1. United Nations Statistics Division
ISWGNA Task Force on
Capacity Building
12th Meeting of the Advisory Expert Group on National Accounts
27-29 November 2018, Luxembourg
United Nations Statistics Division

2. Background
This year marked the 10th anniversary of the adoption of the 2008 SNA
There has been noticeable progress in the reporting of national accounts data from analyzing replies to United Nations national accounts questionnaire in terms of
Conceptual compliance with the SNA
Compliance with minimum required data set (MRDS)
Timeliness

3. Achievements – Implementation of SNA
Conceptual compliance with the SNA – All Member States
Member States on 1993/2008 SNA: 180 (≈93%) in 2017 vs 134 (≈70%) in 2009
Member States on 2008 SNA: 79 (≈41%) at end of 2017

4. What more needs to be done? – Implementation of SNA
Too many countries are still lagging in the implementation of SNA
13 still on 1963 SNA, 101 on 1993 SNA
Number of member states that meet Minimum Required Dataset Standards has remained unchanged at 102 for several years
Number of member states that meet Timeliness Requirements has remained largely unchanged at ~112 for several years

5. What more needs to be done? – Implementation of SNA
Why are Member States lagging?
Report by a Friends of the Chair group on the slow progress of the implementation SNA and production of national accounts of sufficient scope and detail
11th meeting of the AEG recommended to establish an ISWGNA Task Force on SNA Capacity Building, chaired by UNSD, to
Prepare guidance based on available materials developed by the ISWGNA members and their development partners to support the practical implementation of the SNA in countries that are lagging behind

6. ISWGNA Implementation Taskforce
Implementation taskforce formed, this will help balance the focus of ISWGNA attention on both research & implementation issues
Taskforce formally reports through to ISWGNA (and ultimately UNSC). And will engage with AEG for advice and feedback
Currently ISWGNA members are on the task force but will expand to regional bodies and NSOs

7. Elements of the work programme
a) Create an inventory of tailored data sources, practices, methods, learning tools and technology in an innovative environment targeted towards the least developed, the island, and the fragile states;
Encouraging a ‘creative commons’ approach to sharing tools which taskforce members have already developed
Make the tools as discoverable and assessible as possible

8. Elements of the work programme
b) Develop, test and share new ways of working in capacity development. Using new technology and concepts of ‘just enough design’ or ‘iteration’ to increase the pace of national accounts capacity development and national accounts production; c) Encourage members of the taskforce to participate in joint capacity development programs in partnerships with countries and regional agencies specifically targeted regions of the world (while noting that the actual capacity building activities are outside of the remit of the taskforce and need to be run as separate projects).

9. Current Focus - Inventory
The task team commenced with a stocktake of existing capacity building efforts and tools across the current members (UNSD, IMF, World Bank, Eurostat). Results of the stocktake unsurprisingly show that there is a wide range of activities occurring with a great many countries. 
Members have agreed to expand the UNSD National Accounts knowledge database to include capacity development ‘tools’ beyond the current catalogue of handbooks.

10. Current Focus – Knowledge Hub
Knowledge Hub – targeted towards least developed countries and those with little current capacity for national accounts
Should ‘guide’ users through the process and ensure tools and resources are accessible and discoverable
Examples: catalogue of training materials; guidance notes; and IT tools.

11. Examples of ‘tools’ to be included
Information about IT systems: cost, functionality, resource requirements etc
Eretes
SNAP
Hendyplan
IMF tools
Etc
Catalogue of training resources
Course material and content (when made available)
Description of courses being run
E-learning modules

12. Current Focus – Sharing information on new initiatives
Regular meetings (conducted via teleconference) enable members to share any new developments on capacity building and to identify opportunities for collaboration

13. AEG is requested to:
provide its opinion on global capacity building efforts and the work of the Task Force;
volunteer to provide any capacity building tools/resources that they have developed;
volunteer to join the Task Force, particularly if they are currently engaged in substantive capacity building initiatives

14. Thank you