training
Assess improvement or impact of an assistance program by administering it before and after

6. Modules and Subsections
The TASC has a module for each operation of a census or survey:
Planning and Management
Mapping
Sampling
Questionnaire Content and Testing
Field Operations
Data Processing
Data Analysis and Evaluation
Data Dissemination
Publicity

7. Modules and Subsections
Each of the operational modules is divided into four subsections:
Human and physical capital
Methodological soundness and international standards
Quality assurance
Written procedures and documentation

8. Modules and Subsections
In addition to these operational modules, there are two other modules:
Institutional Capacity – measures overall capacity of the NSO
The legal background for censuses and surveys
Data confidentiality practices
Organizational structure of the NSO
Human and physical capital of the NSO
Stakeholder coordination
Administrative Records – measures the ability of the NSO to use and link data from various administrative records and registers

9. Scoring NSOs are scored between 1 and 100 on: Each module
Each subsection
Subsection across modules
An overall total statistical capacity score for the NSO

10. Scoring
A Mobile Data Capture score is also provided. The mobile data capture score is calculated by scoring questions related to mobile data capture found across the operational modules.
It reflects the cross-disciplinary skills necessary to implement a mobile data capture census or survey.

11. TASC Group Scores Across Modules

12. Mapping Detail

13. TASC Subsection Scores Across Modules

14. Mobile Data Capture Detail

15. Strengths Greatly reduces the cost of doing an assessment
Granular assessment questions allow us to drill down, identify and target areas for building capacity
Cross-sectional scoring across operations allows us to capture Mobile Data Capture or Quality Assurance capacity
The administration of TASC informs NSO staff about international best practices

16. Limitations
Only applies to capacity for conducting household-based censuses and surveys
Mostly focuses on data collection and dissemination practices common in the developing world
Primarily focuses on measuring statistical capacity of NSOs and not the national statistical system
Not a holistic assessment of national data ecosystem

17. Future Directions
A module that measures the capacity of an NSO to measure indicators related to Sustainable Development Goals 1,3,4,5 and 6
Collaboration with partners like The World Bank, UNSD, PARIS 21 to harmonize and strengthen the measurement of statistical capacity
Develop a measure for NSO engagement with unofficial and user-side statistics

18. Conclusion
The TASC kit allows for self-administration as it includes a TASC Presentation, an Administrators Manual and a Results Calculator. The kit has six elements and can be downloaded at –

19. Questions?
Thank you! Mitali Sen Chief Technical Assistance and Capacity Building International Programs, Population Division U.S. Census Bureau