Inter- regional Seminar on NSS reviews in SIDS, Nadi,Fiji,1-3 Aug 2017

NSS Review tool adopted by Maldives

NSS REVIEW – KEY ACTIVITIES • Decided to undertake review and Request sent to ESCAP

• Scoping mission fielded by ESCAP to Maldives

• A proposal for a forward-looking review to develop NSS was developed and funding secured under RPES

• Review team formed by ESCAP - ESCAP ,UNSD and NSO Mongolia

• Review questionnaire developed by the team and discussed with NBS/Maldives

• Questionnaire completed by NBS in coordination with relevant agencies in the NSS

• First review mission fielded- met with stakeholder agencies and completed the pre-filled questionnaire and

collected additional information and documents

• Second review mission -met with stakeholder agencies and discussed draft report and recommendations

• Draft final report sent for verification by NBS

• Final report submitted to NBS

FOCUS OF THE REVIEW

• Analyze legislation

• NSO organization and Human Resource management

• Data production and dissemination policies

• Implementation of FPOS and other operating procedures

• Technical in-depth review on the improvement of economic statistics

• Specific recommendations within the monitoring requirements of SDGs

• Recommendations for the modernization of statistics production and

dissemination

REVIEW OF THE NATIONAL STATISTICAL SYSTEM OF THE MALDIVES INSTITUTIONAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL ISSUES GUIDANCE QUESTIONNAIRE

While there are given response categories for each question that states a statistical principle, policy or situation, it is

essential to supplement the short responses with explanatory text and reference to supporting documents for a

successful review process.

The questionnaire covers questions that fall within the competencies of various national agencies and hence should

be completed through a collaborative effort by the NSS. The national statistical office (Statistics Division of the

National Bureau of Statistics) is tasked with coordinating the completion of the questionnaire.

REVIEW TOOL -GUIDELINES

• DEVELOPED IN REFERENCE TO THE UNITED NATIONS FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES FOR OFFICIAL

STATISTICS (UN-FPS),

• INTERNATIONAL STATISTICAL STANDARDS AND CLASSIFICATIONS FOR NATIONAL ACCOUNTS AND

ECONOMIC STATISTICS,

• RELEVANT QUALITY ASSURANCE FRAMEWORKS,

• THE 2030 AGENDA FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND RELATED REQUIREMENTS

• FOR NSS COORDINATION AND DEMANDS FOR ECONOMIC STATISTICS.

REVIEW TOOL - A FIT-FOR PURPOSE • REPRESENTS A FIT-FOR PURPOSE ADJUSTED VERSION OF THE STANDARD QUESTIONNAIRE USED FOR

GLOBAL ASSESSMENTS OF NSS

• AS CONDUCTED DURING THE PAST DECADE IN A NUMBER OF COUNTRIES IN EASTERN EUROPE, CAUCASUS AND

CENTRAL ASIA AS WELL AS IN MONGOLIA.

CONTENTS OF THE REVIEW TOOL/GUIDANCE QUESTIONNAIRE •SECTION 1: LEGAL SETTING & FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

•SECTION 2: NSS

•SECTION 3: NSO

•SECTION 4: DATA SOURCES, REGISTERS, PROCESS & QUALITY

•SECTION 5: ECONOMIC STATISTICS PRODUCTION &

DISSEMINATION

SECTION 1: LEGAL SETTING & FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES

•1.1. law on official statistics & other legislation

affecting statistics

•1.2. professional independence

•1.3. mandate for data collection

•1.4. statistical confidentiality

SECTION 2: NSS

•2.1. members & structure of the system

•2.2. coordination authority &mechanism

•2.3. national statistical planning &

programming

SECTION 3: NSO

•3.1. mission statements of NSO coordination authority &mechanism

•3.2. organization &activities of NSO

•3.3. resources & resource management

•3.4. dissemination policies & practices

•3.5. relations & communication with main stakeholders

•3.6 international cooperation

SECTION 4: DATA SOURCES, REGISTERS, PROCESS & QUALITY

•4.1. Data sources and registers

•4.2. Quality and production processes

SECTION 5: ECONOMIC STATISTICS PRODUCTION & DISSEMINATION – MACROECONOMIC STATISTICS

•5.1. National accounts, financial accounts & BOP

•5.2. GFS

•5.3. External trade

•5.4. FDI, IIP, external debt

•5.5. BOP

•5.6 Money and banking

•5.7. Price statistics

•5.8. Other macroeconomic statistics

SECTION 5: ECONOMIC STATISTICS PRODUCTION & DISSEMINATION – BUSINESS STATISTICS

•5.9. Short-term statistics (goods and services)

•5.10. Structural business statistics (goods and services)

•5.11. Tourism statistics

•5.12. Construction and investment statistics

•5.13. Other business statistics

KEY FINDINGS- WEAKNESSES ACROSS THE NSS EXISTS

• ABSENCE OF A STRONG LEGAL FRAMEWORK

• ISSUES WITH PROFESSIONAL INDEPENDENCE

• NSO WITHIN THE NBS NEED TO BE CLEARLY DEMARCATED

• NEED TO DEFINE THE NSS – NSO & OPOS

• NEED FOR DATA USERS PARTICIPATION– REGULAR FORUMS WITH USERS TO IDENTIFY THEIR DATA NEEDS

• BUSINESS SECTOR DATA - COVERAGE LOW- NEED FOR REGULAR ECONOMIC SURVEYS

• ACCESS TO ADMINISTRATIVE DATA – IMPROVE THE QUALITY FOR IT BE PROCESSED TO OFFICIAL STATISTICS

• NEEDS FOR MULTI-YEAR AND ANNUAL STATISTICS PROGRAMMES

• STRENGTHEN COORDINATION WITHIN THE NSS

• DATA DISSEMINATION BE STRENGTHENED – RELEASE CALENDARS FOR THE PUBLICATIONS

• HRD - IDENTIFY THE KEY TRAINING REQUIREMENTS OF THE NSS & DEVELOP A STATISTICAL TRAINING PROGRAMS &, ADDRESSING THE

SHORTFALLS IN STATISTICAL LEARNING AT UNIVERSITY LEVEL

• NEED TO ESTABLISH A NATIONAL INDICATOR SET: INDICATORS NEEDED FOR MONITORING EXISTING NATIONAL AND SECTORAL

DEVELOPMENT PLANS, AS WELL AS NEW REQUIREMENTS EMANATING FROM THE 2030 AGENDA

REVIEW WILL FEED INTO

• CURRENT NSDS (FROM 1999 TO 2019) RESULTING IN ITS REVISION

• DEVELOPMENT OF A NATIONAL ECONOMIC STATISTICS DEVELOPMENT PLAN