Component 2: Building the foundation of sustainable and efficient national statistical systems
Building the statistical capacities at national and regional levels is fundamental for countries to produce sufficient and reliable quantity and quality data to support evidence-based policy-making processes. However, in many low- and middle-income countries, statistical systems are often understaffed, and workforces suffer from poor training, high turnover and limited career development opportunities. As a result, highly skilled employees capable of collecting, producing, disseminating and communicating official statistics are scarce.
One of the main objectives of the Global Strategy is to provide training programmes in agricultural statistics to staff working in national statistical services to build a critical mass of agricultural statisticians and analysts that can support national and regional data production and use. To do so, the Global Strategy is working with countries on many different aspects to allow national statistical units to deliver their missions in modern data ecosystems:
Scholarships
Implementing Agency: UNECA
The Scholarship package addresses the scarcity of high-quality training programs in official agricultural statistics in Africa. The Global Strategy has established long- and short-term training programs and supported a significant scholarship initiative. With 79 scholarships awarded to students across 40 countries in the first phase, the program has been impactful, as a vast majority (84 per cent) of the students went back to their place of work after completion of their studies. A majority (81%) of the respondents indicated that they could use the knowledge and skills learned in their current job.
In its second phase, the package continues to offer scholarships and focuses on revising curricula, strengthening African Statistical Schools, and providing scholarships for Master's level programs in agricultural statistics.
Objectives:
Ensure that relevant and up-to-date training programs on agricultural statistics are available and accessible to interested students across Africa through support in developing and updating curricula and creating a new scholarship program.
Activities and Results:
- Revision of the existing curricula to ensure that up-to-date methods and techniques in agricultural statistics are covered.
Provision of scholarships for 25 African countries to fund students' participation in the Master's level program in agricultural statistics offered by the network of African Statistical Schools.
Strengthening the capacities of African Statistical Schools in developing and implementing graduate programs on agricultural statistics and building trainers' knowledge on the topic.
This package has been implemented in all 25 African countries through regional trainings.
Basic Training
Implementing Agency: UNECA and FAO
Building the knowledge and skills of individuals involved in producing and disseminating agricultural statistics will continue to be a priority in the second phase of the Global Strategy. The support provided will build on the results of the first phase in terms of (1) developing curricula and syllabi for short-, medium- and long-term training, (2) setting up agricultural statistics training programs in critical regional training institutions, and (3) providing training to staff working in agriculture statistical services. To maximise the benefits of this package, the technical assistance will focus on statistical officers from countries with low statistical capacity.
Objectives:
Provide basic theoretical knowledge and skills in agricultural statistics to data producers, particularly statisticians with no or limited background in agriculture statistics and to economists or agronomists with basic knowledge in statistics. The training will cover the entire data cycle, including data sources, statistical units, data collection methods, frames and sampling techniques, questionnaire design, data validation, processing, analysis, and dissemination. The trainees will also be introduced to the Generic Statistical Business Process Model (GSBPM).
This package will contribute to building a critical mass of statistical officers engaged in data collection on the agricultural sector.
Activities and Results:
- Full revision and update of the training module developed in the first phase of the GSARS: extension to a three-week module and inclusion of data processing and dissemination.
- Organisation of several regional trainings for targeted countries to strengthen the capacities of their staff in basic agricultural statistics.
This package has been implemented in all 25 African countries through regional trainings.
HR Policies
Implementing Agency: Paris 21
In many low- and middle-income countries, statistical systems are often understaffed and do not offer sufficient on-the-job training to their employees and are subject to high turnover. As a result, highly skilled employees capable of collecting, producing, disseminating, and communicating official statistics are scarce. Systemic aspects can further hinder the development of a quality workforce in statistical offices, such as the decentralised structure of statistical systems, which can confine career development for statisticians to their ministerial department, reducing career mobility and the existence of gender inequalities or other discriminations leading to an unbalanced work environment. Developing and implementing a comprehensive human resource strategy to attract and retain a highly skilled workforce is therefore needed in many countries. It would substantially contribute to reinforcing statistical systems.
Objectives:
This package aims to support managers from national statistical services in evaluating organisational human resources capacity development needs and establishing adequate HR management policies. This support will help equip agricultural statistical units and their parent administration with human resource policies that allow them to hire, develop and retain the skilled employees needed to deliver their missions in modern data ecosystems.
Activities and Results:
- Preparation of a baseline study of HR policies in NSOs and agricultural statistical agencies in Africa;
- Development of training materials (e-learning and face-to-face) on HR policies for statistical agencies, emphasising the specificities of agricultural statistics.
- Conduction of national and regional trainings on HR policies for mid-high management and HR directors involving target countries;
- Remote coaching and peer exchanges.
- Design or improve HR policies in target countries, emphasising gender, training and career development.
- Support the adoption of these HR policies in these countries.
- Design/improve training programmes in additional countries.
- Design a new organigram with revised job descriptions for agricultural statistical agencies in a limited number of target countries.
This package has been adopted by Burkina Faso, Benin, Burundi, Egypt, Kenya, Liberia, Mali, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Zambia.
Leadership and Communication
Implementing Agency: Paris 21
How well a statistical institution communicates with its audience impacts the relevance of the statistical outputs and their trust. The role of national statistical agencies as a trusted interlocutor working for the public good is now even more vital as agricultural statistics become more complex, with a proliferation of actors and non-traditional data sources such as weather data services, smart meters, sensors, drones, satellite imagery, and connected farming equipment. To thrive in this more complex and competitive data ecosystem, agricultural statistical agencies must improve their capacity to secure limited financial resources to establish partnerships with data providers and users, including government, academia, or the private sector. In this context, reinforcing communication and leadership skills in NSOs is critical.
Objectives:
Strengthen leadership and communication skills in national agricultural statistical agencies, both at organisational and individual levels, to ensure that organisations are better managed and that improved use of data better informs policies and citizens. To maximise the impact of this package, the training materials, reports, and other outputs will be disseminated through the Paris 21 Academy.
Activities and Results:
Design and develop training materials to complement the existing learning resources with a particular focus on agricultural specificities;
Conduct a series of virtual and face-to-face training courses on leadership separately for top and mid-management of agricultural statistical agencies/units in target countries.
Conduct a baseline study on leadership and communication skills
Organisation of data communications boot camps with data producers, data users, and journalists.
Organisation of regional peer-learning learning workshops on effective communication.
For national statistical agencies in a limited number of target countries:
Conduction of a stakeholder analysis and a review of internal communication practices and products;
Development of training materials, templates, and processes, and provision of mentoring and training to improve their communications strategy.
Support the design of new or improved communications strategies;
Support the development of one communication product on agricultural statistics (such as a social media video, news article, or factsheet).