We cannot achieve what we cannot measure. The 2030 Agenda calls for participation of all United Nations Member States in providing national statistics to measure progress against seventeen sustainable development goals (SDGs). The ambition, scope and breadth of the 2030 Agenda is unparalleled in its challenge to all countries to improve the transparency, efficiency, and accuracy of their statistics to inform global and national policymaking. UNECE, as a facilitator of regional innovation, continues to support practical, country-led approaches to providing timely, accurate, objective, and accessible official statistics to inform SDG policy making.
From 16-20 April, UNECE organized a series of meetings in Geneva to improve national statistical capacity to measure progress in achieving the SDGs. A two-day kick-off workshop for countries from Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia and Southeast Europe discussed how national reporting platforms and related methods can be used to coordinate the provision of national statistics for SDGs and also to communicate progress to the general public. Methods to promote comparability across various forms of national reporting platforms were also discussed, so as to support the harmonization and aggregation of statistics for regional and global reporting.
Following the workshop, a two-day expert meeting brought together countries and agencies to share their experiences in providing statistics for national and global monitoring. They also provided best practices for efficient and transparent coordination between national statistical offices and custodian agencies (agencies charged by the United Nations Statistics Division to harmonize and produce aggregate global statistics for purposes of reporting progress on SDGs). Tools generated by the Conference of European Statisticians’ (CES) Steering Group on SDGs and opportunities to participate in pilot efforts were shared.
Attendees also discussed regional progress in implementing the recommendations of the CES SDG Steering Group’s Road Map. Overall, considerable progress has been achieved since the release of the Road Map in 2017. However, differences exist by sub-region, maturity of statistical measures used, and across the SDG themselves.
Establishing regional priorities for statistical capacity building was discussed. Emphasis was placed on providing practical tools that address gaps relevant to SDGs but also to improve the efficiency and accessibility of statistics more generally. The UNECE Statistical Capacity Development Strategy was discussed in this regard. The week concluded with a gathering of members of the Issue Based Coalition on statistics and data for SDGs, consisting of regional offices of United Nations agencies. They discussed ways to coordinate capacity development efforts at a regional level and upcoming opportunities to collaborate.
Having reviewed progress made and challenges remaining in implementing the Road Map, attendees agreed to develop additional tools to help countries provide national statistics for SDGs. Next steps will include developing and testing these tools and providing results to stakeholders.