capacity development plan (2011-2014) · 1.1 from capacity building to capacity development 1.2 the...

NATIONAL INSTITUTION BUILDING PROJECT

June 2011

Capacity Development Plan (2011-2014)

Central Statistics Organisation Government of the Islamic Republic of

Afghanistan, Kabul

LeadershipPolicy and

Legal Framework

Access to Information &

Knowledge

Human Resources

(HR)

Financial Resources

Physical Resources

Mutual Accountability Mechanisms

Inclusion, Participation,

Equity & Empowerment

Existing Level 2.99 2.96 2.86 2.62 2.91 3.08 2.72 2.64

Future Level 4.80 4.80 4.80 5.00 5.00 5.00 4.20 4.00

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

Leve

ls of

capa

city

Fig.16: Capacity Gaps in cross-cutting functional areas of Core Capacity Issues for CSO

http://www.paris21.org/documents/2723.pdf



NIBP Capacity Development Plan (2011-14) for CSO

Central Statistics Organisation, GIRA 1

جمــھوری اســـــــــــالمی افغانســــــــــتان اداره مرکزی احصائیھ

Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Central Statistics Organization

FOREWORD

After three decades of war and conflict, when the Government of Afghanistan began to work on rebuilding Afghanistan in 2001, an acute need for comprehensive, reliable and timely data for policy making and better planning was very much felt. However, the statistical capacity of the Central Statistics Organisation (CSO) and various Ministries/Departments was too low to generate the required data. It was an extremely difficult task to build the capacity of CSO to carry out statistical activities in the country in the face of enormous difficulty associated with the post conflict situations. As a stopgap arrangement, ad-hoc surveys were undertaken with assistance from International Agencies. Since then, CSO has taken long strides. This organization now works as the only officially responsible body for planned development of the statistical system in the country. It runs a number of departments including national account and demography as well as economic statistics and field operations department, etc. and maintains norms and standards in the field of statistics, involving concepts and definitions, and methodology of data collection, etc.

The Central Statistics Organization has been working closely with UNDP Afghanistan under the National Institution Building Project (NIBP) to address its critical capacity development needs in order to fulfill its mandate. I am glad to receive the services of a Capacity Development Advisor (CDA) and sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India under the south-south cooperation for transfer of specialized statistical knowledge and expertise.

Also, it is a matter of great pleasure for me that CSO has helped development of this document as a comprehensive Capacity Development Plan (CDP) constructed by the Capacity Development Advisor supported under NIBP by UNDP. This has been developed to address the capacity development needs of CSO in an integrated and systematic manner at three levels - enabling environment, organisational and individual. I hope that Users, Donors and other Stakeholders would find this document informative and useful.

I would like to thank Dr. P C Mishra, the NIBP Capacity Development Advisor who has developed this document with the support of many CSO staff. The close coordination of CDA with all Heads of the Departments of CSO and other key stakeholders in a short period of time is highly appreciated. Also, I thank all the officers and staff of CSO involved in making development of this document possible.

Abdul Rahman Ghafoori President General Central Statistics Organization



ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This CDP document is the result of joint effort of the Central Statistics Organisation (CSO), Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and National Institution Building Project (NIBP), UNDP Afghanistan. I am deeply grateful to His Excellency Mr. Abdul Rahman Ghafoori, President General of CSO for sparing his valuable time for continuous interaction and insightful discussion during the entire process of intensive organisational assessment and situational analysis, capacity assessment and formulation of the capacity development response. I am also thankful to the members of the Internal Consultative Team of CSO for carrying out intensive discussion and consultation process on the draft CDP. I take this opportunity to thank Mr. E. Ramzi, Statistical Advisor, all Heads of Departments and the staff of CSO for their cooperation and participation in preparation of the CDP. I am also thankful to the Members of the Steering Committee of NRVA as well as the other stakeholders of CSO who contributed to the capacity assessment. My special thanks go to Jill Fletcher (DFID), Ms. Inga (ICON Institute, Germany), Mr. Andy Kotikula (World Bank, Washington), Ms Tia (UNFPA), Mr. Ali (Head of MIS, CSO), Mr Hafiz (NRVA Team) and Mr Rajabekov (PICT-SRF) for the interaction and comments in the process of developing this document. I am grateful to Mr Sayed Khalid Khushbin, Assistant Country Director, LGA, UNDP Afghanistan for his inspiration and suggestions to improve the CDP. I express my gratitude to Mr. Raj Kamal, Project Manager, NIBP for his continuous guidance and also to his entire management team, especially, Ms Sofia Dahiya for their support. I would like to thank my fellow colleagues, NIBP CDAs, for their thought provoking discussion, which almost developed a ‘Ba culture’ among us and helped in value addition to the CDP. The review comments and suggestions on the draft document during the presentation at GDPDM as well as during the consultative workshops at CSO have helped improve the CDP. I thank all the participants for their constructive suggestions. My special thanks go to Mr Aimal, NIBP Capacity Development Programme Officer, who is rendering valuable service in translating the CDP to Dari. I also acknowledge the goodwill gesture of Government of India (GoI) for deputing me here and giving me an opportunity to work for the Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRA) under the tripartite agreement among GoI, GIRA and UNDP, Afghanistan. Last but not the least, I am greatly indebted to my family members for their sacrifice and cooperation in bearing my absence from them for noble causes.

Dr Prafulla Chandra Mishra UNDP/NIBP Capacity Development Advisor,

Central Statistics Organisation, GIRA Dated the 19th June 2011



ABBREVIATIONS

ACBR Afghanistan Central Business Registry ADB Asian Development Bank ANDS Afghanistan National Development Strategy ANSP Afghanistan National Statistical Plan ANSS Afghanistan National Statistical System CAP Capacity for Afghan Public Services CDA Capacity Development Advisor CDP Capacity Development Plan CMRS Central Monitoring and Reporting System CPH Census of Population and Housing CPI Consumer Price Index CSO Central Statistics Organization DAB Da Afghanistan Bank (i.e. the Central Bank of Afghanistan) DFID Department for International Development, UK ECO Economic Cooperation Organisation EU European Union GDDS General Data Dissemination System GDP Gross Domestic Product GDPDM General Directorate of Programs' Design and Management GIRA Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan GIS Geographic Information System GoI Government of India IBES Integrated Business Establishment Survey HIES Household Income and Expenditure Survey IARCSC Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission ICT Information and Communication Technology IDA International Development Association IMF International Monetary Fund ISCO International Standard Classification of Occupations ISIC International Standard Industrial Classification JCMB Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board KOICA Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) LFS Labor Force Survey M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MDG Millennium Development Goals MICS Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey MIS Management Information Systems



MoF Ministry of Finance MoPH Ministry of Public Health MoSPI Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (Government of India) MRRD Ministry for Reconstruction and Rural Development SCB Statistical Capacity Building SMP Statistical Master Plan NAD National Account Department NGO Non-Governmental Organization NIBP National Institution Building Programme NRVA National Risk and Vulnerability Survey NSO National Statistical Office OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development OTJ On the Job PARIS21 The Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century PFM Public Financial Management PICT Project Implementation and Coordination Team PRR Priority Restructuring and Reform PRSP Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper PSO Provincial Statistical Office SNA System of National Accounts SRF Statistics for Results Facility SRF-CF Statistics for Results Facility Catalytic Fund TA Technical Assistance ToR Terms of Reference UN United Nations UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNAMA United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan UNFPA United Nations Population Fund for Afghanistan UNSD United Nations Statistics Division USAID United States Agency for International Development WHO World Health Organisation WB World Bank



TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter Topic Page(s)

Foreword Acknowledgement Abbreviations Table of Contents Executive Summary

1 2

3-4 5-7 8-9

1 INTRODUCTION 10-12 1.1 From Capacity Building to Capacity Development 1.2 The NIBP in Afghanistan 1.3 UNDP/NIBP Approach to CA and CD 1.4 Structure of the CDP

10 10 11 12

2 SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS AND ORGANISATIONAL ASSESSMENT 13-38 2.1 Historical Background of CSO 2.2 Review of Previous Capacity Building Efforts 2.3 Current Capacity Development Efforts 2.4 Stakeholder Analysis 2.5 Vision, Mission and Mandate of CSO 2.6 Role of CSO in M&E of ANDS 2.7 Role of CSO in monitoring the MDGs of Afghanistan 2.8 Organizational Structure of CSO 2.9 The Human Resource Structure of CSO 2.10 An Overview of the Departments of CSO 2.11 Main Statistical Activities carried out by CSO

13 14 16 18 20 21 23 24 28 28 34

3 STATISTICAL CAPACITY ASSESSMENT 39-51 3.1 Official Statistics in Development Policy Cycle 3.2 The Need for Capacity Assessment of Statistical System 3.3 Tools of Statistical Capacity Assessment 3.3.1 UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics 3.3.2 UNSD Standard Framework of main Statistical Activities 3.3.3 Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF) 3.4 Statistical Capacity Assessment of Afghanistan 3.4.1 Data Quality Assessment by DFID 3.4.2 Statistical Capacity Assessment of CSO by NIBP 3.4.3 Statistical Capacity Monitoring by World Bank

39 41 42 42 45 45 47 47 48 48



4 FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY ASSESSMENT 52-58 4.1 Objectives of Capacity Assessment 4.2 UNDP Capacity Assessment Framework 4.2.1 Points of Entry – Environmental and Organisational levels 4.2.2 Core Development Issues 4.2.3 Cross-cutting Functional Capacities 4.3 The UNDP Capacity Assessment Process in CSO 4.3.1 Mobilization and Design 4.3.2 Conducting the CA process 4.3.3 Summarizing and Analyzing the Results 5 CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Capacity Development at enabling environment level 5.2.1 UNDP Approach to Capacity Development 5.2.2 Twining Arrangement 5.2.3 Institutional and Legal Framework 5.2.4 Leadership and Coordination Mechanism 5.2.5 User-Producer Dialogue on official statistics 5.2.6 Access to Information and Knowledge 5.2.7 Improvement of Administrative Data System 5.2.8 Gender Mainstreaming 5.3 Capacity Development at organizational level 5.3.1 Rationalization of Organisational Structure 5.3.2 Organisational Culture and Management Style 5.3.3 Reward Management 5.3.4 Human Resource Development 5.3.5 Improve Capacity of Provincial Statistical Offices (PSOs) 5.3.6 Improve Statistical Infrastructure 5.3.7 Improve Data collection and Analytical Capabilities 5.3.8 Build Physical infrastructure 5.3.9 Acquire/Upgrade ICT Infrastructure 5.3.10 Financial Resources 5.3.11 Mutual Accountability Mechanisms 5.3.12 Inclusion, Participation, Equity & Empowerment

52 52 52 52 52 53 54 55 55

59-107 59 59 59 60 61 62 64 64 65 66 67 67 67 68 69 70 70 71 73 73 74 75 75

5.4 Capacity Development at individual level 5.4.1 Build and Nurture Statistical Manpower 5.4.2 Training Needs Analysis

76 76 77



5.4.3 Training and Development Strategy 5.4.4 Statistical Training to CSO staff 5.4.5 Coaching to senior management of CSO 5.5 Capacity Development Response Matrix for 2011-14

78 80 80

81-107 6 IMPLEMENTATION, MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF CDP 6.1 Implementation of the CD Response 6.2 Challenges of Implementation 6.3 Monitoring and Evaluation of implementation of CDP 6.4 Limitations of the CDP 6.5 Concluding Remarks

108-112 108 110 111 111 112

REFERENCES 113-114

ANNEXURES 115-136

Annexure-I: ANDS Monitoring and Evaluation Indicators

Annexure-II: Department wise Human Resource Chart of CSO

Annexure-III: Worksheet for Assessment of Common Functional Capacity in Core Issues at Enabling Environment and Organisational levels of CSO (March 2011)

115

119

129



EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. The National Institution Building Project (NIBP), UNDP Afghanistan supports the Ministries/Agencies of Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRA) in their capacity development by following an integrated and systematic approach. In one hand it provides advisory services of a Capacity Development Advisor (CDA) for their institutional and organizational capacity development including coaching and mentoring of individuals, on the other hand it promotes twinning arrangements for them with the corresponding Ministries/ Agencies of other countries in the region for transfer of specialized international/regional know-how through short-term interactions and training. The Central Statistics Organisation (CSO) is presently one of the seven Ministries/Agencies in Afghanistan to receive such kind of support under NIBP, UNDP Afghanistan. It has been provided with the services of an expert Statistician from the Indian Statistical Service as CDA and it has also signed a twinning Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India under the south-south cooperation to enable transfer of specialized statistical knowledge and expertise to Afghanistan. 2. This comprehensive Capacity Development Plan (CDP) has been prepared by NIBP CDA in collaboration with the CSO and in wider consultation with the key stakeholders and donors of CSO by adapting the global UNDP capacity assessment (CA) and capacity development (CD) methodology to Afghanistan situation. Based on stakeholder engagement and assessment of capacity assets and needs in CSO, the CD response has been formulated to develop capacities at all three levels where these are grown and nurtured: in an enabling environment, in organizations and within individuals. 3. The detailed Organisational Assessment and Situational Analysis of CSO carried out in chapter two indicate that CSO has a modest but ruptured historical background. The capacity of CSO has been affected by three decades of war and destruction. When the transitional Government of Afghanistan, after 2001, started work on rebuilding and rehabilitation of the country, an acute need of comprehensive, reliable and timely data was felt, but by that time the capacity of CSO and different Ministries/Departments to generate such data was found to be extremely limited. The CSO confronted with serious human resource, financial and infrastructure constraints. The previous efforts by international agencies since 2001 to develop statistical capacity of CSO have not yielded the desired results due to various reasons, including attempts to do too much too quick, without focus on longer-term capacity development; donor-led agenda, undermining the national strategies and inattention to motivational and local ownership issues. In recent years, the CSO has made tremendous efforts to improve its statistical capacity. In October 2010, it obtained a World Bank administered multi-donor Statistics for Results Facility (SRF) project with a budget provision of US$ 14.0 million to strengthen statistical capacity in Afghanistan by operationalizing the Afghanistan National Statistical Plan (ANSP). However, the real challenge still remains as to the utilization of the fund in priority areas, given the low capacity level in CSO.



4. The CSO has got a clear mandate under Statistics Law 2006 and a strategic role in monitoring and evaluation of Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) and MDGs. An assessment of the existing capacity assets of CSO shows that it has got good organizational and manpower structure with 10 Departments and 548 permanent staff, including 146 in 34 Provincial Statistical Offices. H.E. Mr. A.R. Ghafoori, President General is the Head of the CSO. The CSO carries out NRVA and other routine surveys with assistance of external agencies and donors. It also compiles National Accounts, Statistical Yearbook, Population estimates and Price and Trade statistics. However, there is widespread shortage of skills in most of the technical areas, such as sampling design, survey management, data processing and database management, census design and operation, national accounts, HRM and training.

5. In Chapter three, statistical capacity assessment of CSO has been carried out by adapting the frameworks of and assessments made by other international organizations like World Bank, UNSD, PARIS21, DFID, etc. The World Bank Statistical Capacity Indicator scores for 2010 reflect that Afghanistan’s statistical capacity is at very low level in comparison to other low and middle income countries. On a rating scale of 0-100, Afghanistan scores 39, 40, 20 and 57 in respect of four summary indicators – overall, methodology, source data and periodicity & timeliness, while other countries score 65, 56, 61 and 78 respectively. As per the assessment made by the NIBP CDA, the overall score of CSO in 6 major statistical capacity building indicators in nine technical areas is 2.2 (in a rating scale of 1 to 4).

6. By adapting the UNDP Capacity Assessment Framework, functional capacity assessment has been done for CSO in eight relevant core capacity development issues in five cross-cutting common functional areas at two points of entry: enabling environment and organizational. The summary results and analysis have been given in Chapter four. With overall low scores of 2.86 and 2.62 (in a rating scale of 1 to 5), the core functional areas of “Access to Information & Knowledge” at enabling environment level and “Human Resource” at organisational level need immediate attention. Based on the capacity assessments done in the preceding two chapters on statistical capacity as well as functional capacity, in Chapter five Capacity Development Response to 32 identified capacity needs of CSO have been recommended at enabling environment, organisational and individual levels. The CD Response Matrix in chapter five contains all the 32 capacity needs and the suggested activities including the updated activities mentioned in the ANSP and in alignment with the budget provisions of SRF, but with clearly defined timelines, expected outputs, indicators and responsible partners.

7. The visible impact of the successful implementation of the CDP would be rationalized organization structures, trained human resource, availability and optimal use of statistical, ICT and physical infrastructure, better budget utilization and improved statistical products, standards and dissemination of data for evidence based decision making and policy formulation. Monitoring and evaluation of CD response is a must to indicate mid-course correction in the Plan, if necessary. The concluding Chapter deals with implementation, monitoring and evaluation, challenges and limitations of the CDP.



INTRODUCTION 1.1 From Capacity Building to Capacity Development After decades of experimenting with development models in transition and post-conflict countries, UNDP has recognized the value of local ownership and indigenous capacity in the development of such countries. Of late, UNDP has therefore moved from its approach of capacity building through provision of international coach who coaches local staff in a ministry for a limited period of time to the approach of capacity development (CD) with a focus on empowering and strengthening endogenous capabilities in a sustainable manner. Assignment of Capacity Development Advisor (CDA), institutional twinning, coaching and mentoring programmes are integral parts of this approach. UNDP now sees capacity development as the process through which individuals, organizations and societies obtain, strengthen and maintain the capabilities to set and achieve their own development objectives over time. This is based on the assumption that ‘developing countries should own, design, direct, implement and sustain the process themselves’. It values ‘best fit’ for the context over ‘best practice’, realizing that ‘one size does not fit all’.

1.2 The NIBP in Afghanistan The National Institution Building Project (NIBP) under the aegis of UNDP in Afghanistan, built upon the proven and successful experience of the two UNDP projects, namely, Capacity for Afghan Public Services (CAP) Project and Civil Service Leadership Development (CSLD) Project, brings the experiences of both the projects under a single project framework to provide a coordinated, up-scaled and comprehensive package of CD support required by the government at the national and sub-national levels. The General Directorate of Programs' Design and Management (GDPDM) of the Independent Administrative Reform and Civil Service Commission (IARCSC) of the Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRA) is the implementing agency for the Project. The GDPDM is responsible and accountable for managing the project, including monitoring and evaluation of project interventions, achieving project outputs, and effective use of resources. The primary objectives of the NIBP is to strengthen national institutional capacity and to create an efficient and capable public sector workforce through development of institutions and civil service at the national and sub-national levels, establishment of accountability mechanisms and effective utilization of resources for better service delivery. It will enhance capacity within the Ministries/Agencies at all three points where capacity is grown and nurtured: in an enabling environment, in organizations and within individuals. The visible impact would be better budget utilization, rationalized organization structures, trained civil servants and improved service delivery.



1.3 UNDP/NIBP Approach to CA and CD NIBP follows an integrated and systematic approach to Capacity Development. It supports the Ministries/Agencies of GIRA by providing Capacity Development Advisors (CDAs) for their institutional and organizational capacity development including coaching and mentoring for skill development of individuals and also by promoting twinning arrangements for them with the corresponding Ministries/ Agencies of other countries in the region for transfer of specialized international /regional know-how through advisory services, short-term interactions and training. NIBP follows a structured approach to capacity development in the chosen Ministry/Agency. At the outset, a comprehensive Capacity Development Plan (CDP) is prepared by its CDA under the active guidance of NIBP Project Manager and in consultation with the Ministry/Agency by adopting the global UNDP CD methodology which essentially involves iterative process of five steps, i.e., stakeholder engagement, assessment of capacity assets and needs, formulation of a CD response for developing capacities at all three levels, implementation of the CD response and monitoring and evaluation of CD response, as depicted in Fig.1. NIBP, with this approach of CDP along with the twining arrangement, is expected to be highly relevant and responsive in the sustainable capacity development of GIRA. Fig.1: UNDP Capacity Development Process

Source: UNDP Capacity Development Practice Note, October 2008



1.4 Structure of the CDP The objective of this document is to develop an integrated CDP for the Central Statistics Organisation (CSO), GIRA where the UNDP/NIBP CDA is placed, following the methodology and approach of the UNDP as discussed above and also the statistical assessment frameworks of other international organizations like World Bank, UNSD, PARIS21. This Plan document is organized into six chapters. After a brief introductory chapter, second Chapter embodies the detailed Organisational Assessment and Situational Analysis of CSO including its historical background, review of previous capacity building efforts and why they have not yielded the expected results and the current capacity development efforts being undertaken in CSO. It also contains an overview of the organizational and manpower structure of CSO, its mandate and role in monitoring and evaluation of Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) and MDGs, the existing capacity assets of CSO including routine surveys/ censuses to fulfill its mandate and responsibilities. Chapter three bears a detailed discussion on the need for official statistics in development policy cycle, the UN fundamental principles of official statistics and different tools of statistical capacity assessment on the basis of which the existing statistical capacity of CSO and the data quality in the Afghanistan National Statistical System (ANSS) are assessed following the framework of and assessments made by other international organizations like World Bank, UNSD, PARIS21, DFID, etc. Chapter four contains the results and analysis of detailed capacity assessment done for CSO, following the UNDP Capacity Assessment Framework, in eight relevant core capacity development issues in five cross-cutting common functional areas at enabling environment and organizational level. Chapter five contains the Capacity Development Response to the capacity assessments done in the preceding two chapters on statistical capacity as well as core functional capacity at enabling environment and organisational levels. It also contains capacity development response at individual level, twinning arrangements and the capacity development response matrix at all the three levels. The concluding Chapter contains implementation, monitoring and evaluation, challenges and limitations of implementation of the CDP with concluding remarks.

His Excellency President General of CSO and NIBP CDA had a quick run of the final draft CDP before the key external stakeholder consultation workshop on 5th June 2011.



SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS AND ORGANISATIONAL ASSESSMENT

2.1 Historical Background of CSO

2.1.1 A brief historical review of statistical system in Afghanistan can provide a backdrop to the current situational analysis of the Central Statistics Organisation (CSO). The CSO was established in 1971 prior to which there was a small Statistics Department in the Ministry of Planning. At the time of its establishment, CSO was assigned the responsibility for the collection, analysis and publication of secondary data, largely administrative data provided by sectoral ministries. At a later date it took on the task of compiling key statistical series such as National Accounts, Consumer Prices Indices and Population and Demographic data. The CSO also undertook some limited surveys on health and education as well as sample surveys within Kabul and was involved in the preparation of various national Plans drawn by the Ministry of Planning. The CSO collected and analyzed data based on the implementation of the Plan both at the Central and Provincial levels.

2.1.2 Following the Soviet takeover in 1979, the emphasis shifted to the collection of data on agriculture, transport and communications and statistics on the internal movement of food and nonfood items throughout the country. National accounting aggregates were complied on the basis of the Net Material Product System. Two special aspects of the statistical work merit special mention. The organization of CSO was largely patterned on the Soviet statistical structures, emphasizing a compartmentalized and top down system. Second, concepts and methods emphasized complete reporting. Provincial statistical offices were established gradually over a period of time from 1973 to 1978. The work of the CSO in these offices was to collect all socio-economic data from the various ministries' provincial offices as well as the provincial government.

2.1.3 With the outbreak of hostilities in the 1980's, all communication between different parts of the country ceased and it became impossible to do statistical work in the Provinces. The CSO in Kabul found it impossible to maintain any form of communication with its Provincial offices and work in these offices largely collapsed. The mid 1980's signalled the end of Provincial offices. These offices were closed or just abandoned. The level and importance of the work of the CSO gradually declined. In 1992 the CSO was closed for all intents and purposes. With the takeover by the Taliban which had little interest in the functioning of the government sector, no efforts were made to rebuild the CSO.



2.1.4 Thus, the constant struggle, war and destruction during almost last three decades destroyed the statistical systems and the capacity of the country to take up statistical activities. When the Transitional Government of Afghanistan, after 2001, started work on rebuilding and rehabilitation of the country, an acute need of comprehensive, reliable and timely data was felt but by that time the capacity of CSO and different ministries / departments to generate such data was found to be extremely limited. The CSO confronted with serious human resource, financial and infrastructure constraints.

2.1.5 As far as the history of statistical activities is concerned, the CSO conducted a nationwide population census in 1979 and a sample household survey of income and expenditures in Kabul in 1981. Since then its only major experience has been to conduct two pre-census household listings, one in 2003-05, and another in 2009, with the first of these followed by data collection at 1 in 200 households. These field activities were supported by Geographic Information System (GIS) in the form of preparing maps, as well as data entry. In addition, the IT section at CSO was also involved in data entry for the National Risk and Vulnerability Survey (NRVA) in 2007-08, although NRVA field activities were confided to an external group. Furthermore, in May 2009, CSO conducted a sample survey of establishments, the first sample survey since 1981. Besides collecting monthly price data for the Consumer Price Index, the main function of CSO had simply been to collect administrative data from various government agencies, as well as compulsory reports from various establishments, mostly governmental ones.

2.2 Review of Previous Capacity Building Efforts

2.2.1 In response to the statistical situation described above, efforts were started to build the capacity of CSO and other stakeholders in the statistical system of Afghanistan. The international response was twofold. First, a number of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and International Agencies mounted ad-hoc data collection efforts. Second, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank mounted missions to make preliminary assessments of the statistical capacities in Afghanistan. These reviews indicated the need for a long-term strategy for the development of a viable and sustainable statistical capacity. A Statistical Master Plan was prepared in 2004 by a Joint Inter-Agency Mission under the leadership of Mr. Datuk R. Chander with representatives from ADB, DFID, IMF, etc. The Joint Mission held extensive consultations with key stakeholders that included the CSO, the central agencies of TISA (the Vice President, the Independent Civil Service Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, and the Da Afghanistan Bank), line Ministries and agencies, and representatives of the specialized agencies and NGOs active in the statistical area in Afghanistan. In addition, the Mission met with a small number of bilateral donors that are



supporting statistical initiatives in Afghanistan. The Statistical Master Plan recommended wide ranging interventions to strengthen the statistical system. But the implementation and financing of the Plan remained a problem due to the donor fragmentation and low capacity of CSO.

2.2.2 In addition to the Statistical Master Plan 2004, many attempts were made in subsequent years to assess the requirements for strengthening the statistical system, which are listed below:

· Report on Mid-Term Review of the ADB TA Project on Poverty Assessment and Socioeconomic and Macroeconomic Statistical Capacity, prepared in June 2006.

· A Proposal for Restructuring and Strengthening Central Statistical Office of Afghanistan, by a UNFPA team, June 2008.

· A Strategic Program for Strengthening CSO building its Capacity, and Conducting the 2010 Population & Housing Census,

2.2.3 As there was not much progress in implementing the 2004 Statistical Master Plan (SMP), a 7 year ‘Capacity Building Plan’ for 2009-15 based on the SMP was prepared by CSO in 2008-09. The Plan, in the form of a list of projects and a budget, including a census of population and housing, a census of agriculture and a census of establishments, was at an estimated budget of $188.6 million. Three donor meetings were held in 2008 and 2009 to get support for the 7-Year Plan and it came out in these meetings that there is need for re-assessment of the Plan to make it more realistic and user-oriented. The Plan also needed to be prioritized and sequenced. Donors suggested that a new Joint-Mission, headed by an experienced Statistician, should look into the existing plans and documents and come up with the new Afghanistan National Statistical Plan (ANSP), with clear priorities and sequences. The members of the Mission included the Leader from European Union, International Advisor/Coach from UNDP in CSO, National Advisor to President General of CSO, Representatives of DFID, World Bank and other line Ministries. The Joint-Mission worked during November 2009 to January 2010 and prepared the ANSP. The Plan was widely discussed and approved by the Task Force on Establishment of Statistical System in Afghanistan with minor revision in August 2010, but implementation of the Plan is yet to start.

2.2.4 In an effort to build the capacity of CSO, UNDP also provided in 2008 an International Coach for CSO under the Capacity for Afghan Public Services (CAP) Project who would coach and train the local staff for a given period of time and prepare a medium term capacity development plan. The International Coach helped in establishing the strategic role of CSO in



monitoring and evaluation of the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS). As required by the NIBP project (successor to CAP project) of UNDP, he also prepared a CDP based on the ANSP for CSO and submitted the Draft in April 2010, but before its finalization he left the assignment.

2.2.5 Previous efforts since 2001 to develop statistical capacity of CSO have not yielded the desired results for various reasons, including

· Attempts to do too much too quick, without focus on longer-term capacity development;

· Donor-led agenda, undermining the national strategies;

· Failure to develop national stake in developing the statistical service;

· Poor coordination of development initiatives and donor activities with inevitable overlaps and duplication of efforts. In most instances CSO has been bypassed.

· Failure to attract donor support for some strategically important elements of statistical activities;

· Inefficient programming of outputs, without due attention to the organizational and functional capacity of CSO;

· Weakness in addressing underlying systemic and institutional issues;

· Inattention to motivational issues and ownership by internal staff.

2.3 Current Capacity Development Efforts

2.3.1 As mentioned above, the capacity of CSO has been affected by three decades of war and destruction and the capacity development efforts for CSO have also been affected by one decade of ad-hoc surveys and stopgap arrangements. Unlike the National Statistical Offices (NSOs) of other countries where one can list particular areas of skills shortages, in CSO there is widespread shortage of skills. The permanent staff of CSO had expanded to about 587 (including 146 staff in provincial offices), of whom 60 are university graduates and 9 have master’s degrees. However after PRR, the staff strength has reduced to 548. Some in leading positions have had long careers at CSO dating back to the seventies and eighties. While the number of staff may be more than adequate, there is an urgent need for specialized skills in such areas as sampling design, survey specialists, survey management, data processing and database management, census design and operation, national accounts specialists and so on.

2.3.2 As the emphasis on the development and reconstruction increased, the demand for statistics became acute. The lack of statistics and data in the ministries/departments affected the evidence-based planning and decision-making processes. Some progress has been achieved



during the reconstruction era to re-establish the statistical system of the country. In recent years, the CSO has made tremendous efforts to improve the statistical system: two important household surveys have been completed and national accounts are being published. But the task of revamping the whole statistical system was overwhelming, and the government and the donors still have much work to accomplish. As pointed out in last sub-section, one problem had been donor fragmentation: different donors supporting different projects with different agencies without any comprehensive view of the requirements, leading to duplication and sub-optimal utilization of the resources. Since 2008, the CSO has shown commitment to strengthening Afghanistan’s statistical capacity. It brought together the main stakeholders, developed partnerships with selected line ministries and promoted donor coordination through the Statistical Task Force formed in late 2009.

2.3.3 With the assistance of representatives of the World Bank and other international organizations, CSO successfully got the approval of a project called AFGHANSTAT: Strengthening the National Statistical System on 7 October 2010 at Project Cost of US$ 14.0 million under the Statistics for Results Facility (SRF). The objective is to strengthen statistical capacity in Afghanistan by operationalizing the ANSP. The SRF Catalytic Fund (SRF-CF) is a multi-donor trust fund administered by the World Bank to provide assistance and catalyze grant resources to developing countries, helping them improve their statistical capacity under the so-called SRF approach. SRF aims to promote system-wide approach in statistics, encourage national dialogue between users and producers, and deliver more effective assistance through coordination and alignment onto national statistical plans. However, the challenge of implementation of the ANSP with due prioritization still remains and ownership has to be taken by the CSO.

2.3.4 NIBP, UNDP Afghanistan, on its part, is supporting the CSO in its present capacity development efforts through provision of the services of a Capacity Development Advisor who is required to develop this comprehensive Capacity Development Plan (CDP) for CSO to address the core development issues in next three to four years. In consultation and collaboration with the CSO top management, the CDP will be built upon by adapting the global UNDP CD methodology which essentially involves iterative process of five steps, i.e., stakeholder engagement, assessment of capacity assets and needs, formulation of a CD response for developing capacities at all three levels, implementation of the CD response and monitoring and evaluation of CD response. It will enhance capacity within the CSO at all three points where capacity is grown and nurtured: in an enabling environment, in organizations and within individuals. The visible impact would be better budget utilization, rationalized organization structures, trained statisticians and improved service delivery of official statistics as a ‘public good’. In addition, NIBP provides institutional support to CSO through ‘twinning arrangements’



with counterpart Ministries/ Agencies of the regional countries under the south-south cooperation.

2.3.5 At present it is especially critical for CSO to develop its statistical capacity for several reasons, including

· Expectations from the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) that requires a wide spectrum of data for monitoring progress towards its goals;

· Imminence of a national population census, which has led the UN Population Fund for Afghanistan (UNFPA) to assess the capacity of CSO to conduct and analyze a census;

· The gradual ownership of CSO of various national household surveys, hitherto taken by ad hoc, external agencies that include the NRVA and the Multi- Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS);

· Implementation of the UNDP/NIBP CDP and operationalisation of ANSP under SRF.

2.4 Stakeholder Analysis

2.4.1 Stakeholders at all levels - international, national, sub-national and local - benefit from official statistics. In the context of Afghanistan, a stakeholder analysis has been carried out to list those stakeholders which are important from capacity development perspective. Depending on the potential power to influence the capacity development of statistical system and the interests they have, all the stakeholders have been placed in a 2 x 2 matrix as shown in the Stakeholders Matrix in Fig.2. It may however be noted that this placement is not rigid and can be adapted to move the existing stakeholders from cell to cell and to include unidentified stakeholders as the CDP progresses.

2.3.2 The influence and interests of various stakeholders listed in the Stakeholders Matrix are quite obvious. However, the roles of Donors, IFIs and the UN Organizations and that of NGOs and Civil Society Organizations need special mention in this context. The ANDS emphasizes that the Government will continue to request support from international partners in “discussing the quality, coverage and timeliness of key data, including possible final and intermediate indicators”. The Strategy paper also supports independent monitoring and reporting by NGOs, CSOs, the media and other civilian bodies which will be a vital part of the overall monitoring and reporting system. The Paper states, “They will play an important role in the external monitoring of the implementation of the ANDS which will be carried out in continuing consultations with NGOs and the civil society, sub-national representatives and the international community”.



Fig.2: Stakeholders Matrix of Afghanistan Statistical System

I N T E R E S T

POWER

HIGH LOW

HIGH

L

OW

Key Players

· Technical Committee on Statistics and National Statistics and Census Committee

· President General, Central Statistics Organization (CSO), the apex official statistics generating and coordinating agency

· Administrative statistics generating and User Ministries and Organisations (e.g. Ministries of Finance, Economy, Rural Rehabilitation and Development, Public Health, Women Affairs, Commerce and Industry, Labour and Social Affairs, Agriculture, and Education, Da Afghanistan Bank, CMRS, JCMB, etc.)

· Independent Administrative Reforms and Civil Service Commission (IAR&CSC)

· UNDP represented by Capacity Development Adviser, Project Manager of National Institution Building Project (NIBP) and Country Director

· International Donors (e.g., World Bank, ADB, DFID, USAID, EU, ILO, UNAMA, UNFPA and other UN Agencies and donor countries)

Keep satisfied

· Parliament · Ministers and Dy

Ministers of ‘line ministries’

· Heads of Departments of CSO and key functionaries

· Heads of Provincial Offices

· Political Leaders · Media

Keep informed

· Data Users (Industry and Commerce Associations, Research Institutions, NGOs, International organizations, etc)

· Project Impl. & Coordination Team (PICT) of SRF and NRVA Team

· Authorities and officials of the twining partner

Minimum effort

· Staff at lower levels · Service Providers · National Consultants



2.5 Vision, Mission and Mandate of CSO

Vision: To meet all the data needs of the development processes and governance of the country.

Mission: To develop a vibrant, responsive, efficient and affective statistical system in the country.

Mandate: Article 2 of the Statistics Law 2006 of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has given the following mandate to CSO:

“Central Statistics Organization shall function, as an independent governmental administration, for the purpose of creating an integrated scientific system for statistics, ensuring harmonization and coordination of all statistical activities in the nation”

Duties and Responsibilities: Article 8 of the Statistics Law 2006 has authorized CSO to discharge the following duties and responsibilities:

(1) To collect, compile, analyze and publish statistical information relating to the commercial, industrial, financial, social, economic, environmental and general activities and condition of the people;

(2) To collaborate with Ministries and administrations of the State in the collection, compilation and publication of statistical information, including statistics derived from the activities thereof;

(3) To prevent duplication in the information collected by Ministries and governmental administrations or by agencies other than the State;

(4) To promote and develop integrated social and economic statistics throughout the country, and to coordinate unified plans for the integration thereof;

(5) To develop and prescribe appropriate classifications and standards for use by ministry (Ministries) and other administrations of the State;

(6) To progressively develop and maintain appropriate databases containing statistical information, and to facilitate access to the database to all users, except for confidential information as provided for in this law;

(7) To decide on the manner in which data for statistical purposes are collected, how they are compiled and when and how statistics are published.



2.6 Role of CSO in M&E of ANDS

2.6.1 Besides the mandate given to CSO under Statistics Law 2006, the Afghanistan National Development Strategy (ANDS) has also defined the strategic role of CSO in monitoring and evaluation of ANDS itself. As the country's Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), the ANDS consists of three phases: (i) formulation (ii) implementation and (iii) monitoring and evaluation. The monitoring and evaluation phase runs parallel to implementation, allowing actions and measures taken to be monitored, providing an indication of their efficiency and effectiveness in meeting poverty reduction and development targets. The Afghanistan Compact benchmarks and the MDGs have been integrated into the ANDS Sector Strategies. The Joint Coordination and Monitoring Board (JCMB) Secretariat, as the body responsible for high-level co-ordination, together with the line ministries, will play a key role in high-level, strategic monitoring of the implementation of the Afghanistan Compact and the MDGs. The role of CSO in monitoring and evaluation of the ANDS has been clearly spelt out. As a matter of principle, the ANDS emphasizes maintaining “transparency and accountability and encouraging support from NGOs, the Central Statistics Office and citizens in the provision of data and analysis of findings” and building the “core institutional capacities needed to sustain M&E processes, both within the CMRS, as well as the CSO, NRVA and line ministry systems”.

2.6.2 The institutional structure for monitoring will include a number of government, donor and non-government institutions; however the JCMB, line ministries and the CSO will play the most important roles. The Central Monitoring and Reporting System (CMRS) within the JCMB Secretariat and Ministry of Economy will act as the central machinery of Government to support the monitoring and reporting process. Alongside the CSO, it will provide the central hub for all national monitoring as an apex monitoring body, with a particular focus on monitoring and evaluating the impact of the Compact and the ANDS. It will not function in isolation but will bring together existing information from the CSO, consumer price indices, the NRVA, Afghanistan Financial Monitoring Information System, Afghanistan Country Stability Picture (for ISAF), Afghanistan Information Management Service, Donor Assistance Database and GeoBase, the Project and Activity Tracking system of USAID/Afghanistan as well as sectoral ministries. The CMRS will focus on data analysis and reporting of outputs, outcomes and impacts. There will be no conflict between the roles of the CMRS and the CSO, as they will be at two opposite pillars of the data systems. While the CSO will concentrate on data collection through various means including surveys and their reporting, the CMRS will be collating the filtered data produced by the CSO and will facilitate various monitoring processes and disseminate information. They will in fact complement each other. The role of these surveys will be further expanded so that they can meet the immediate data needs of the other sectors. The multi-purpose household surveys will be conducted under the supervision and guidance of the CSO.



To monitor the impact on poverty, the NRVA and the future household budget surveys will serve as the key source for monitoring for critical poverty and social outcome indicators and completion of the reports on poverty situation.

2.6.3 The Line Ministries/Departments will continue to collect sector relevant information to monitor the output and sectoral outcome of national spending through the ANDS. The CMRS and CSO will work closely with line ministries to standardize methodological approaches to monitor national programs. The Ministry of Economy will be responsible for the wider inter-ministerial coordination.

2.6.4 The CSO will remain the main provider of primary and secondary information in relation to national statistics, as an input to the CMRS. The CSO will continue to compile official statistics on national accounts, prices, external trade, population and demographics for monitoring economic, financial, and structural policies as well as other operations that will provide lots of quality information for improving the monitoring framework. The ANDS document states that “the capacity of the CSO will be strengthened so that a meaningful statistical system is put in place for providing useful data on various macro-economic processes and important sectors. It is necessary for this purpose to strengthen the collection of operational data in various sectors through respective agencies. The CSO will coordinate data collection systems in various ministries and organizations”.

2.6.5 The ANDS also recognizes the role of NRVA and other surveys conducted by CSO in monitoring and evaluation of the programs. The document states, “One of the most important data-capturing exercises has been the NRVA surveys, from which the current poverty line has been calculated”. Three NRVA surveys have already been conducted that provides critical information on poverty. In order to evaluate effects of implementation of the ANDS on poverty reduction, the JCMB Secretariat will be producing reports on poverty situation on three-year basis to coincide with the completion of the NRVA surveys, which will continue to be the most important instrument for collection of the poverty related data and produce annual progress reports on 25 indicators of the MDGs.

2.6.6 The measurement and analysis of poverty, inequality, and vulnerability are crucial for formulating policies and therefore Government has developed poverty and vulnerability surveys largely based on income and consumption data, disaggregated by province, household, agro-economic zone, gender and household size, among other factors. The process of data collection and analysis under NRVA 2007-08 has led to a far deeper understanding of the causes of poverty and defining a new poverty line. The Strategy Paper outlines the overall poverty monitoring and strategy design process undertaken in formulating and implementing the ANDS. The CSO will play a pivotal role in providing information to decision-makers as part of this



process and addressing the constraints within the various sector strategies. One can observe from Table 13.1 of ANDS (Annexure I of the CDP) that out of 99 ANDS monitoring and evaluation indicators for all the responsible sectoral Ministries/Agencies, CSO alone has been given the responsibility of providing 43 indicators, including the 15 Economic Indicators shown under the responsibility of DAB and MoF with Data Source as National Accounts compiled by CSO. In addition, CSO as the apex statistical agency needs to help and coordinate the data collection activities of other agencies in order to enable them to compile some of the indicators.

2.6.7 In establishing an effective monitoring and evaluation systems for the ANDS and MDGs, based on relevant official and administrative statistics, CSO has to play a key role in determining the following: (i) goals, indicators and targets (ii) levels of data disaggregation including by province and gender; (iii) appropriate targets, for example through the MDGs, Compact and ANDS sectoral levels; (iv) data requirements to meet the minimum standards of a PRSP; and (v) the frequency of data collection and monitoring. Data requirements to feed into the input, output, outcome and impact assessment process are to be gradually established. However, due to weak statistical data, the base-lines for a number of key development and poverty indicators are yet to be established. This is going to be an important priority for the implementation of the ANDS, which states that “strengthening of the CSO and the capacity of the line ministries will be essential for establishing clear baselines. These efforts will include mapping intermediate indicators with final outcomes”.

2.7 Role of CSO in monitoring the MDGs of Afghanistan

The CSO has been given the responsibility not only to compile 28 indicators for monitoring and evaluation of ANDS goals, but also to make available official statistics through surveys/census and administrative data for compiling the following 34 indicators (some of which overlap with those of the ANDS indicators) for monitoring the MDGs set for Afghanistan:

1. Proportion of population below national poverty line

2. Poverty gap ratio [incidence x depth of poverty]

3. Share of poorest quintile in national consumption

4. Prevalence of underweight children under-five years of age

5. Proportion of population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption

6. Net enrolment ratio in primary education

7. Proportion of pupils starting grade 1 who reach grade 5

8. Literacy rate of 15-24 year-olds



9. Ratios of girls to boys in primary, secondary and tertiary education

10. Ratio of literate women to men, 15-24 years old

11. Share of women in wage employment in the non-agricultural sector

12. Under-five mortality rate

13. Infant mortality rate

14. Proportion of 1 year-old children immunized against measles

15. Maternal mortality ratio

16. Proportion of births attended by skilled health personnel

17. Condom use rate of the contraceptive prevalence rate

18. Condom use at last high-risk sex

19. Percentage of population aged 15-24 years with comprehensive correct

20. Contraceptive prevalence rate

21. Ratio of school attendance of orphans to that of non-orphans

22. Proportion of population using solid fuels

23. Proportion of population with sustainable access to an improved water source, urban

24. Proportion of population with access to improved sanitation, urban and rural

25. Proportion of households with access to secure tenure

26. Unemployment rate of young people aged 15-24 years, each sex and total

27. Telephone lines and cellular subscribers per 100 population

28. Personal computers in use per 100 population

29. PC and Internet users per 100 population

30. Proportion of children under age 15 who are working

31. Employment to population of working age ratio

32. Unemployment rate

33. Number of persons per room, or average floor area per person

34. Unemployment rate of young people aged 15-24 years, each sex and total

2.8 Organizational Structure of CSO

2.8.1 With the assistance of an Institutional Reform Consultant funded by ADB and other stakeholders, the CSO has got a new organizational structure for itself. The structure based on a



functional view of activities, was slightly modified to take into account suggestions from other relevant organs of the government. The CSO has also been given Priority Restructuring & Reform (PRR) status, which means better terms of pay and other conditions of employment for its employees. This is recognition of its importance to the Government and will add to the motivation and morale of the staff. 2.8.2 Under this new structure, the CSO is to be headed by a Director General who will be assisted in the overall management by the Statistical Advisor and two Deputy Director Generals. The Statistical Advisor, with statistical experience, will be the general adviser on all matters dealing with official statistics. Of the two Deputy Director Generals, one will be responsible for Strategic Planning and Donor Relation (DDG-SP&DR) whilst the other will be responsible for all operational matters (DDG-O). The two DDG will have line responsibilities for all of the eight divisions. Besides this Top Management Group (TMG), there will be eight Directors of Divisions, which will constitute the Senior Management Group (SMG) of CSO. These eight Divisions will be Strategic Planning, Donor Relations, Management Services, Economic Statistics, National Accounts, Data Dissemination and Media relations, Demographic & Social Statistics and Field Operations and Sampling. 2.8.3 The process of implementing this new organizational structure is however yet to complete. Whatever be the reasons, the CSO is presently headed by H.E. Mr. Abdul Rahman Ghafoori, President General, with the rank of a Minister to the Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. As the position of Deputy President General (rank of Dy Minister) of CSO has fallen vacant recently, he is now assisted by Mr. Esmatullah Ramzi, Statistical Adviser, at Super Grade level. With a slight variation from the above recommended structure, there are at present 10 Departments, headed by two officers at the level of Super Grade and eight officers at the level of Grade 1, as shown in the Organizational Chart of CSO in Fig.3. Besides these and other permanent positions, the chart also exhibits the important Committees and temporary positions in the decision making channels of the Organization. As on 26.03.2011, the total permanent staff (Tashkeel) of CSO is 548, which has been reduced from 587 after the PRR. In addition, CSO has more than 200 contract employees to carry out ad hoc activities. Besides its Central Office at Kabul, the CSO has also got Provincial Statistical Offices in all the 34 Provinces of Afghanistan. The details of these offices with distribution of staff strength of 146 by grade can be seen in Fig.4.



Fig.3: Organizational Structure/ Reporting Channels of Central Statistics Organisation (CSO) (Government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan)

(As on 26.03.2011)

Positions/Reporting Arrangements: _______ : Permanent; ……… : Temporary

President General H.E. Mr Abdul Rahman Ghafoori

UNDP/NIBP Capacity Development Adviser

Dr P C Mishra

National Statistics and Census Committee

Dept of Demography & Social Statistics Ms Rahila Arif

Dept of Field Operations & Sampling

Mr M. Sami Nabi

Dept of National Accounts

Mr M. Ibrahim Naimi

Technical Committee on Statistics

Statistical Adviser to President General

Mr E. Ramzi

Dept of Dissemin & Mass Media

Mr Edmarjan Samoon

Dept of Economic Statistics

Mr Azizulla Faqiri

Dept of Hqrs Office Mr Ahmed Zia

Ahmad Zai

Dept of Internal Audit Dr Jabbar Isaqzai

Dept of Planning & Donor Relations

Mr Mustafa Zurmati

PICT of SRF PC- Mr Rajabekov

NRVA Team TL-Dr Jan Bartlema

Statistical Task Force for Statistics for Results Facility

(SRF)

Steering Committee for National Risk & Vulnerability

Assessment (NRVA)

MIS Office Head - Mr Ali

Statistical Training Centre

Mr A. Bawari

Dy President General (vacant)

Provincial Statistics Offices (34)

Secretary to Dy PG Secretary to PG Mr Alias

Dept of Admin & Finance

Mr Abdul Wahed Sael



Grade No. in Position

Grade 2 34 Grade 3 6 Grade 4 50 Grade 5 12 Grade 6 41 Grade 7 3

Total 146

Fig.4: Organizational Chart of Provincial Statistical Offices of CSO - Staff Strength by Grade (As on 26.03.2011)

President General

Deputy President

General

Laghman Provincial Division (3) Nangarhar Provincial Division (9)

Paktika Provincial Division (5)

Konar Provincial Division (4)

Logar Provincial Division (3) Ghazni Provincial Division (3)

Ghor Provincial Division (3) Harat Provincial Division (9)

Badakhshan Provincial Division Takhar Provincial Division (3)

Faryab Provincial Division (5) Jawzjan Provincial Division (4)

Balkh Provincial Division (9) Kunduz Provincial Division (6)

Wardak Provincial Division (3) Kabul Provincial Division (9)

Samangan Provincial Division (3) Baghlan Provincial Division (3)

Bamyan Provincial Division (3) Khost Provincial Division (5)

Nooristan Provincial Division (3) Sar-e- Pul Provincial Division (3)

Nimroz Provincial Division (3) Zabul Provincial Division (3)

Parwan Provincial Division (3)

Kapisa Provincial Division (3)

Farah Provincial Division (4) Urozgan Provincial Division (3)

Kandahar Provincial Division (7) Helmand Provincial Division (4)

Panjsher Provincial Division (3) Daykundy Provincial Division (3)

Paktya Provincial Division (5) Badghis Provincial Division (3)



2.9 The Human Resource Structure of CSO The Department-wise staff strength by Grade is given in Table-1 and depicted in Fig.5, which show that the distribution of human resources among the Departments are quite uneven and needs restructuring. The HR Chart depicted in Fig.6 indicates that the career progression of staff is not good and the stagnation is quite high at Grade III to Grade VI in most of the Departments. An overview of each Department is given in the following sub-section and the manpower structure for each Functional Department is given in Annexure-II. 2.10 An Overview of the Departments of CSO

Under the current organizational structure there are 10 Departments in addition to the Division of Provincial Statistics consisting of 34 Provincial Offices which is directly looked after by the President General of CSO with assistance from the Department of Administration and Finance in the absence of the Deputy President General. The human resource structure, main functions and key activities of these Departments are summarized in the following sub-sections.

2.10.1 Department of Internal Audit: It is headed by Dr Jabbar Isaqzai, a very senior and experienced person at the Super Grade level. He is assisted by three General Managers of Quality Control, Work Evaluation and Internal Audit, each at Grade 3 and 7 staff members including his Secretary. Thus the total staff strength is 11. The objective of the Department is to ensure that CSO conforms to the ethical standards and other administrative and financial guidelines established by the Government. The aim is also to ensure that there is transparency in the functioning of CSO within the framework of the Statistical Laws.

2.10.2 Department of Planning and Donor Relations: It is headed by Mr Mustafa Zurmati, a very senior and experienced person at Super Grade level. He is assisted by two Divisional Heads of Donor Relations and Planning at Grade 2 level each. The total staff strength is 14. The Department mainly deals with the budget, Annual Plan and donor relations. The SRF Project Implementation and Coordination Team (PICT) report to the President General (the Director of the Project) through Mr. Zurmati.



Table 1: Staff Strength of Central Statistics Organisation (CSO), Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (As on 26.03.2011)

Department/Office Grade

Total > > >1 > > 1 >1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

President General (PG) 1 1 2

Dy President General 1 1 2

Adviser to PG 1 1 2

Internal Audit 1 3 3 3 1 11

Planning & Donor Relations 1 2 4 2 3 2 14

Hqrs Office 1 2 4 4 3 14

Administration & Finance 1 4 6 11 15 13 3 53

Field Operation & Sampling 1 2 9 24 59 78 173

National Accounts 1 1 4 8 8 2 24

Dissemination & Media Relations 1 3 3 3 4 14

Demography & Social Statistics 1 1 5 8 11 5 31

Economic Statistics 1 1 8 16 17 8 2 53

Statistical Training 1 1 2 1 4 9

Provincial Statistics 34 6 50 12 41 3 146

Total CSO 1 1 3 8 46 52 131 140 158 8 548

Note: >>>1: Out of Rank; >>1: Above Rank and >1: Super Grade



0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

Num

ber o

f Em

ploy

ees

Departments/Offices

Fig.5: Department-wise Composition of Staff by Grade in CSO

Above Grade I

Grade I

Grade II

Grade III

Grade IV

Grade V

Grade VI

Grade VII

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Perc

enta

ge o

f Em

ploy

ees

Departments/Offices

Fig.6: Department-wise Career Progression of Staff by Grade in CSO

Above Grade I

Grade I

Grade II

Grade III

Grade IV

Grade V

Grade VI

Grade VII



2.10.3 Department of Economic Statistics: It is headed by Mr. Azizulla Faqiri at Grade 1 level. He is assisted by Dy Head at Grade 2 and 8 Division Heads at Grade 3 each. The total staff strength is 53. The details of the Divisions and Units can be seen from the Departmental Chart at Annexure-II. The main function of the Department is to compile economic data from Administrative Ministries/Agencies. The information is used for computing the National Accounts and also for publishing in the Annual Statistical Year Book. The Department sends out various forms (some 51 forms) to government authorities and private entities in all of the 34 Provinces and the National Government to collect the administrative data. One main activity of this Department is the collection and publication of Trade data. The department sends questionnaires directly to central and provincial customs offices every month to obtain information on external trade - export and import values and quantities. The information is reported to the Ministry of Commerce and the Afghanistan Central Bank. For internal trade, forms are sent to Provincial CSO offices quarterly, to collect sales and revenue data for government offices and public enterprises. The trade data excludes extensive barter trade. For all other Divisions, information is generally collected by sending sets of forms to identified private firms, public enterprises, and various line ministries and information collected on a range of information from - production volume; production cost including labour; personnel employed; land area cultivated; production of cereals, livestock, fruit etc; number of vehicles- privately and publicly owned; number of passengers; number of digital and mobile phones, etc.

2.10.4 Department of Demography and Social Statistics: It is headed by Ms. Rahila Arif, a young and dynamic officer at Grade 1 level. She is assisted by a very senior and experienced Dy Head at Grade 2 level and five Division Heads at Grade 3 level each. The total staff strength is 31. The details of the Divisions and Units can be seen from the Departmental Chart at Annexure-II. The main function of the Department is to compile social and demographic data from Administrative Ministries/Agencies for the Annual Statistical Year Book. Almost all of the information collected is administrative data. This Department also assists in conduct of Population Census and makes projection of population based on the Population Census of 2004. This department is also responsible for the processing of Births and Deaths statistics and other demographic statistics.

2.10.5 Department of National Accounts: It is headed by Mr. M. Ibrahim Naimi, a very experienced and dynamic officer at Grade 1 level. He is assisted by five senior officers in National Accounts Division and Consumer Price Index Division at the levels Grade 2 and Grade 3, thus making the total staff strength of the Department as 24. The details of the Divisions and Units can be seen from the Departmental Chart at Annexure-II. From 1978 to 1995 this Department compiled National Accounts following the Material Product System (MPS), estimating Net Material Product (NMP) by six branches at constant prices of 1978. During 1995-



2002 no national accounts had been prepared. Since mid-2002 till recently, with the TA of IMF, the CSO had been preparing national accounts estimates based on UN System of National Accounts (SNA) 1968, starting practically from zero. Currently, the national accounts estimates are broadly following the concepts, definitions, and classifications of the SNA 1993 as the basic data availability permits. However, based on current state of basic data, analytic and policy needs, and resources available for implementation, 1968 SNA concepts are applied in some cases. Improving National Accounts information is one of the key priorities of CSO. This Department also collects price data for six urban areas of Afghanistan and publishes the Consumer Price Index on a monthly basis. Once again there are many areas in CPI that need further improvements, the main one being improvements in the weight used in the compilation of the CPI. This can only be addressed once there is data from a Household Expenditure Survey.

2.10.6 Department of Field Operation and Sampling: This is the largest Department of CSO with total staff strength of 173 (reduced from 214 after the PRR). It is headed by Mr. M. Sami Nabi, a very senior and experienced officer at Grade 1 level. He is assisted by two Grade 2 level officers heading the Data Processing and Field Operations & Sampling Divisions and nine Grade 3 level officers heading different Units - Administration, Database Management, Data Entry, Geographic Information System (GIS), NRVA, Sampling, Survey Design, Field Activities, Establishment Registration. Further details of the manpower structure of the Units can be seen from the Departmental Chart at Annexure-II. This Department is charged with the responsibility for the Census of Population and Housing in addition to the subject responsibilities of the Units listed above.

2.10.7 Department of Dissemination & Media Relations: It is headed by Mr Edmarjan Samoon, an experienced person at Grade 1 level who is assisted by two Grade 2 level officers heading the Publication and Communication Divisions and one Grade 3 level officer in charge of the Printing Division. The total staff strength is 14. The main activities of the Department include publication and printing of CSO documents and dissemination of information. Development and maintenance of Management Information System (MIS) and official website of CSO is looked after by a very well qualified and young MIS officer under the overall responsibility of this Department.

2.10.8 Statistical Training Centre: Mr. A. Bawari is the Director of the STC who is a very qualified and experienced officer at the level of Grade 1. He is assisted by Dy Director of Training at Grade 2 level and two General Managers of Training at Grade 3 level. The total staff strength is 09. Although there is no separate training centre, training rooms are available where Computer training and English training are imparted to the staff. Besides organizing all in-house and local training programmes for CSO staff, the STC also assists the Training Committee in



identifying suitable training schemes for the staff in foreign countries. It also works as the focal point in organizing the seminars and workshops.

2.10.9 Department of Hqrs Office: It is headed by Mr Ahmed Zia Ahmad Zai at the level of Grade 1 who is assisted by two officers at Grade 3 level. The total staff strength is 14. The main function of the Department is to provide general correspondence and documentation service to the office of the President General of CSO and maintain archives and foreign relations.

2.10.10 Department of Administration and Finance: It is headed by Mr Abdul Wahed Sael, a very well qualified and experienced officer at the level of Grade 1. He is assisted by four Grade 2 officers looking after the Human Resource, Budget & Finance, Procurement, Service Administration Divisions and six Grade 3 officers including one in charge of IT Maintenance and Care. The total staff strength is 53. The details of the Divisions and Units can be seen from the Departmental Chart at Annexure-II. This Department provides the routine finance and administrative support to CSO including the consolidation of annual budget, payment of staff salaries and maintenance of personnel records. It maintains the office building, vehicles and other assets of the Organization. It is also responsible for the administration and finances of Provincial Statistical Offices (PSOs). It also oversees the work allocation, training and other technical aspects of the PSOs.

2.10.11Other Statistical Agencies: Although the CSO is the apex agency of generating official statistics in the country, there are other agencies that generate data and must be seen as part of the overall statistical system. Much of the data are based on administrative records e.g. Customs, Budget data, and reporting by particular line ministries staff at Provincial levels. Some line ministries have however started collecting data on their own to meet their specific needs with the help of UN specialized agencies, such as FAO, WHO, ILO, UNICEF etc or other bilateral donors and in some cases NGOs. In most instances these are done without the assistance of the CSO. The data gathering efforts are often driven by their own real or perceived information needs. Thus the Ministry of Agriculture has resumed the collection of crop cutting output data undertaken by agricultural extension workers. The Ministry of Labour, with ILO assistance, has begun collecting ad hoc data linked to ongoing ILO financed projects. Compilation of Monetary Statistics and Balance of Payments Statistics is the responsibility of the Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB). Government finance statistics are based on the data compiled by the Ministry of Finance.



2.11 Main Statistical Activities carried out by CSO

Before assessing the statistical capacity of CSO in the next chapter, it is felt necessary to discuss on the current status of main statistical activities including census and surveys being undertaken by CSO.

2.11.1 National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (NRVA)

The NRVA is the only comprehensive nation-wide multi-purpose household survey in Afghanistan. The last 2007-08 NRVA is the third of three successive rounds of surveys, following NRVA 2003 and 2005. The NRVA 2003 survey was carried out with co-operation of the World Food Programme (WFP) and supported by the Vulnerability Analysis Unit (VAU) of the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD), Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. The second NRVA survey was launched in 2005, with CSO and MRRD as the implementing agencies. The NRVA 2005 was a significant improvement in terms of sampling design and coverage. As a follow-up to the first two surveys, the third NRVA survey was launched in 2007, jointly by MRRD and CSO, and with co-operation and funding from the European Commission. The NRVA 2007-08 was based on a smaller sample of 20,576 households, but with further improvements in the questionnaire, sampling design and coverage. It was designed to provide the government and other agencies with more robust and up-to-date socio-economic data on population structure and change, labour force characteristics, agriculture, poverty, education, health, housing, position of women, household shocks and community preferences and recommendations. It provides information about 25 out of 49 MDG indicators. Although national and regional poverty estimates are available, provincial poverty estimates are neither included in the NRVA report nor available on CSO/NRVA website. The fourth round of NRVA is underway.

2.11.2 Integrated Business Enterprises Survey (IBES) 2009

This is the first comprehensive enterprise survey to collect, compile and analyze data on the level and structure of non-agricultural economic activity in Afghanistan. The survey was carried out from March to June 2009, with technical and financial support from ADB. The CSO staff were involved in every aspect, from the formulation of the design, field operation to data processing. Mr G.C. Manna, an Indian Statistical Service (ISS) officer form India and ADB Consultant, provided the technical expertise on survey methodology including tabulation plan, analysis of data and preparation of the draft report. In terms of geographic coverage, the survey covered all provinces except some districts in disturbed areas. The Survey Report published in January 2011 provides information on main activity, ownership status, nature of the problem, employment, compensation to workers, operating expenses, receipts, Gross Value Added, value of fixed assets and outstanding loans, etc. The constraints of qualified field



personnel, field supervisors and data scrutiny supervisors are clearly felt during the survey. In future surveys, the Report recommended, steps should be taken to overcome the factors responsible for the casualty of a large number enterprise and to control various non-sampling errors.

2.11.3 Census of Population and Housing (CPH)

The last national population census was conducted in 1979 and current population estimates are based on projections based on census data of 1979. The UNFPA has taken major efforts to prepare CSO for the CPH. However, the preliminary work of conducting the new Census such as updating of household listing, pilot census etc. have been delayed because of lack of funds and security situation not conducive for conduct of the Census. Council of Ministers approved postponement of Census from 2008 to 2010 in June 2008. Updating of household listing (HHL) was taken up from August 2009 to January 2010 and data processing is now ongoing. The HHL will provide valuable demographic data for Afghanistan. The CSO plans to carry out a pilot census followed by a full CPH in 2011-12 provided the security situation permits and if training at CSO in CPH-related skills has proceeded to a sufficient extent. Following review by the International Census Advisory Board, in early 2008, a draft questionnaire for the CPH was shortened and simplified, to accommodate the limited capacities of most enumerators. CSO is also prepared to implement the census flexibly in conflict areas.

3.11.4 Multi Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS)

MICS is based on a standardized questionnaire that has been tested and implemented in many developing countries under UNICEF sponsorship, and is very much designed in support of monitoring progress of the MDGs. The MICS process in Afghanistan is being implemented by the Central Statistics Organisation (CSO) with the technical and financial support of UNICEF. MICS was previously carried out in Afghanistan in 1997 and then in 2003 under the aegis of CSO, but with implementation in the hands of an external project, under UNICEF sponsorship. The 2003 MICS was a sincere attempt to obtain data for a wide range of indicators to fulfill the commitment of the Government of Afghanistan has in monitoring the goals of the MDGs, ANDS and World fit for Children Declaration and Plan of Action signed at the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Children in May 2002. MICS 2003 used three modular questionnaires (Household, Women 15-49, and Children Under-5) to measure key indicators on the following topics: Child mortality, Child health, Nutrition, Water and sanitation, Maternal and newborn health, Child development, Education and literacy, Child protection, AIDS (knowledge and attitudes) and household characteristics. However, lack of updated and disaggregated data has been identified as one of the major challenges facing Afghanistan.



Therefore, the Government of Afghanistan and UNICEF defined the implementation of a MICS a priority for 2010, but the fieldwork for data collection is yet to start.

2.11.5 Consumer Price Survey

The Consumer Price Survey is conducted regularly on a monthly basis in Kabul, Herat, Kandahar, Jalalabad, Mazari-e-Sharif and Khost cities. The commodity basket includes 202 important food and non-food items and services, typically consumed by urban middle and low income population. For each item, prices are collected from three shops located in the Central Markets or main shopping centers of each city. The consumer price indices computed from such data are made available to users through CPI bulletin and CSO website. However, there is an increasing need to revisit the consumer basket and hold a fresh family living survey for changing of the base and basket of the price data.

2.11.6 Participation of Women and Men in Decision Making Survey

This survey was undertaken by CSO in collaboration with MOWA, IARCSS and UNWOMEN. The main objective of the survey is to provide government planners, policymakers, administrators, and international organizations with comprehensive, up-to-date and evidence based data on women and men in decision making levels. This survey covered all individuals working in the government at Grade 2 level and above as well as members of National Assembly and Provincial Councils. The survey is to provide information on age, sex, education, marital status, opinion on the problems of women in decision making level. The data collection exercise which was started in 2009 is completed and the survey report is going to be released shortly.

2.11.7 Other Surveys planned for Future

In view of the increasing demands for official statistics by the stakeholders, the surveys planned for immediate future are as follows: Survey of Agriculture, Labor Force Survey, Child Labour Survey, Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES), National Demographic Survey, National Health Survey and Migration Survey.

2.11.8 Statistical Yearbook

The CSO collects information from all major ministries and organizations on their activities in their respective sectors, organizes and publishes information in the form a Statistical Yearbook. The major components of information contained in the Yearbook are:

· Area and Administrative Divisions of Afghanistan · Population Estimates · Education (including culture and media)



· Health · Environment · National Accounts · Agriculture · Industry · Inflation and Foreign Exchange · External Trade · Fiscal Statistics · Donor Assistance

The administrative data are collected through standard CSO forms that each line agency must fill out; many of these forms were developed in the Seventies and Eighties and have not much changed since then. 2.11.9 National Accounts Statistics The CSO computes the National Accounts Statistics for Afghanistan and generates the figures of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) every year with the following Sector-wise break-ups:

· Agriculture - Cereals & others, Fruits, Livestock

· Industries: Mining & Quarrying, Manufacturing, Electricity, Gas, Water and Construction

· Services - Wholesales & retail trade; Transport, Storage, Communication, Finance, Insurance, Product of Government services, Other services.

The Annual Growth rate of the economy as measured by the GDP at current and constant price are also computed. There are many shortcomings and weakness in the national accounts. By their complex nature and the necessity for comprehensive coverage, the national accounts estimates can only be improved if the underlying basic data are improved. The sources of these estimates are often ad-hoc surveys with some administrative reported data. Administrative data are weak, for instance, economic statistics conforming to international standards are not available. External trade data, based on customs records are incomplete and do not conform to international classifications. There are large gaps in the availability of basic economic statistics which exposes the weaknesses in the estimates of GDP. This situation is unlikely to improve until a system of surveys is put in place. But this itself is a challenge due to several factors which include the low capacity of CSO, limited technical assistance delivered by donors, and the prevailing security situation that impacts on collection of field data. It is felt necessary for the National Accounts Department to follow the IMF requirement for GDDS by preparing a technical handbook on Sources and Methods of National Accounts, announcing an advance schedule for GDP releases and for revisions, and dissemination information as per the schedule.



2.11.10 Training Activities

There are some sporadic and ad hoc training activities carried out by the Statistical Training Centre of CSO as and when necessary. Basic training on Computer and English is given almost regularly to CSO staff, but the outcome is not as per the expectation. “Ensuring top management commitment to all training and development activities and involvement of all stakeholders in the entire training process is also crucial to the training effectiveness. It encourages individuals to take ownership of their own development and management to take responsibility for organisational performance and staff development”. 0F

1

2.11.11 Regional Cooperation Activities: Afghanistan is a Member of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) comprising of ten countries in the region. The CSO hosted the 3rd Conference of the Heads of National Statistical Offices (HNSO) of ECO Member Countries on 24th and 25th of May, 2011 in Kabul. It was inaugurated by His Excellency, Mr. Abdul Rahman Ghafoori, President General of CSO and was attended by the Representatives of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Republic of Kazakhstan and Republic of Tajikistan. Representative of the ECO Secretariat, Embassies of other ECO Member Countries and International Organizations such as UNDP, FAO, EC, IMF, DFID, UNFPA, etc also attended the meeting. Regional cooperation in statistical activities, including application of the ECOSTAT, Regional Harmonized Statistical Methodology and Statistical Capacity Building as well as International Cooperation was discussed prominently and agreed upon by all. The NIBP CDA provided inputs to CSO to host the ECO Conference and contributed to its deliberations.

CSO hosting the 3rd Meeting of the Heads of National Statistical Offices of ten ECO Member Countries on 24th and 25th of May, 2011 at Intercontinental Hotel, Kabul

1 Mishra, P. C. (2011): Models and Relevance of Training Needs Analysis for Effective Design, Delivery and Evaluation of Training Activities and Improvement of Organizational Performance. SAARANSH- A Journal of RKGIT, India



STATISTICAL CAPACITY ASSESSMENT

3.1 Official Statistics in Development Policy Cycle

3.1.1 Adequate and reliable official statistics are required to support evidence-based decision making, effective administration and service delivery at sub-national, regional, national, and international levels. They contribute to the development of a country in transition like Afghanistan in the following specific ways:

(a) Identify New Issues: The first step in the process of policy formation occurs when information on some aspect of social or economic life is revealed on the basis of statistical surveys or analysis of administrative data. Once this information is revealed, a variety of interest groups such as politicians, civil servants, non-government organizations (NGOs), development agencies, and the media lobby for a new policy issue to be debated and addressed.

(b) Inform Programme Design and Policy Choice: The next step is to undertake some policy analysis so that the extent and nature of the problem can be understood. This understanding provides the basis for any subsequent policy recommendations so that limited resources are well targeted.

(c) Forecast the Future: Official statistics provides the past trends to forecast the future of the economy and social development. For example, Da Afghanistan Bank (the Central Bank of Afghanistan) would like to forecast inflation and growth in the short-term to support decisions on interest rates, while Ministry of Economy may use the NRVA data to model poverty reduction in the medium term based on growth and income inequality assumptions.

(d) Monitor Policy Implementation: Once policies are being executed, information is required by the policymakers to monitor inputs, outputs, and outcomes associated with the policies. The official statistics should highlight not only how closely actual progress meets the target but may also suggest possible causes of any discrepancies for mid-term course correction. For example, data may reveal that steps to improve employment are reducing the number of people working in high tech areas, or the poverty reduction programmes do not reach the targeted beneficiaries.

(e) Evaluate Policy Impact: Survey data may be required for impact assessment of the policy in the long run. For such impact assessment over time and space, detailed baseline data as well as data on areas not covered by the policy are necessary for comparison.



3.1.2 The Health Metrics Network (HMN) depicted in Fig. 7 illustrates how official statistics should feed into the decision-making process and justifies good investment in such statistics in general and in generating Health Information System (HIS) in particular.

Fig.7: Official Statistics in Development Policy Cycle

Source: World Bank (2006): Health Metrics Network (HMN) Framework, September

3.1.3 It is thus clear that good official statistics are part of good governance. They provide objective information about government spending and development outcomes to the public. As official statistics are usually a ‘public good’, it is the fundamental responsibility of the national Government of any country to invest handsomely on development of its official statistical system to serve the information need of a wide range of stakeholders including the government agencies, private sector, academia, civil society, and the donor community.

3.1.4 In spite of the indispensable nature of official statistics in informed decision making, some policy makers and administrators in the government do not agree that statistics are worth the investment. Various reasons may underlie such a position:

· A preference to base policies on non-quantitative evidence so as to avoid being held to account for using objective evidence;

· Either for philosophical reasons (e.g., that quantitative approaches fail to capture all of the important dimensions) or for prosaic reasons (that hard data limits room for maneuvering);



· A lack of confidence in the statistical agencies to deliver an effective service so that development is served by drawing appropriately on reliable and timely statistical information. This may reflect the policymaker's view of past performance even if under-investment has been a root cause.

3.1.5 However, part of good governance is having healthy institutions to hold the government to account and an independent statistical agency provides the right inputs for this. It is also imperative for the statistical agency to identify and make some 'quick wins' in high profile areas to improve user confidence.

3.2 The Need for Capacity Assessment of Statistical System

3.1.1 We need to assess the statistical system of any country and more so in post-conflict country like Afghanistan, at least for the following reasons:

(a) to know the mandate given to the statistical authority for carrying out statistical activities in the country ,

(b) to identify the existing statistical capacity assets and needs,

(c) to assess the reliability, adequacy and timeliness of data as per the IMF Data Quality Assessment Framework,

(d) to decide what needs to be done in respect of the current statistical activities to bridge the data gaps and improve the data quality,

(e) to establish the relative priorities and suggest how to make statistical systems better.

4.1.2 Those embarking upon statistical assessment of national statistical system in general and CSO in particular should be aware of the things that can go wrong with official statistics. Following are some of the possible ways in which official statistics may fail to do their job effectively:

• Data not collected

• Data collected but not processed or released

• Data that are collected and published are not relevant to users' needs

• Data not released in time to take appropriate action

• Data not comparable over time



• Multiple data for the same indicator with no explanation offered on why there are differences

• Sample sizes are too small to give reliable estimates

• Survey/census design introduces bias into the statistics

• Errors are introduced in processing or calculation

• Misleading commentary prepared to accompany figures

• Figures are deliberately falsified (e.g., by political pressure)

3.3 Tools of Statistical Capacity Assessment

3.3.1 UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics

Official statistics are collected, processed, and disseminated by governments as ‘public goods’, but are used and are important for almost all sections of society. It is not possible for data users to know how reliable or good a particular indicator is just by looking at the data. If all users are to have trust and confidence in official statistics, then it is important that the statistics are produced following good practice and sound statistical principles. It is also important that official statistics are not manipulated, or thought to be manipulated, by governments for political purposes. To help maintain trust and confidence in official statistics, the UN developed ten principles for official statistical work, which all countries are encouraged to adopt and follow. All these principles are necessary if a statistical service is to be effective and efficient. They enshrine good practice and most National Statistical Systems (NSSs) strive to attain them. Assessment of the statistical system and quality of statistical services in Afghanistan would be based on these principles and therefore need to be understood first. Fig.8 depicts the ten UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics which are explained briefly in the following sub-paragraphs.

(i) Transparency – ‘To facilitate a correct interpretation of the data, the statistical agencies are to present information according to scientific standards on the sources, methods, and procedures of the statistics’. Metadata (information about the nature of the data) are vital if users are to understand the data accurately. Perceived weaknesses in the data should be discussed.

(ii) Interpretation - 'The statistical agencies are entitled to comment on erroneous interpretation and misuse of statistics.' The NSS staff should understand their data better than anyone, and it is helpful for them to correct any misunderstanding promptly and clearly.



Fig.8: UN Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics

Source: UNSD: UN Fundamental principles of official statistics, at http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/statorg/FP-English.htm

(iii) Usefulness and Impartiality - 'Official statistics provide an indispensable element in the information system of a democratic society, serving the Government, the economy, and the public with data about the economic, demographic, social, and environmental situation. To this end, official statistics that meet the test of practical utility are to be compiled and made available on an impartial basis by official statistical agencies to honor citizens' entitlement to public information.'

(iv) Professional Standards and Ethics – ‘To retain trust in official statistics, the statistical agencies need to decide according to strictly professional considerations, including scientific principles and professional ethics, on the methods and procedures for the collection, processing, storage, and presentation of statistical data.’

http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/statorg/FP-English.htm



(v) Quality, Timeliness, Costs and Response Burden - 'Data for statistical purposes may be drawn from all types of sources, be they statistical surveys or administrative records. Statistical agencies are to choose the source with regard to quality, timeliness, costs, and the burden on respondents.'

(vi) International Cooperation - 'Bilateral and multilateral cooperation in statistics contributes to the improvement of systems of official statistics in all countries.' Good practice should be shared through various forms of technical cooperation. Increasingly, in addition to the guidance and technical assistance that multilateral and bilateral organizations provide, there is mutual support between members of regional groups.

(vii) International Standards – ‘The use by statistical agencies in each country of international concepts, classifications, and methods promotes the consistency and efficiency of statistical systems at all official levels.' Both national and international users value internationally comparable data. International comparisons are valid only where international standards are applied.

(viii) National Coordination - 'Coordination among statistical agencies within countries is essential to achieve consistency and efficiency in the statistical system.' It is essential for different agencies to avoid collecting similar information. Such duplication wastes valuable resources and confuses users when the results differ. Data Producer - User Committees can reduce duplication and improve coherence.

(ix) Confidentiality - 'Individual data collected by statistical agencies for statistical compilation, whether they refer to natural or legal persons, are to be strictly confidential and used exclusively for statistical purposes.' Respecting the confidentiality of data supplied by respondents is an important ethical undertaking. It is also crucial to maintaining support for future data collection.

(x) Legislation - 'The laws, regulations, and measures under which the statistical systems operate are to be made public'. Statistical legislation should establish an NSS's formal powers to collect data, and its guarantee that all data will be kept confidentially. Usually the Statistics Act also defines the main actors and the rights and accountabilities. Less centralized systems benefit from legislation that sets out the role of each organization and how they should relate to each other.



3.3.2 UNSD Standard Framework of main Statistical Activities

The United Nations Statistical Division (UNSD) has laid down a standard framework of main statistical activities and how they fit together as depicted in Fig.9. This may serve as a benchmark for assessment of the statistical activities in Afghanistan.

Fig.9: The main statistical activities and how they fit together

Source: UNSD (2003). Handbook of Statistical Organization, Third Edition - The Operation and Organization of a Statistical Agency. Document ST/ESA/STAT/SER.F/88. 3.3.3 Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF)

A major tool developed by the IMF to assess the quality of national statistical system (NSS) is DQAF, which is applied to individual statistical activities and outputs, not to NSS as a whole. The DQAF identifies six different dimensions of quality, each of which is divided into a number of elements, as depicted in Fig.10. Each element has corresponding indicators so a country's statistical service may be benchmarked against recommendations, international standards, and good practice using a set of indicators. For example, the transparency element in the assurances of integrity dimension has the following indicators:

• The terms and conditions under which statistics are collected, processed, and disseminated are available to the public.

• Internal governmental access to statistics prior to their release is publicly identified.



• Products of statistical agencies/units are clearly identified as such.

• Advanced notice is given.

Fig. 10: The Data Quality Assessment Framework (DQAF)

Source: Data Quality Assessment Framework, IMF

3.3.4 The DQAF is designed for self-assessment and for external assessment. There are subject-specific DQAFs to support the overall framework. They use the same dimensions, elements, and indicators, but they also have some extra detail ('focal points' and 'key issues'). As the DQAF cannot be applied directly to NSSs as a whole, other approaches are needed to do this. The chart in fig.11 sets out some key assessments of NSSs. Some aspects of quality may be assessed only by discussing with the users of statistics within a country. Users' views can be canvassed through committees or task forces that address particular statistical areas or through more general workshops. The discussions with users should be focused on such aspects as need, availability, adequacy and use of official statistics. Their assessment of the adequacy, for example, of existing statistics should be further in terms of further details like relevance, accuracy, consistency, completeness, timeliness, level of disaggregation (geographic, gender, etc.) and accessibility.



Fig.11: Tools of National Statistical System Assessment

(Source: Data Quality Assessment Framework, IMF)

3.4 Statistical Capacity Assessment of Afghanistan

3.4.1 Data Quality Assessment by DFID: The DFID Afghanistan has recently done a Data Quality Assessment of the most frequently quoted data on social, economic and governance progress in Afghanistan. Although this is not in accordance with the IMF DQAF, it covers major datasets on education, GDP, Consumer Price Index, national budget, perceptions of the Afghan people (survey conducted by the Asia Foundation), opinion poll of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF), and the NRVA 2007-08. The internal assessment report1F

2 shared with the UNDP/NIBP CDA by its DFID Afghanistan representative has mentioned the following key conclusions:

· Reliable data on Afghanistan exist, despite capacity and situational constraints

· There are great variations in quality across datasets, with more problems in insecure areas

· Greater clarity on school attendance figures, which DFID has now adopted in preference to enrolment figures due to definition issues

2 DFID Afghanistan (2010): Data Quality Assessment of the National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (NRVA) Survey 2007/08.



· ‘Social desirability biases’ contaminates many of the opinion polls. However with nuanced interpretations, much of the trend information remains usable.

· Economics statistics follow recommended procedures and appear to be reliable for use at the broadest level, but their empirical basis needs strengthening.

3.4.2 Statistical Capacity Assessment of CSO by UNDP/NIBP

“Employee surveys are a valuable device for building organisational learning capability and sustained employee development. However they need to be carefully thought through and acted upon or else they can become ‘hand grenades’ rather than strategic aids” 2F

3. Accordingly, the statistical capacity of CSO has been assessed by the NIBP CDA through employee surveys carried out cautiously by using the tools of intensive interviews with the staff and thorough discussions with the senior management and review of the relevant documents and available reports. Adapting the Statistical Capacity Building Indicators developed by PARIS21 to the Afghanistan situation, the results of the statistical assessment are presented in Table 2. Also, the monitoring and evaluation capacity of CSO in tracking MDGs has been assessed by the CDA on the basis of the relevant documents and survey reports providing information on the MDG indicators as well as intensive interviews and thorough discussions with the senior management of CSO. The results of the assessment are shown in Table 3. The Internal Consultative Team has been duly consulted and run through the indicators.

3.4.3 Statistical Capacity Monitoring by World Bank

The World Bank Bulletin Board on Statistical Capacity compiles and releases statistical capacity indicators for all countries. On a rating scale of 0-100, scores are provided in respect of four summary indicators – overall, methodology, source data and periodicity & timeliness. The World Bank Statistical Capacity Indicator for Afghanistan and Other Countries for 2010 are shown in Fig.12, which reflects that Afghanistan’s statistical capacity is at very low level in comparison to other low and middle income countries. The summary description of all the indicators and their components with scores for Afghanistan for 2010 is given in Table 4.

3 Mishra, P. C. (2011): Role of Employee Surveys in Assisting the Development of Human Resource Development Interventions in Organisations. Arash- A journal of ISMDR, India



Staitical Capacity Indicators National Accounts Price Income

& ExpPopula

tionEducation Health Employ

mentAgricult

ureEstablishment

Average

0. Prerequisites 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.3 2.5 2.5 2.0 1.8 2.3 2.30.1 Collection of information and preservation of confidentially guaranteed by law 3 3 3 3 3 2 2 3 3 2.8

0.2 Effective coordination of statistics 2 2 2 3 3 3 2 2 2 2.30.3 Staff level and expertise adequacy 2 3 3 2 1 2 2 2 2.10.4 Buildings and equipment adequacy

3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2.1

0.5 Planning, monitoring and evaluation measures implemented 2 2 2 2 3 3 2 1 2 2.1

0.6 Organizational focus on quality 2 2 2 2 3 3 2 1 3 2.21. Integrity 2.5 2.5 1.5 3 2 2.5 1.5 1.5 2.5 2.21.1 Independence of statistical operations 3 3 2 3 2 3 1 2 2 2.31.2 Culture of professional and ethical standards 2 2 1 3 2 2 2 1 3 2.0

2. Methodological soundness 2 2 1 2 2 3 2 2 3 2.12.1 International/regional standards implemented 2 2 1 2 2 3 2 2 3 2.1

3. Accuracy and reliability 2.5 2.5 2.0 2.5 2.5 2.8 2.0 1.5 2.8 2.33.1 Source data adequacy 2 2 2 2 2 3 2 2 2 2.13.2 Response monitoring 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 3 2.13.3 Validation of administrative data 3 3 2 3 3 3 2 1 3 2.63.4 Validation of intermediate and final outputs 3 3 2 3 3 3 2 1 3 2.6

4. Serviceability 2.0 2.7 2.3 3.0 3.0 2.0 2.7 2.3 3.0 2.64.1 User consultation 2 2 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 2.74.2 Timeliness of statistical outputs 2 3 2 3 3 2 3 2 3 2.64.3 Periodicity of statistical outputs 2 3 2 3 3 2 2 2 3 2.45. Accessibility 1.5 1.5 1.5 1.5 2 2 1.5 1.5 2 1.75.1 Effectiveness of dissemination 2 2 2 2 3 3 2 2 3 2.35.2 Updated metadata 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1.0Average score 2.2 2.3 2.0 2.4 2.4 2.4 2.0 1.8 2.6 2.2

Rating scale: 1. Undeveloped; 2 Largely undeveloped; 3. Developed; 4. Highly developed

Table 2: Statistical Capacity Building Indicators for CSO

Source: Adapted from Statistical Capacity Building Indicators were developed by PARIS21, 2004, p.113



Table 3: Monitoring and Evaluation capacity of CSO in tracking MDGs

Goals / Sectors Data collection capacities

Statistical tracking capacities

Statistical analysis capacities

Quality of recent survey information

Average

1. Extreme poverty and hunger 2. Primary education 3. Gender Equality 4. Child Mortality 5. Maternal Health 6. HIV/AIDS & other diseases 7. Environment

8. Global Partnership

2

2

2

2

2

2

1

2

1

2

1

2

2

1

1

2

1

2

1

2

2

1

1

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

1

2

1.5

2

1.5

2

2

1.5

1

2

Average 2 1.5 1.5 2 1.75 Rating scale: 1 Weak; 2 Fair; 3 Strong

Source: World Bank Website: http://bbsc.worldbank.org/bbsc/Overview?cid=4 (data accessed on 15/04/2011)

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90

Overall

Methodology

Source Data

Periodicity & Timeliness

Overall Methodology Source DataPeriodicity & Timeliness

Afghanistan 39 40 20 57

All Countries 65 56 61 78

Fig 12: World Bank Statistical Capacity Indicator for Afghanistan & All Countries for 2010 (on a scale of 0-100)

http://bbsc.worldbank.org/bbsc/Overview?cid=4



Table 4: World Bank Statistical Capacity Indicator for Afghanistan - Summary Description

Source: http://ddp-ext.worldbank.org/ext/CSIDB/getCountryStatInfoXML?id=4&format=CSIDBS (data accessed on 15/04/2011)

http://ddp-ext.worldbank.org/ext/CSIDB/getCountryStatInfoXML?id=4&format=CSIDBS



FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY ASSESSMENT

4.1 Objectives of Capacity Assessment A capacity assessment is an analysis of current capacities against desired future capacities, which generates an understanding of capacity assets and needs, which in turn leads to the formulation of capacity development response to achieve development or organizational goals. The UNDP Primer 3F

4 has listed the following reasons for undertaking a capacity assessment:

• develop a comprehensive view of issues that could be addressed

• bring rigor and a systematic method to determining future capacity needs and assessing existing capacity assets

• create a common language of discussion among potentially disparate parties

• provide a structure for discussion about the scale and scope of the capacity assessment exercise and about expectations of the capacity development effort more generally

• provide a method for generating quantitative as well as qualitative data to support the development of a capacity development action plan

• make sense of complex development situations, when it is not always obvious where best to intervene to promote capacity development

• improve consistency, coherence and impact

• increase the ability to share experiences

4.2 UNDP Capacity Assessment Framework

The UNDP methodology for capacity assessments is the result of years of experience from around the world. The UNDP Capacity Assessment Framework (Fig 13) reflects the interplay among the following three dimensions – the three levels at which capacity is nurtured, the five functional capacities and all the core issues that are identified in an organization – in an analysis that aims to examine capacity challenges in a comprehensive, integrated manner.

4.2.1 Points of Entry: UNDP recognizes that a country’s capacity resides on three levels, viz. enabling environment, organizational and individual and thus needs to be assessed and developed across these levels. These three levels are not watertight compartments, but they influence each other. We may select one level as its point of entry, and may “zoom in” or “zoom out” from that level as per the need of the organization.

4.2.2 Core Development Issues: Along the points of entry mentioned above, there are several core issues to be explored in a capacity assessment Not all of these issues will necessarily be

4 UNDP (2009): Capacity Development – A UNDP Primer



analyzed in any given assessment, but they provide a comprehensive set of issues from which we may choose to define its scope. The core issues in the UNDP Capacity Assessment Framework are: 1) leadership; 2) policy and legal framework; 3) mutual accountability mechanisms; 4) public engagement; 5) human resources; 6) financial resources; 7) physical resources; and 8) environmental resources. The issue of a human rights based approach serves as an “overlay” on any capacity assessment.

4.2.3 Cross-Cutting Functional Capacities: Specific functional capacities are necessary for the successful creation and management of policies, legislations, strategies and programmes. UNDP has chosen to prioritize the following functional capacities, which exist at all three points of entry and for all core issues: 1) engage in multi-stakeholder dialogue; 2) analyze a situation and create a vision; 3) formulate policy and strategy; 4) budget, manage and implement; and 5) monitor and evaluate. These five functional capacities are so central to determining the outcome of development endeavours that the entire UNDP’s capacity development process revolve around them.

Source: UNDP(2007): Capacity Assessment Methodology Users’ Guide

Figure 13: UNDP Capacity Assessment Framework



4.3 The UNDP Capacity Assessment Process in CSO

Success of a capacity assessment depends largely on the quality of the capacity assessment mobilization and design, involvement of stakeholders and the quality and availability of data. Therefore, the NIBP CDA took the following key steps in this process.

4.3.1 Mobilization and Design

Sensitizing top management of CSO and engaging the key stakeholders on the need for the NIBP capacity assessment are among the top priorities for the CDA with a view to get their support and gain ownership of the exercise. The President General and Heads of Departments of CSO and other Stakeholders have been sensitized on the UNDP approach to Capacity Assessment and Capacity Development to enlist their support and cooperation. The scale and scope of the capacity assessment (point of entry; core issues and cross-cutting functional capacities) have been defined taking into consideration the mandate and the nature of work of CSO. The core issues identified at CSO revolve around all three levels of capacity development - environment, organizational and individual. On the basis of the stakeholder analysis, detailed discussion with the President General and Heads of Departments of CSO and review of the Afghanistan National Statistical Plan (ANSP), the points of entry for CSO have been chosen as enabling environment and organisational levels.

Three core issues, i.e., Leadership, Policy and Legal Framework and Access to Information & Knowledge, are chosen for detailed assessment at enabling environment level. At organisational level, five core issues, viz., Human Resources (HR), Financial Resources, Physical Resources, Mutual Accountability Mechanisms, and Inclusion, Participation, Equity & Empowerment, are chosen for further study. All the five cross-cutting functional capacities have been chosen for detailed capacity assessment at both points of entry and for all eight core issues, viz., 1) engage in multi-stakeholder dialogue; 2) analyze a situation and create a vision; 3) formulate policy and strategy; 4) budget, manage and implement; and 5) monitor and evaluate. The existing capacity of CSO has been assessed in the above mentioned five cross-cutting functional areas for all the identified eight core issues at both these levels. “To have a bottom line impact of training on organisational functioning and performance, training needs analysis has to be aligned with organisational mission and strategy” 4F

5. Therefore, capacity assessment of the individuals will go concurrently with Training Needs Analysis as a continuous process during the implementation phase of the CDP.




4.3.2 Conducting the CA process

By adapting the global Capacity Assessment Framework to local needs, Worksheets for Capacity Assessment of CSO were developed. The methodology adopted for primary data collection was both quantitative and qualitative and self-filled in questionnaire and personal interview. Due to constraints of time and language, only 20 informants were selected by purposive sampling. The list of respondents includes the President General of CSO, Statistical Adviser and all 10 Heads of the Departments of CSO, the NIBP CDA and NIBP National Capacity Development Officer, among others. As some of the key stakeholders have low proficiency in English, the CDA had to take the service of in-house translators for completing the questionnaires and having personal interview with them. The informants were requested to score each of 44 questions in a capacity rating scale of 1 to 5 with optional narrative evidence. These levels of Existing Capacity are:

1 No evidence of capacity (most likely in a conflict or post-conflict environment)

2 Anecdotal evidence of capacity

3 Partially developed capacity

4 Widespread, but not comprehensive, evidence of capacity

5 Fully developed capacity that is endogenously sustainable

The capacity assessment worksheet with the details of the scores by all the 20 respondents is given at Annexure-III for reference. It may be noted that no modulation or standardization techniques has been applied to the existing capacity level rankings given by the Respondents in to avoid Investigator Bias (a kind of misuse of statistics!).

4.3.3 Summarizing and Analyzing the Results

The Summary Sheet of Capacity Assessment of CSO at Enabling Environment and Organisational levels (as on March 2011) is given in Table 5. The charts in Fig 14 and Fig.15 depict the existing levels of capacity in cross-cutting functional areas of Core Development Issues for CSO at Enabling Environment level and Organisational level. From Fig. 16, one can easily visualize the gaps in the capacity assets and needs by comparing the existing level against the desired level of capacity in all the eight core issues across the common functional areas. The gaps in respect of the core issues of Access to Information & Knowledge at enabling environment level and Human Resource at organisational level are highly pronounced and need immediate priority in the capacity development response. Other cross-comparison will help us in determining the level of improvement required, which in turn will provide insight and direction in terms of which areas to focus in the capacity development response to be developed in the next chapter.



Table 5: Summary Sheet of Capacity Assessment of CSO at Enabling Environment and Organisational levels (March 2011)

Point of Entry: CAPACITY ASSESSMENT: Existing Level and Future Level

Enabling Environment

Core Capacity Issues

Cross-Cutting Functional Capacities Engage in

Multi-Stakeholder

Dialogue

Analyze a Situation &

Create a Vision

Formulate Policy & Strategy

Budget, Manage & Implement

Monitor & Evaluate OVERALL

Existing Level

Future

Level Existing Level

Future


Future


Future


Future


Future Level

1 Leadership 3.16 5.00 3.00 5.00 2.85 5.00 3.15 5.00 2.80 4.00 2.99 4.80

2 Policy and Legal Framework 3.10 5.00 2.80 5.00 2.95 5.00 3.05 5.00 2.90 4.00 2.96 4.80

3 Access to Information & Knowledge 3.00 5.00 2.65 5.00 2.95 5.00 2.90 5.00 2.80 4.00 2.86 4.80

Overall 3.09 5.00 2.82 5.00 2.92 5.00 3.03 5.00 2.83 4.00 2.94 4.80

Point of Entry: Organisational 1 Human Resources (HR) 2.75 5.00 2.65 5.00 2.45 5.00 2.80 5.00 2.45 5.00 2.62 5.00

2 Financial Resources 3.15 5.00 2.85 5.00 3.10 5.00 2.85 5.00 2.60 5.00 2.91 5.00

3 Physical Resources 3.00 5.00 3.05 5.00 3.05 5.00 3.30 5.00 3.00 5.00 3.08 5.00

4 Mutual Accountability Mechanisms 2.95 5.00 2.65 4.00 2.80 4.00 2.55 4.00 2.65 4.00 2.72 4.20

5 Inclusion, Participation, Equity & Empowerment 2.65 4.00 2.80 4.00 2.75 4.00 2.45 4.00 2.55 4.00 2.64 4.00

Overall 2.90 4.80 2.80 4.60 2.83 4.60 2.79 4.60 2.65 4.60 2.79 4.64



Enga

ge in

Mul

ti-St

akeh

olde

r D

ialo

gue

3.16

Enga

ge in

Mul

ti-St

akeh

olde

r D

ialo

gue

3.10

Enga

ge in

Mul

ti-St

akeh

olde

r D

ialo

gue

3.00

Ana

lyze

a S

ituat

ion

& C

reat

e a

Visi

on 3

.00

Ana

lyze

a S

ituat

ion

& C

reat

e a

Visi

on 2

.80

Ana

lyze

a S

ituat

ion

& C

reat

e a

Visi

on 2

.65

Form

ulat

e Po

licy

& S

trat

egy

2.85

Form

ulat

e Po

licy

& S

trat

egy

2.95

Form

ulat

e Po

licy

& S

trat

egy

2.95

Budg

et, M

anag

e &

Impl

emen

t 3.

15

Budg

et, M

anag

e &

Impl

emen

t 3.

05

Budg

et, M

anag

e &

Impl

emen

t 2.

90

Mon

itor

& E

valu

ate

2.80

Mon

itor

& E

valu

ate

2.90

Mon

itor

& E

valu

ate

2.80

2.30

2.40

2.50

2.60

2.70

2.80

2.90

3.00

3.10

3.20

Leadership Policy and Legal Framework Access to Information & Knowledge

Exis

ting

leve

ls o

f ca

paci

ty

Core Capacity Development Issues at Enabling Environmental level

Fig.14: Existing levels of capacity in cross-cutting functional areas of Core Development Issues for CSO at Enabling Environment level

Enga

ge in

Mul

ti-St

akeh

olde

r D

ialo

gue

2.75

Enga

ge in

Mul

ti-St

akeh

olde

r D

ialo

gue

3.15

Enga

ge in

Mul

ti-St

akeh

olde

r D

ialo

gue

3.00

Enga

ge in

Mul

ti-St

akeh

olde

r D

ialo

gue

2.95

Enga

ge in

Mul

ti-St

akeh

olde

r D

ialo

gue

2.65

Ana

lyze

a S

ituat

ion

& C

reat

e a

Visi

on 2

.65

Ana

lyze

a S

ituat

ion

& C

reat

e a

Visi

on 2

.85

Ana

lyze

a S

ituat

ion

& C

reat

e a

Visi

on 3

.05

Ana

lyze

a S

ituat

ion

& C

reat

e a

Visi

on 2

.65

Ana

lyze

a S

ituat

ion

& C

reat

e a

Visi

on 2

.80

Form

ulat

e Po

licy

& S

trat

egy

2.45

Form

ulat

e Po

licy

& S

trat

egy

3.10

Form

ulat

e Po

licy

& S

trat

egy

3.05

Form

ulat

e Po

licy

& S

trat

egy

2.80

Form

ulat

e Po

licy

& S

trat

egy

2.75

Budg

et, M

anag

e &

Impl

emen

t 2.

80

Budg

et, M

anag

e &

Impl

emen

t 2.

85

Budg

et, M

anag

e &

Impl

emen

t 3.

30

Budg

et, M

anag

e &

Impl

emen

t 2.

55

Budg

et, M

anag

e &

Impl

emen

t 2.

45

Mon

itor

& E

valu

ate

2.45

Mon

itor

& E

valu

ate

2.60

Mon

itor

& E

valu

ate

3.00

Mon

itor

& E

valu

ate

2.65

Mon

itor

& E

valu

ate

2.55

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

3.00

3.50

Human Resources (HR)

Financial Resources Physical Resources Mutual Accountability Mechanisms

Inclusion, Participation, Equity &

Empowerment

Exis

ting

leve

ls o

f ca

paci

ty

Core Capacity Development Issues at Organisational Level

Fig.15: Existing levels of capacity in cross-cutting functional areas of Core Development Issues for CSO at Organisational level



Internal Consultative Workshop conducted by NIBP CDA with Heads of Departments of CSO on Draft Capacity Development Plan on May 23, 2011

LeadershipPolicy and

Legal Framework

Access to Information &

Knowledge

Human Resources

(HR)

Financial Resources

Physical Resources

Mutual Accountability Mechanisms

Inclusion, Participation,

Equity & Empowerment

Existing Level 2.99 2.96 2.86 2.62 2.91 3.08 2.72 2.64

Future Level 4.80 4.80 4.80 5.00 5.00 5.00 4.20 4.00

0.00

1.00

2.00

3.00

4.00

5.00

6.00

Leve

ls o

f cap

acit

y

Fig.16: Capacity Gaps in cross-cutting functional areas of Core Capacity Issues for CSO



CAPACITY DEVELOPMENT RESPONSE

5.1 Introduction

This chapter provides the overall thrust of the capacity development plan. The capacity development responses are derived from the organisational assessments and the situational analysis as well as the capacity assessments done in previous chapters. The responses are provided for the three levels at which capacity resides, i.e. the enabling environment level, the organizational level and the individual level. The Capacity Development Response matrix containing the details of the CD initiatives at each of these levels is given at Annexure-IV.

5.2 Capacity Development at enabling environment level

The capacity development responses for developing capacities at the enabling environment level are those CD initiatives which relate to the development of policies, laws, rules and norms relevant to official statistics in Afghanistan. The CD initiatives/responses flow from the analysis of the existing statistical and functional capacities in the relevant capacity development core issues as analyzed in the earlier two chapters of this plan.

5.2.1 UNDP Approach to Capacity Development: Donors have often responded to data gaps by supporting data collection activities to produce the statistical outputs that are important for monitoring the programs and projects they are involved in Afghanistan. In many cases, these activities have been successful in achieving their primary purpose of monitoring particular projects and programs. However, this approach is generally not in line with the United Nations Principles on Technical Cooperation for Statistics adopted by the UN Statistical Commission, 1999. It has tended to be donor-driven, not appropriately coordinated and prioritized, and therefore tends to distort national priorities for statistical production. The need of the hour for the CSO is to be in driver’s seat and steer the supply and demand for statistical data for the preparation of poverty reduction strategies, monitor the progress towards the MDGs and ANDS and donors and partners should support it. This strengthened national demand for official statistics would also lead to higher allocation of government budgets to statistical work for producing the official statistics as ‘public goods’ and reduce dependence on donors. In order to ensure sustainability and enable itself fulfill the huge responsibility entrusted on it by the GIRA in terms of producing statistical indicators for M&E of MDGs and ANDS, the CSO has to adapt to the UNDP’s integrated and systematic approach to capacity development. The NIBP approach recognizes that some elements of statistical work cannot be transformed in the short-term. Nevertheless, the aim is to produce better statistics that support better development decisions. Effective responses identify 'quick wins' that produce better outputs in the short-term that, in turn, can stimulate demand and confidence. To facilitate adaptation of the UNDP framework to



CD and increase the capacity of CSO at all three levels, the NIBP has placed a highly qualified expert Statistician as CDA in CSO and this CDP is his first deliverable.

5.2.2 Twining Arrangement: The NIBP, UNDP Afghanistan also strives for ‘Twining Arrangement’ with counterpart Ministries/ Agencies of the regional countries for strengthening the cooperation in the field of public sector capacity development in Afghanistan under the South-South Cooperation. In this context, a MoU between the CSO and Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Government of India has been signed. The NIBP has facilitated the signing of MOU. The scope and areas of cooperation are quite diverse and CSO needs to take full benefit of it in order to bring about change management and operational efficiency in addition to statistical capacity development. Under this institutional support, the CSO can have the statistical expertise and technical services of the partner agencies in enhancing its statistical capacity. The NIBP CDA placed in CSO would play a key role operationalizing the MoU over a period of time. NIBP would also provide support in terms of exposure visit of the CSO staff there and calling for experts for short-term assignments to impart training and coaching in Afghanistan.

His Excellency President General of CSO, Govt of Afghanistan and Honorable Minister of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Govt of India exchanging the twinning MoU signed on 30th May 2011. The visit of Afghan Delegation was facilitated by NIBP, UNDP Afghanistan.



The NIBP, UNDP Afghanistan has already entered into a ‘twinning arrangement’ with Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) for capacity development of Afghan civil servants. Under this twinning arrangement, a training programme is being organized on ‘Statistical Training for Afghanistan’ from time to time in South Korea. The CSO has been designated as the nodal agency of the GIRA for this training for nominating about 30 of its staff at managerial or higher level who are currently involved in statistical practices for the training out of which 20 will be selected in a fair and transparent manner and sent for training every year. Starting from 2011, the NIBP CDA in CSO has been designated as the Coordinator of the Programme, who has taken special efforts to enhance the outcome of this training through selection of most suitable candidates, pre-training appreciation and post-training transfer of knowledge and skills to workplace. This approach should also continue in future. Under the SRF Project, CSO should also enter into twinning arrangement with government or private partners through competitive bidding process to have the required services for it.

NIBP Team conducting an Orientation Session on 22nd May 2011at CSO for the 19 Participants of the UNDP-KOICA ‘Statistical Training for Afghanistan’ during 26 May-11 June 2011 in South Korea

5.2.3 Institutional and Legal Framework: With this advisory and institutional support in place, the CSO is in a better position to strengthen its legal and regulatory framework. The requirement for a legal framework and what it should cover are endorsed by key international documents including the Fundamental Principles and the DQAF described earlier. The Statistical Laws generally include the following fundamental issues:

· NSS's rights to collect data - NSS’s rely on high response rates and accurate answers from individuals in the population and institutions such as businesses.

· NSS's responsibility to keep the data safe

· The main actors, their rights and accountabilities



· The relationships between these actors and other relevant organizations such as ministries, global and regional bodies, and professional societies

There is a need to revisit the Statistical Laws of Afghanistan to define the relationships between the stakeholders (Stakeholder Matrix, Fig.2) of the Afghanistan National Statistical System (ANSS). In the meantime, a follow-up on the submission already made to Parliament is required to seek for the appropriate amendment to Statistics Law, 2006. Although a Micro-Data Policy is in place, its implementation is yet to take place. The CSO should announce to policymakers and data users and put onto its website that micro data are available to researchers and government users under certain conditions and with specified costs.

There is also a need for true independent statistical system of Afghanistan in the form of a full-fledged Ministry. Changing the status of CSO is not a panacea for improving ANSS, but this can play a part in reinvigorating it. There are clear benefits to Ministers and Policy-makers if national statistics command public confidence and trust. To achieve this they must be professionally independent of Ministers and policy officials and ‘be seen to be so’. Even if the CSO is made independent of government, it has to be accountable for the funds it spends. There advantages and disadvantages of independent statistical agencies. Drawing on Kiregyera (2006)5F

6, the main advantages include:

· Greater independence

· Freedom from civil service rules on HR issues

· Financial flexibility

· Revenue retention

· More dynamic, results-oriented and effective signal of government commitment One disadvantage of changing the legal status of CSO could be possible reduced cooperation with government ministries. The UNSD Handbook (2003) 6F

7 summarizes the various organisational models which illustrate different sets of relationships between the minister, the national statistical council and the chief statistician. The CSO or ANSS should adapt one of the models best suited for its context.

5.2.4 Leadership and Coordination Mechanism: ‘Leadership is the ability to influence, inspire and motivate others to achieve or even go beyond their goals. It is also the ability to

6 Kiregyera, Ben (2006): ‘Strengthening National Statistical Systems in Sub-Saharan Africa - some lessons from Ugandan experience’. African Capacity Building Foundation, Lessons Note at http://www.paris21.org/documents/2723.pdf 7 United Nations Statistics Division (2003): ‘The Operation and Organization of a Statistical Agency’, Handbook of Statistical Organization, Third Edition, Document ST/ESA/STAT/SER.F/88, New York, at http://www.paris21.org/documents/1153.pdf



anticipate and respond to change’ 7F

8. The leadership of CSO has to go beyond their goals and respond to change required in the ANSS. They may take some hard decisions, if necessary, without many upheavals. ‘Adaptive Leadership’ 8F

9 is what is required in CSO. This is a type of leadership motivated by socialized power built upon cooperation, coalition and networks and adaptive to the time, context and demands of the situation, which brings about systemic change. An adaptive leaders' attention is focused less on how to solve the problem than on how to get others to solve the problem. To use Heifetz and Linsky (2002) 9F

10 metaphor ‘Get on the Balcony’, an adaptive leader has to get off the dance floor and get onto the balcony over and over again to see what is going on there. He has to be both observer and participant to understand people’s actions and reactions. He has to respond as events unfold and adjust accordingly.

While adaptive leadership is essential for bringing about desired change in the ANSS, coordination is even more important. UNSD (2003) suggests the following three areas as the most important in decentralized statistical systems:

· The ability to control or at least to significantly influence the budgets of the statistical agencies.

· The ability to control whether or not an agency is allowed to carry out a data collection activity.

· The ability to decide or nomenclatures for the statistical system. Statistics Councils and Inter-Agency Committees can play a key role in coordination across the NSS by addressing important issues of classifications and data definitions, promoting high professional standards and reducing duplicated data collection. The CSO has a couple of

Committees, but it is often felt difficult to maintain momentum and develop useful advice and direction. This applies even where their status is formally established in legislation. Whatever be their status, the Committees need to meet reasonably regularly, and to attract support from sufficiently senior staff in organizations outside the CSO to generate the required ownership and implementation of agreed decisions. Article 5 of the Statistics Law, 2006 created a National Statistical Council (NSC) under the chairmanship of the Vice-President of the GIRA and scheduled to meet twice a year. The council, however, has not yet played an active role in coordinating statistical activities across agencies. In order to improve coordination, the NSC needs to create a technical committee that could meet more frequently and discuss matters at a technical level.

8 UNDP (2009): Capacity Development – A UNDP Primer 9 Greenberg, J and Baron, R A (2008): Behaviour in Organisations. Pearson Prentice Hall: New Jersey 10 Heifetz, R.A. and Linsky, Marty (2002). “A Survival Guide for Leaders”. Harvard Business Review. June, 1-11



In view of the above, there is a need to review the existing mechanisms and formal arrangements between CSO and other agencies in the ANSS. Action needs be taken to strengthen the leadership and coordination mechanism with line Ministries/ other statistical agencies to improve the ANSS as per international standards. Broadening and deepening coordination, collaboration, networking and information sharing among stakeholders in the ANSS would lead to synergy and avoid working at cross-purpose, duplication of efforts and production of conflicting data. Management of these coordination activities is, of course, crucial. The most far-sighted legislation that wisely establishes appropriate accountability and reporting combined with good coordination will achieve little without effective management by senior officials in the CSO. 5.2.5 User-Producer Dialogue on official statistics: The CSO has been arranging seminars for users and producers of official statistics for assessing supply and demand side of data, but proceedings of seminars are either not prepared or the findings of the seminar are not given effect. The greatest challenge with data user-producer committees is commitment. They usually start off strong but with time, interest goes down. The onus is on the CSO to make sure that the right people are appointed to these committees, that invitations to meetings are sent out in good time and that the agenda for meetings are sufficiently interesting. The follow up action is vital. 5.2.6 Access to Information and Knowledge: Access to Information and Knowledge on official statistics is bread and butter of CSO. So there is an urgent need to formulate and implement a Dissemination Policy in line with General Data Dissemination System (GDDS) of International Monetary Fund (IMF) and take the following activities:

· Improve CSO’s website to maximize its utility and visibility of products among the intended users, donors and the larger public

· Update CSO’s website on a weekly basis to ensure that it provides an up to date portal of official data in Afghanistan and also monitor and summarize data access regularly

· Create a Databank for all available data in CSO and in the line Ministries/Agencies and develop an interactive web-based database, enabling users to access data from one source as per their needs and output formats

· Improve quality, content and rental of website by outsourcing to experienced private parties

· Improve publishing capacity within the CSO, on designing of published materials and capacity of print shop



· Build a data users and stakeholders email list and use it to announce new publications and other news

· Develop, publicize and maintain up-to-date a catalogue of available surveys/statistics, and of forthcoming reports

· Improve the circulation of Statistical Year Book and other publications through electronic and print media with improved quality and content

5.2.7 Improvement of Administrative Data System

Statistical data often come from administrative operations carried out by official organizations and from information systems that primarily serve administrative purposes. Administrative data are important in all National Statistical Systems including that of Afghanistan. The chart in Fig.9 (Chapter 3) shows how administrative data activities fit within the NSS framework. Their nature is quite different from data obtained from other statistical activities such as household surveys and censuses. There are the strengths and weaknesses of such data. At their best, administrative data are accurate and quick, cheap as they are by-products of administration and annual or more frequent. However, administrative systems may suffer from the following shortcomings: inaccurate and biased, limited in scope and not managed according to high professional statistical standards, as administrative systems usually reside outside of the NSO and the senior managers responsible for them may not follow good statistical practice. In spite of these weaknesses, administrative data form a major portion of the official statistics in countries like Afghanistan. Capacity development of CSO is not sufficient for strengthening the Afghanistan National Statistical System. In order to optimize the use and production of official statistics, there is an urgent and absolute need to strengthen the system of collection of and coordination for statistics generated as a byproduct of administration in different line Ministries/ Agencies of the Government. To start with, the schedules/ questionnaires of collecting such information by CSO need complete overhauling and revision. Development and operationalisation of a Management Information System (MIS) in the line Ministries can go a long way in improving the flow of administration data to CSO. The common problem with the MIS interventions is that they tend to focus on technical solutions created by technical teams, and tend to overlook the organizational processes and institutional incentives that drive information use. Their design and implementation need to be informed by and responsive to Government ambitions for sector reform and planning processes and the status of policy and strategy development. For the development of MISs in the line Ministries and CSO, the following 10 recommendations are made:



i. Begin with a thoughtful, honest assessment of what is possible given the local context. ii. Set clearly defined, realistic and cost effective objectives iii. Seek, cultivate and nurture senior level support iv. Develop a phased, systemic, and integrated approach. v. Develop and implement clear Information Policies and Operational Guidelines to assure

more effective and efficient MIS development and use in the future. vi. Think demand, then supply. vii. Plan for on-going maintenance and upgrading of the system.

viii. Emphasize professional development and training to build the necessary technical capacity to sustain, strengthen and extend MIS in the future.

ix. Think organization-people-technology in the knowledge management framework to identify and simultaneously manage organizational, human resource and technical issues.

x. Emphasize professional development and training to build capacities for data use at the national, provincial and district levels.

It is also felt necessary to conduct a statistical audit that will take stock of the available data from line agencies and, at the same time, examine whether the agencies could collect other data through their MIS that would benefit both the line agency and CSO. In addition, the audit will give CSO the opportunity to consider whether CSO should change the way in which it collects data from the other agencies through questionnaires, which are mostly too long and outdated. The statistical audit can also review the suitability of the administrative data for the purpose of monitoring the ANDS. The audit process may begin with a pilot study for auditing, capacity building and data development at three line Ministries, i.e., Ministry of Women Affair, Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Commerce and Industries. After the pilot, there will be an assessment of its implications for further work at line agencies in terms of a statistical audit as well as possible steps for building capacity at MIS and statistical units outside CSO. UNDP may consider funding the pilot with a minimal budget of US $150,000. 5.2.8 Gender Mainstreaming: Gender is a social construct of men and women’s behaviour, which refers to the roles and responsibilities that are created in our families, our societies and our cultures. Unequal power relations among men and women lead to gender disparities. Gender disparities are captured by using Gender related Development Index (GDI) and Gender Empowerment Measure (GEM) devised by UNDP. The GDI is a measure that adjusts the Human Development Index for gender inequalities in the three dimensions, i.e. life expectancy, education, and income. It is therefore important to note that the GDI is not a measure of gender inequality as such. The GEM seeks to measure relative female representation in



economic and political power. It thus considers gender gaps in political representation, in professional and management positions in the economy, and in earned income. It is high time that the senior management of CSO is sensitized on gender mainstreaming and contributes to its capacity development at enabling environment level and bridging the gender gaps in Afghanistan by adopting the following means:

· Gender analysis of programmes and projects by gender disaggregated data

· Gender responsive planning and policies for integrating women in decision making

· Establishing special institutions to see that gender mainstreaming takes place in CSO and nomination of a gender focal point

· Development of a comprehensive gender action plan for CSO which includes activities for both gender mainstreaming of the organization and for women’s empowerment through the measures for positive discrimination

· Organizing workshops/conferences on gender statistics and compile comprehensive gender statistics

· Conducting survey on men and women in decision making.

5.3 Capacity Development at organizational level The capacity development responses for developing organizational capacities relate to organizational structures, processes, resources and management issues. The CD initiatives/responses suggested here also flow from the analysis of the existing statistical and common functional capacities in the relevant capacity development core issues as analyzed in the earlier two chapters of this plan.

5.3.1 Rationalization of Organisational Structure: As the results of the capacity assessment indicate a very low capacity level of 2.64 (out of 5) on human resources, high priority is given in this CDP to address HR development. The first and foremost thing to give attention is on review and rationalization of organizational structure of CSO. This includes review the existing Organogram of CSO and the manpower structure for each Department. Revision of organization structure is necessary with due consideration given to augmentation of Departments like Coordination, Provincial Statistical Offices, M&E and Capacity Development. The Department for Field Operations and Sampling may be restructured into several Departments like Survey Design and Research, Data Processing and Field Operations. The NIBP CDA has already prepared in consultation with the Heads of Departments the Organogram of CSO and the Department wise manpower structures (Annexure-II). This could be a starting point to rationalize the organization structure of CSO and the revised Organogram should be uploaded onto its website.



5.3.2 Organisational Culture and Management Style: Based on a Case Study, Kiregyera (2006) concludes: 'The effectiveness of staff will also be enhanced by the implementation of a conducive management style. Building bureaucracy, autocracy and top-down management styles should as much as possible be avoided in preference for a streamlined, participatory and coordinated style of management that breaks down organisational silos and encourages cross-functional and problem-solving teamwork. The management style should encourage staff to innovate, release their creative energies and realize their full potential; should promote a culture of performance, of teamwork and of information sharing.' Senge (1990) 10F

11 differentiates learning organisation from traditional authoritarian ‘controlling organisation’. He defines a learning organisation as one ‘where people continually expand their capacity to create the results they truly desire, where new and expansive patterns of thinking are nurtured, where collective aspiration is set free, and where people are continually learning how to learn together’. According to Mishra (2011) 11 F

12, “Organizations learn through the agency of individuals. The benefits of individual learning will never become organisational benefits unless the organisation itself provides the culture and environment to translate individual learning into organisational thought and practice”. The CSO leadership and management have to change their management style and work in the direction of transforming CSO into a ‘learning organization’.

5.3.3 Reward Management: Pay scales at CSO are very low, even after being raised by CSO participation in the government’s Priority Restructuring and Reform (PRR) system. A university graduate with three years experience receives only about $150 per month. Such low pay scales create poor incentives for performance on the job and professional development. The low scales has also become an even more acute problem and worked as a de-motivating factor for the permanent staff of CSO when they compare with the high salaries of international and national consultants. The ANSP has recommended two policy alternatives for alleviating this problem:

1) A broad increase in pay scales (to a range of $100 to $600 per month) is available under the GIRA’s Pay and Grading (P & G) system. The system requires, however, that the CSO prepare written job descriptions for all employees. It is recommended that CSO strive to qualify as soon as possible for P & G, in particular by preparing the required job descriptions.

11 Senge, P. M. (1990). The Fifth Discipline: the art and practice of the learning organisation. Doubleday. New York. 12 Mishra, P. C. (2011): Models and Relevance of Training Needs Analysis for Effective Design, Delivery and Evaluation of Training Activities and Improvement of Organizational Performance. SAARANSH- A Journal of RKGIT, India



2) CSO should stand ready to pay appropriate bonuses or top ups for work that is well completed in the framework of the ANSP, using some donor funds for that purpose. It will be best if payment is clearly linked to cases where good work has been carried out and deserves a modest reward. The payments must not be seen as a right for all employees.

The second option is, however, not sustainable and hence does find favour with the top management of CSO.

5.3.4 Human Resource Development: The human resources available to a statistical system are its most important asset. The effectiveness of the system depends on the capacity of the staff, their skills and competencies, how they are organized and how they are able to gain and use knowledge. Therefore, assessing CSO staff through Training Needs Analysis and Employee Surveys for devising an appropriate human resources management strategy should form an integral part of capacity development and enhancing the performance of a statistical system. The various facets and problems on human resources that need attention are illustrated in Fig.17. To address these problems, four key areas should be covered under an integrated human resources strategy:

• Staffing • Skills, competencies and training • motivating staff, and • Human Resources (HR) management systems

Fig.17: Various facets and problems on human resources

While training the existing staff may be a useful strategy to increase the professionalism of the workforce, amended recruitment policies and new retrenchment policies are likely to be required to achieve significant staffing changes. A related issue is how to attract more graduates of universities and two-year diploma courses to CSO. Persons with such credentials would be far more trainable than persons with only a high school degree. This problem needs



to be examined more closely, as it may depend not only on pay scales but also on the kinds of job slots authorized for CSO.

The human resources management system is required to be developed in the CSO in such a way so as to:

• Motivate staff to work efficiently and effectively, • Reduce staff turnover so that skilled staff can be retained, • Provide for regular appraisal so that staff are aware of how they are performing, • Identify staff who are eligible and suitable for promotion and provide for succession

and career planning • Deal with problems of poor performance and indiscipline, • Provide in-house and external training facilities to upgrade the skills of the staff, • Develop a HR Management Information System for maintaining appropriate records.

5.3.5 Improve Capacity of Provincial Statistical Offices (PSOs): Unlike other countries, the statistical capacity of PSOs is at very low level. Most of the 146 staff in the 34 PSOs does not have statistical background and no experience in statistical surveys. CSO does have definite data on the number of computers in the PSO’s, but one PC was recently distributed to each PSO, and the total is believed to average about two to three units per PSO. Most PSOs, however, are not connected by internet with CSO, which poses as a major hindrance in communication with the Headquarter. Thus an immediate need is provide appropriate IT equipments and internet connectivity to all PSOs to improve their functionality and online communication. Their involvement with NRVA 2011 survey may hopefully build capacity, based mainly on ‘learning by doing’ useful statistical tasks. Organizing of annual seminars for provincial officers to learn, coordinate, and exchange ideas may also add to their capacity development. 5.3.6 Improve Statistical Infrastructure: International agencies have promulgated various standard classifications for statistical use, and national statistical offices are expected to use these as frameworks for developing national classifications in their local context. The CSO has to develop international standardization and customization of concepts, classifications, and definitions, starting with the most frequently used classifications: Ø The International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC); Ø The Central Product Classification (CPC); Ø The Harmonized System (HS) for imports and exports; Ø The International Standard Classification for Occupations (ISCO).

In addition, CSO should also take the following activities relating to statistical infrastructure:



· Develop a data element dictionary and a glossary of statistical terminology between Dari, Pashto, and English

· Develop and implement of Household Master Sample

· Improve of population estimates/projections

· Perform routine updating of the List of Establishments

· Develop and implement more efficient procedures for business and enterprise registry through better and closer cooperation with the Afghanistan Central Business Registry (ACBR)

Business registers and household sampling frames are very important statistical infrastructure that may be shared by numerous sample exercises. It's necessary to maintain the infrastructure of business registers and household sampling frames and to overhaul them from time to time. The following actions should be taken by CSO to develop data quality assurance system: Ø Develop a quality policy - providing guidelines Ø Develop quality tools at all stages of data collection Ø Develop a process to review quality of analysis and reporting Ø Train staff in quality awareness, principles and procedures, new standards, principles

and methods of quality improvement Ø Develop a program of quality reviews to take a comprehensive scrutiny to address

specific data sets Ø Implement the quality policy – including continual quality improvement and a quality

evaluation program 5.3.7 Improve Data collection and Analytical Capabilities: CSO should take the following activities to meet this capacity need: (i) Improve methodology and sampling design of NRVA 2011: Initially there was a substantial change in the sampling design of NRVA 2011 over the two rounds. While in NRVA 2005 and 2007-08, Probability Proportional to Size (PPS) sampling technique was used in selecting the First Stage Unit (FSU), i.e. villages or enumeration blocks, in the Stratified Two-Stage Sampling (the number of FSUs varied from 30 to 168 from smaller to larger provinces), in NRVA 2010-11 a simple random sampling technique with equal sample size of 60 FSUs from each of the 34 Provinces (strata) of Afghanistan was decided to be used. With 8 Second Stage Units (SSUs)- households chosen from each FSU, the no of households varied from 240 in smaller provinces to 1344 in larger provinces in NRVA 2007-08, whereas for NRVA 2010-11, with 10 households being chosen from each FSU, the no of households (the ultimate sampling unit) was designed to be 600 for each of the 34 Provinces. This would not only have questioned



the validity of survey results for larger provinces like Kabul, Nangarhar, Kandahar, Herat, etc. because of the below optimal sample size but it have also rendered the results of the current survey incomparable with earlier rounds. This was raised by the NIBP CDA as a matter of concern in the fourth meeting of the Steering Committee of NRVA 2010-11 held in March 2011. The matter was given due consideration by all the stakeholders including H.E. President General of CSO, Head of the Department of Field Operations and Sampling and other staff of CSO involved in the current survey, external Project Team of NRVA (ICON-Germany), the Delegates of EU, World Bank, DFID, MRRD, UNAMA, UNFPA, etc. and the sampling design was changed by increasing the sample size for seven larger provinces. It was approved in the 5th Steering Committee meeting held on 17th April 2011. The Steering Committee also decided to constitute a Technical Advisory Group with the NIBP CDA as a Member, which will deliberate on statistical/technical issues and methodology for all surveys including NRVA conducted/coordinated by CSO in future.

(ii) Improve routine household survey by conducting Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES), beginning in Kabul.

(iii) Improve establishment surveys by conducting Integrated Business Establishment Survey (IBES) and reviewing and revising quarterly establishment reports as needed.

(iv) Improve National Accounts system though the following measures: - Conduct annual review of data needs for enhanced National Accounts and

identify which gaps will be most feasible to fill - Analyze HIES for use in improvement of CPI and National Accounts - Analyze IBES establishment data for National Accounts - Develop a study on informal sector or, more widely, non-observed economic

activity - Conduct a pilot study of informal sector in construction - Revise data questionnaires and implement improved collection of data

requested from line ministries - Improve regularity of National Accounts releases and announce a clear revision

schedule - Prepare technical handbook on methods for compiling National Accounts - Upgrade the classification system in close coordination with sub-component - Develop a plan for future improvement of National Account and macro

economic data, for example feasibility of input-output table, supply and use table, or biannual national account data

- Adopt the SNA 1993 in all the sectors and gradually move to SNA 2008 - Adapt to the IMF GDDS.



(v) Improve price statistics by improving the calculation of Consumer Price Index and expanding the Consumer Price Survey to cover more cities. (vi) Improve analytical capabilities by the following measures:

- Constitute an Statistics and Economic Research Group (SERG) for analytical research and publication.

- Identify the user needs for analyses, in consultation with users

- Improve the analytical skills of relevant CSO staff

- Develop analytical methods and conduct analyses to meet needs

- Establish a standard set of analytical tools to be used in statistical presentations

- Systematically improve description, analysis, and interpretation with every data release

- Develop more in depth analysis including forecasting for national account statistics

5.3.8 Build Physical infrastructure: The main physical infrastructure investment under the ANSP would be the construction of a Statistical Training Center (STC) within the existing perimeter of the CSO complex. The building would include three stories above ground plus a basement, for a total of four stories, each 13 x 18m, equivalent to 234 square meters, so the total floor space for all four floors would be 936 sq. m. It was estimated that the cost of the basic building would be no more than $600,000, while the cost of finishing and equipping five rooms for training would be no more than $150,000. However, due to delay in the construction process, cost escalation is inevitable. There is a need for additional space in future as educational/ skill levels of staff rise and more and more staff are assigned their own PC. It is also intended that the STC would provide space for a statistical library with internet facilities and a dissemination unit including a print shop in the basement. Another requirement for physical infrastructure is the construction of PSO offices and the rehabilitation of the PSO office for Kabul. Most of the PSOs lack their own separate office buildings; instead they occupy a room in a provincial government office building. This challenging task with limited budget from GIRA would be met in a phased manner with construction in 2/3 provincial capitals per year. 5.3.9 Acquire/Upgrade ICT Infrastructure: Information & Communication Technology (ICT) has been playing an important role in recent capacity building at CSO, particularly for census mapping by the GIS unit and data entry for NRVA by Data Entry Unit. Each PSO now has at least one computer that was distributed in 2008, and many have more than one, but a full count is lacking. The PSOs do not as a rule have internet connections or scanners. CSO now proposes to connect all of the PSOs to internet at a cost of $2,000 per office. Electricity supply is not reliable in many PSOs, and in such cases CSO supplies generators and fuel so as to operate computers



when needed. An internet connection would make it much easier for the PSOs to send data, such as CPI data, and to receive instructions. Scanners would become quite useful for PSOs when they are connected by internet. The stock of computers at CSO needs to be modernized and expanded gradually. An inventory of computers and peripherals at CSO and PSOs need to be maintained properly and the stock audited at least quarterly as per the office procedure. Upgrading of the network and servers is also needed, but specifications for this are not yet available. The GIS unit at CSO now utilizes hardware and software that are fairly new and are adequate for the task. GIS activity will begin to wind down during and after the planned CPH, but a small GIS unit of, say, five staff should be maintained in preparation for the next census. For this unit, equipment and software would need to be replaced in 2013, by which time it would be five years old. Software at CSO also needs to be upgraded. Viruses are rampant at CSO, with many PC’s lacking protection. CSO needs to purchase and load Anti-virus software in all computers. CSO also needs SPSS and STATA licenses. Finally, CSO needs to move towards establishing a data warehouse to manage some of the databases for which it already serves as a repository – HHL 2005, NRVA, IBES 2009 – and to anticipate the databases that will be created by the CPH and the surveys that are planned. The IT Division should be transferred to Data Processing Department for better operational efficiency and supervision. 5.3.10 Financial Resources: Financing requirements need to respond to user needs but be realistic about resources. In principle the highest priority activities that can be afforded should be included in the annual plan. While much of the funds for statistical work may be provided by the Government, in countries like Afghanistan, donors contribute a major portion of the funds. The budget needs to be presented in a form that facilitates understanding and funding by the Government and development partners. The budget should include both the cost of developing the capacity of the CSO (development costs), as well as the cost of running it (recurrent costs). These would normally be shown separately so that the incremental cost of developing the system and producing new or modified outputs are shown clearly. A major problem with many earlier projects supporting statistical activities in Afghanistan has been that once donor funds have ended, then the activities cannot be sustained. So it is better to seek external resources just for investment for improvement, leaving governments to meet new, higher 'steady-state' recurrent costs in the longer term. CSO should avoid having different financial management systems for different donors. Part of the discussions with donors before implementation begins should focus on how procedures and financial management requirements can best be harmonized. Where there are a number of donors interested in supporting statistical capacity, having a lead donor can be very helpful and is often used in sector-wide approaches. DFID being the lead donor should coordinate discussions with donors to reach agreement on key issues such as reporting and financial management. The CSO has got financial resource to the tune of



US $14 million over a period of 5 years for strengthening the ANSS under the World Bank led Statistics for Results Facility (SRF). But the real challenge is how to utilize this budget given the very low level of capacity on the common functional areas such as procurement, human resource management, public finance management as well as the specialized functional areas such as sampling design, field survey operations, tabulation plans and analysis. A Project Implementation and Coordination Team (PICT) have just been established with the following composition: Project Coordinator, Financial Management Officer, Procurement Officer, Internal audit specialist and Translator / Interpreter. To ensure compliance with the procurement, disbursement, and financial management policies and procedures, CSO may need advisory and coaching services of the NIBP CDA to train the staff on common functional capacities of financial resources, which are found to be quite low (table 5) on the basis of the capacity assessment. 5.3.11 Mutual Accountability Mechanisms: Although there is an internal audit Department in CSO, it is quite under staffed to discharge all the required duties in this regard. It needs to be strengthened. The Internal Audit Officer should ascertain and give assurance to the top Management of fair presentation of financial activities and adequate control mechanisms in the relevant departments in operating their mandates. He should also support strengthening of CSO capacity by:

• Planning and implementing an appropriate program of audit capacity building for the staff of the Finance and Administrative Department of CSO, which includes on-the-job and relevant external training;

• Training and coaching of CSO staff working with PICT as per the Project Manuals; • Supporting CSO staff in carrying out and taking over auditing functions; • Strengthening of CSO audit system.

5.3.12 Inclusion, Participation, Equity & Empowerment: The public engagement will lead to better statistics, better information and better development decisions. All statistical programs must be well led, coordinated and managed. Progress needs to be reported against agreed targets. Programs need support from sound financial management, good donor supervision and ongoing advocacy for statistics. Priorities for statistical activities should be determined by all stakeholders. While donors should be consulted, they should not have the responsibility for determining priorities, which should be based on national needs primarily. As the staff of CSO and other statistical cells represent the most important resource in the ANSS, it is crucial that they are kept informed about progress so that they can remain motivated. Women employees of CSO should be encouraged through means of gender mainstreaming to participate in the decision making process. The CSO should also set up sector specific Expert Committees with



representation from CSO, line Ministries, Donors and other Stakeholders to deliberate and advise on carrying out specialized statistical tasks in collaboration with all line Ministries. It should hold workshops and conferences on sector specific official statistics with participation from academia, CSO senior management and other stakeholders like WB, UNDP, ADB, EU, DFID, ILO, UNWOMEN and line Ministries.

5.4 Capacity Development at individual level The capacity development initiatives aim at developing capacities of the individual employees of CSO. The CD tools and techniques have been chosen keeping in view the individual levels of knowledge and skills in the relevant fields, theirs learning styles and the learning culture relevant to the Afghan context. For example, short term trainings though a useful and necessary CD tool for developing capacities of individuals is not a sufficient tool in case of Afghanistan where the entry level capacities are very low. Therefore, such training programmes should be supplanted by coaching and mentoring.

5.4.1 Build and Nurture Statistical Manpower: A modern and effective statistical agency relies on a wide range of skills at all levels. Well-trained and appropriately skilled people are able to carry out their tasks and functions effectively and efficiently. In general, a statistical agency will require staff that has a general education up to an appropriate level and in appropriate subject. For example, professional statisticians will usually need to have a first or master’s degree in a relevant subject such as statistics, mathematics, economics or some combination of these subjects. Specialist staff may require other qualifications in areas such as demography, cartography, or computer science. Sub-professional staff will usually need to have at least a good background in mathematics. There is lack of qualified persons having expertise in various fields of statistics required by CSO. Out of the 548 permanent officials, only 60 are university graduates and another 9 have master’s degrees, but almost none in Statistics. The lack of statistically qualified persons is a problem not only in CSO but also in Ministries and other organizations. CSO can attract and retain statistical personnel only when they are available in the local market. This is a major bottleneck and handicap in Afghanistan today. Therefore, universities and other educational and technical organizations need to generate such expertise on regular basis. Innovative methods have to be thought of to generate a pool of statistical experts and also to certify the statistical skills if it is available somewhere so that it can be used in official channels. CSO being the nodal agency on statistical matters in the country, it should propagate statistical education in colleges and universities through campus visits, education and research grants and recruit Young Professionals (YPs) from Kabul University. A Department of Statistics and Computer Science does exist in the Faculty of Economics of Kabul University. CSO should sponsor suitable degree programs in this



Department to be taught by Professors specializing on statistical inference, sample survey methods, demography and other skills such as technical writing and official statistics. If high caliber domestic Professors are not available, some foreign professors could be brought to Kabul for four to five years to improve the teaching of Statistics in Kabul. Many of the graduates of such programs would be available to work in Kabul, at either CSO or other statistical agencies. This type of long-term strategy can build sustainable statistical capacity in Afghanistan and CSO has to take a lead role here.

5.4.2 Training Needs Analysis: In principle all training that is provided by an organization should be based on a detailed and accurate identification of training needs. However, in CSO the assessment of training needs is done superficially or is just not done at all. Training Needs Analysis (TNA) has been widely used in many different types of organization for many years and CSO should now adhere to it. Three theoretical models of TNA have dominated the training literature: the organisation-task-person (O-T-P) analysis framework 12F

13 introduced by McGehee and Thayer (1961), the integrative model13F

14 by Taylor et al. (1998) and the 3 x 3 matrix model14F

15 by Boydell and Leary (1998). Under the O-T-P model, organisational analysis examines the organisation’s objectives and goals, resource needs and efficiency indices in order to determine where training is needed. Task analysis requires establishing performance standards for each task or job and the requisite knowledge and skills necessary to perform these tasks in order to determine the content of training. Finally, through person analysis the training professional identifies who in the organisation should receive training to meet the performance standards. The integrative model integrates the O-T-P model with performance analysis and identifies the training needs that have a direct bearing on the ‘organizationally-valued results’. Under this model, two different focuses of training have been explored – results-focused and task-focused. A significant contribution to TNA has come from by Boydell and Leary (1998) who consider organisational, group and individual needs at three different performance levels – Implementing (I1), Improving (I2) and Innovating (I3).

The organisational assessment of CSO suggests the O-T-P model of TNA for CSO, other two models being too advanced for it. Under this model, organisational training needs will be defined by the vision, mission, target and specific duties and responsibilities mandated to CSO. Based on the job analysis, it would be ascertained what jobs will be done by which Department and how these will change over the implementation of the CDP, performance standards for each task or job and the requisite knowledge and skills necessary to perform these tasks would

13 McGehee, W. and Thayer, P.W. (1961). Training in Business and Industry. New York: Wiley. 14 Taylor, P.J., O’ Driscoll, M.P. and Binning, J.F. (1998). A new integrated framework for training needs analysis. Human Resource Management Journal, 8(2). pp.29-50. 15 Boydell, T. and Leary, M. (1998). Identifying Training Needs. Institute of Personnel and Development. London



be established in order to determine the content of training. Finally, a more detailed needs assessment would be carried out for each category of employees:

· What capabilities, skills or knowledge are and will be required to carry out this job? · What capabilities, skills or knowledge do existing employees have?

· What are the gaps between existing capabilities and what will be needed? In order to get best out of these efforts, it is necessary that training needs of each and every individual in CSO are assessed. This is a herculean task keeping in view the current staff strength in the Departments and their absorption capacity and the knowledge levels. Selection of persons who can be sponsored for different trainings on the basis of the assessments made for adjudging of their suitability for different trainings is an important job to be carried out by the NIBP CDA. Table 6 exhibits some training needs assessment already done for the staff of CSO, as mentioned in ANSP. This needs a relook.

TNA is very much a social process in the sense that it involves a wide range of people and a number of inter-personal relationships, both within and outside the organisation. In carrying out a successful TNA, people’s roles, responsibilities, contributions, enthusiasms, commitments and dedications are vital. The stakeholders for TNA include the trainees or learners themselves (individuals or groups) whose needs are being identified and addressed, senior managers/strategic decision makers, divisional managers, colleagues and co-workers, donors, clients and customers, trainers and training practitioners. All should be taken onto board while carrying out the TNA for CSO. 5.4.3 Training and Development Strategy: ‘Training and development is essential for maximum effectiveness of the staff, not only for their current duties but also on a continuing basis for the future. Training will enable the organisation to derive maximum benefit from the potential of its people through strategic optimization of limited resources’ 15F

16. This is more relevant for CSO given its staff’s low level of statistical education, low level of absorption capacity and limited resources, mainly dependent on donors. Even if CSO is able to recruit staff with the right educational level, this does not mean that further training is not needed. The UN Handbook of Statistical Organization, states that 'in many countries the knowledge acquired from universities, both in subject-matter fields and in statistics is often too general and abstract to be immediately well adapted to the needs of statistical agencies.' Because it is difficult to recruit well -trained staff with the skills needed, CSO will need to put in place a well-designed




training and staff development program. This is an important part of the statistical capacity development program. Also what people learn from the training and development courses should be immediately transferred to the workplace so that people do not forget what they have learnt. Hence, the trainings have to be aligned with various jobs and assignments to be carried out in CSO. ‘To achieve wider strategic goals of the organisation, the training and development strategy should be vertically integrated with corporate strategy and horizontally aligned with other human resource development strategies, such as performance management, recruitment and selection, reward management and career development’16F

17.

Table 6: Training needs at CSO 1. For High school graduates

1.1 CSO training for OTJ use in near future.

Testing would be useful but is not absolutely necessary, as OTJ performance will provide a good indicator of the usefulness of the training.

1.2 CSO training in basic skills, including basic math, interview-ing, basic computer, basic English.

A simple system of CSO certificates for 2-3 levels of basic knowledge for HS grads would provide a clear evaluation tool for CSO & for the trainees themselves. Use consultants (international & national) to develop the standards and testing tools.

1.3 Customized university program for 2-year diploma – in-service (part-time) study.

CSO should seek to partner with a local university to develop a customized 2-year in-service diploma program for HS grads. Provide small scholarships to CSO staff who can pass entrance exam & who perform satisfactorily as students.

1.4 Support for part-time in-service B Sc study – suitable for HS grads or diploma holders

Again, CSO should provide scholarships for in-service students with suitable study programs and satisfactory progress. CSO can seek partners for this among local universities.

2. For university graduates

2.1 CSO training in advanced skills for university grads – based on immediate OTJ needs.

Focus on specific types of knowledge that will be utilized OTJ very soon, so that trainees will be motivated to master and apply what they learn. Don’t train in skills that will not soon be utilized.

2.2 CSO training in basic skills for university grads

Again, a simple system of CSO certificates for 2-3 levels of basic knowledge for university grads would provide a clear evaluation tool. Use consultants to develop the standards and testing tools.

2.3 Build up statistics depart-ment at U of Kabul, so it can offer stronger stats curriculum &, eventually, masters

Work together with Economics Faculty at Kabul University to shape a program that will provide statistics graduates for CSO and line agencies with data collection programs. Aim for both enhanced BSc & MSc programs. Use foreign teachers, if possible Dari speakers.




5.4.4 Statistical Training to CSO staff: Training to fill the gaps identified in a training needs analysis can be of many different kinds, varying from long-term courses, resulting in a formal academic qualification, to short-term informal training delivered through course, workshops and even on-the-job, i.e. ‘learning by doing’. Exposure visits of the CSO staff to National Statistical Organizations (NSOs) of other countries can have them the real-time experience of how things are done and statistical tasks performed. This has been going on but inputs are duly transformed into outputs and outcomes. Well developed national statistical systems have access to their own dedicated statistical training centers where courses designed to meet specific needs can be designed and delivered. For CSO, however, this is not an option as its STC is still at nascent stage and training opportunities both locally and overseas must be identified. Potential sources of training include:

• Kabul University • Other national training centers and agencies

· Regional specialist statistical training centers like Indian Statistical Institute • International agencies, training centers and universities (e.g., KOICA, SIAP)

Parallel to the above training courses, the STC of CSO should organise in-house training programmes for operational staff on basic mathematics, basic statistics, basic computer, financial and budget management, questionnaire design, data editing and imputation, demo-graphic analysis, socio-economic indicators, GIS/cartography, SPSS and database management. The services of the employees imparted training on statistics at South Korea under the UNDP-KOICA training programme and similar programmes elsewhere could be tapped for the purpose. The NIBP CDA can also take some classes.

5.4.5 Coaching to senior management of CSO: The senior management staff also needs coaching on such functional capacities as leadership, policy & strategy development, knowledge management, team building, M&E, etc. Various training courses/exposure visits should also be organized for them. Training calendar for the whole year should be prepared in advance as per the training needs of all staff.



5.5 Capacity Development Response Matrix for 2011-2014

Sl Capacity Needs Activities (S - Short Term / L – Long Term)

CD Tool Year Expected Outputs

Indicators19F (baseline; target)

Estimated Budget20F (1000 USD)

Responsible Agency21F

2011

2012

2013

2014

Capacity Development at Enabling Environment Level

1 UNDP Approach to Capacity Assessment and Capacity Development

Placement of NIBP International Capacity Development Advisor in CSO

L Tripartite Agreement between GoI, GoA and UNDP;

Twinning Workshop

x x x CDA is placed

Capacity Development Plan (CDP) for CSO delivered

Annual Work Plan of CDA submitted;

ToR submitted;

CDP printed

(none, completed)

300 UNDP

NIBP

CDA

Placement of National Capacity Development Officer to assist the NIBP CDA in CSO

L Consultation Agreement

x x x CDO is placed and provides assistance to CDA;

Learning & Development of CDO

(local, international)

75 NIBP

IARCSC

Advocacy meetings with President General and senior management of CSO and buy in for CDP

S Meetings, Interviews

x Support and cooperation of CSO obtained for CA and CDP

Ownership of CDP by CSO

--- NIBP

CSO

Sensitize the staff of CSO on CDP methodology, CA, CD strategies and carry out organisational assessment, situational analysis and Capacity Assessment

S Meetings; Interviews,

Research

x staff sensitized, situational analysis, CA completed.

Statistical and Functional CA done (none; completed)

---- NIBP

CSO








2011

2012

2013

2014

Prepare CDP for CSO S Research, Discussion, Feedback

x Mutually acceptable CDP adopted for CSO

CDP document developed (no, completed)

--- NIBP

CSO

2 Twining Arrangement with counterpart Ministries/ Agencies of the regional/ neighboring countries for strengthening the statistical capacity of CSO

Sign MOU with Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, Government of India for twinning arrangement under UNDP South- South Cooperation and implement the activities hereunder (to be identified later on in consultation with NIBP and GoI)

L Twinning x x x MOU is signed and twinning arrangement implemented

Statistical capacity of CSO is improved as per international standards

(basic, advanced)

75 NIBP CSO GoI (MEA, MOSPI)

Implement the twinning arrangement between UNDP NIBP and KOICA on Statistical Training for Afghanistan

L Twinning,

Training

x x x 20 participants per year received Statistical training from Korea

Statistical knowledge and skills improved for a critical mass of staff in CSO

(basic, advanced)

150 NIBP CSO KOICA

Twinning arrangement with other of partner Governments / Pvt Agencies under SRF Project.

L Twinning

Outsourcing

x x x x Twining Agreements signed

Two-way flow of knowledge and expertise

…. CSO through SRF

3 Institutional and Legal Framework

Follow-up on the submission already made to Parliament and seek for the appropriate amend Statistics Law 2006.

S Advising x x Statistical Laws of Afghanistan amended to redefine the relationships between the stakeholders

More official statistics are collected and provided as ‘public goods’

(few, more)









2011

2012

2013

2014

and citizens

Implement the Micro-Data policy by announcing to policymakers and on the CSO website that micro data are available to researchers and government users under certain conditions and with specified costs

L Advising,

Consultancy

x x x x Micro-data policy is implemented

micro data are available to researchers and government users

20 CSO through SRF

4 Leadership and Coordination Mechanism

Review the existing mechanisms and formal arrangements between CSO and other agencies in the Afghanistan National Statistical System (ANSS)

S Advising x x Reviewed 20 CSO through SRF

Reinvigorate the National Statistical Council (NSC) under the chairmanship of the Vice-President of the GIRA to play an active role in coordinating statistical activities across agencies by setting up technical committee that could meet more frequently.

S Advising and consultation

x x x x NSC reinvigorated

Technical committees set up.

Coordinated meetings conducted at least twice a year

20 CSO through SRF

Strengthen the leadership and coordination mechanism with line Ministries/ other statistical agencies to improve the ANSS

L Advising and Consultation

x x x x Coordination strengthened

Statistical activities of line Ministries

20 CSO through SRF








2011

2012

2013

2014

as per international standards overseen by CSO

5 User-Producer dialogue on official statistics

Arrange seminars for users and producers of official statistics for assessing supply and demand side of data

L Advising x x x x Seminars/ workshops per year organized; Data gaps bridged

No of seminars held (1, 2 per annum); No of external stakeholders participated (20, 100 per seminar)

60 CSO through SRF and CDA

6 Access to Information and Knowledge on official statistics

Formulate and implement a Dissemination Policy as per the international standards (IMF)

L Advising x x x x Policy is formulated and implemented

Data disseminated as per IMF standard

(none, NDDS)

20 CSO through SRF

Improve CSO’s website to maximize its utility and visibility of products among the intended users, donors and the larger public

L Advising, Outsourcing

Twinning

x x x CSO products are more visible and demanded by users

Outlook of website improved

60 CSO through SRF

Update CSO’s website on a weekly basis to ensure that it provides an up to date portal of official data in Afghanistan and also monitor and summarize data access regularly

L Advising

Twinning

x x x x Official statistics are easily and timely accessed

Official statistics are used in policy making

40 CSO through SRF

Create a Databank for all available data in CSO and in the line Ministries/Agencies and develop an interactive web-based database, enabling users

L Advising

Outsourcing

x x x x Data bank created

More users access data from the Warehouse

85 CSO through SRF








2011

2012

2013

2014

to access data from one source as per their needs and output formats

Twinning

Improve quality, content and rental of website by outsourcing to experienced private parties

L Advising

Outsourcing

x x x x Outsourced Quality and content improved

185 CSO through SRF

Improve publishing capacity within the CSO, on designing of published materials and capacity of print shop

S Advising x x x Publishing capacity improved

More statistical and knowledge products are published in-house.

50 CSO through SRF

Build a data users and stakeholders email list and use it to announce new publications and other news

S Advising x x List available More mails sent --- CSO

NIBP

Develop, publicize and maintain up-to-date a catalogue of available surveys/statistics, and of forthcoming reports

S Advising x x x Compiled Maintained 30 CSO through SRF

Improve the circulation of Statistical Year Book and other publications through electronic and print media with improved quality and content

L x x x x More books circulated

Demand for the book increased

(300, 1500)

71 CSO

NIBP

7 Improvement of Administrative Data System

Strengthen the system of collection of and coordination for statistics generated as a byproduct of administration in different line Ministries/ Agencies of the Government.

L Advising x x x Flow of information improved

Line Ministries sensitized

… CSO NIBP

Overhaul and revise the schedules/ questionnaires of

L Advising x x x Questionnaires revised as per

Respondents feel good to fill and

50 CSO through








2011

2012

2013

2014

collecting such information by CSO.

Translating relevance with time and need

return them SRF

Initiate a pilot study of statistical audit to assess the statistical capacity at three line Ministries, i.e., Ministry of Women Affair, Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Commerce and Industries.

S Advising Supporting

Training

x x Statistical capacity assessed

Three Line ministries sensitized on statistical capacity development (none, three)

150 NIBP CSO MOWA, MOL MOC&I

Based on the findings of the pilot, conduct statistical audit in other Ministries to review the suitability of the administrative data for the purpose of monitoring the ANDS and statistical capacity to do so

L Advising x x x Statistical audit done

All line ministries sensitized on statistical capacity development (none, many)

250 CSO through SRF

Line Ministries

Development and operationalisation of a Management Information System (MIS) in the line Ministries

L Advising

Providing ICT infra.

Twining

x x x MIS developed for all line Ministries

Improved monitoring & flow of administrative data to CSO.

(basic, advanced)

300 CSO through SRF

Line Ministries

Facilitate implementation of MIS and flow of information to CSO through regular meetings

L Advising, Coord.

x x x Regular meetings held

Smooth and timely flow of information (basic, advanced)

68 CSO through SRF

8 Gender Mainstreaming Sensitization of senior S meeting × x Agreement on Gender Focal --- NIBP








2011

2012

2013

2014

management on gender mainstreaming in CSO and the need for nomination of a gender focal point.

gender related areas that need attention in CSO

Point nominated

(no, yes)

CSO MoWA

Development of a comprehensive gender action plan (GAP) for CSO

S advising × x Gender Action Plan developed for CSO

G.A.P for CSO available

(no; yes)

--- UNDP NIBP

CSO

Biennial review of GAP and gender mainstreaming in CSO

L meetings; advising

× × × × Dynamic and updated G.A.P and GM measures

Number of reviews conducted (0;2)

--- NIBP

CSO

Compile gender statistics and survey on men and women in decision making in Govt.

L Advising, Surveys,

x x x x Gender statistics are compiled

Gender statistics and survey reports are published.

40 UNDP UNWOMEN

CSO through SRF

Capacity Development at Organizational Level

9 Rationalization of Organisational Structure

Review the existing Organogram of CSO and the manpower structure for each Department

S Meetings with PG and HoDs of CSO

Action

× x Organogram of CSO prepared

Department wise manpower chart prepared

--- NIBP

CSO

Revision of Organization structure with due consideration to augmentation

S Advising

Consultation

× x Revised/Updated structure of

Well defined organization structure of CSO

---- NIBP

CSO








2011

2012

2013

2014

of Departments like Coordination, Provincial Statistical Offices, M&E and Capacity Development

CSO put in place and uploaded onto its website (none, prepared and uploaded)

Restructuring the Department for Field Operations and Sampling into several Departments like Survey Design and Research, Data Processing and Field Operations

s Advising x x New Departments created

New Departments created and operational efficiency enhanced

(one, 3)

--- NIBP

CSO IARCSC

Annual review of organization structure by senior management of CSO

L Meeting × × × × Updated organization structure in place

Number of reviews done(zero, 4)

--- NIBP

CSO

10 Organisational Culture and Management Style

Provide the culture and environment to translate individual learning into organisational practice

L Advising, coaching, training

x x x x CSO becomes a learning organisation

Seminars organised

Team spirit developed, Seminars conducted Organisational performance enhanced

--- NIBP CSO

11 Reward Management Prepare written job descriptions all existing employees in CSO and creation of ToRs for new employees to qualify as soon as

s Advising

consultancy

x x Updated job descriptions and ToRs

ToRs and job descriptions finished

60 CSO through SRF








2011

2012

2013

2014

possible for P & G IARCSC

Circulation of revised job descriptions to all staff, CSO

S × x All staff aware of structure & description

--- CSO

12 Human Resource Development (HRD)

Conduct Training Needs Analysis and Employee Surveys for devising an appropriate human resources management strategy

S Advising,

Employee Surveys

x x x HR Strategy developed and performance of the CSO increased

HRM strategy developed.


Attract and retain more graduates of statistics from Universities to CSO through campus interviews and other means

L Advising x x x x Recruitment of Graduates of Statistics from Universities

Highly skilled technical positions are filled.


Identify staff who are eligible and suitable for promotion and provide for succession and career planning

L Advising x x x x Staff identified and promoted

Staff promoted and career planning put in place

--- NIBP

CSO

Develop Performance Management Policy to deal with problems of poor performance and indiscipline and reward good performance.

L Advising x x x x Performance Management system is in place

Good performance is rewarded and bad performance is punished

---- NIBP

CSO








2011

2012

2013

2014

13 HR Management Information System (HRIS)

Design, develop and implement an integrated HR Management Information System to automate the entire sequence of functions of the HR section and Finance section with a common relational database

S Consulting services

Twining

× x Integrated HRIS developed

Integrated HRIS is used by CSO

(no; yes)


Train the staff of CSO in the use of the integrated HRIS for HR/FR

S Training × x Key HR/FR staff trained

Number of Key CSO staff trained

--- CSO

14 Knowledge Management Framework for CSO

Develop a Knowledge Management Framework for CSO, balancing people and technology

S Consultancy, Research and Advising

x x KM Framework developed.

KM Document is submitted.

--- CSO

NIBP CDA

Based on the framework, an automated system for internal communication within CSO using IT tools is designed for efficient sharing of knowledge and skills among the CSO staff

S Consulting services

Twining

x x Automated communication system developed

Automated communication system is ready for use (no; yes)


15 Improve capacity of Provincial Statistical Offices (PSOs)

Involve PSO staff with NRVA 2011 survey and other household surveys to develop their capacity through mainly on ‘learning by doing’ of statistical tasks.

L On the job training and coaching

x x x x Statistical Capacity of PSO staff developed

All PSO staff performance enhanced

120 CSO through SRF and NRVA

Organize annual seminars for provincial officers to learn,

L Seminars x x x x Functional Capacity of

Four seminars 50 CSO through








2011

2012

2013

2014

coordinate, and exchange ideas for their capacity development.

PSO staff developed

conducted SRF

Provide appropriate furniture and office supply to improve PSOs’ functionality

L Provision x x x x Functionality of PSOs increased

80 CSO through SRF

16 Improve Statistical Infrastructure

Develop international standardization and customization of concepts, classifications, and definitions, starting with the most frequently used classifications:

· The International Standard Industrial Classification (ISIC);

· The Central Product Classification (CPC);

· The Harmonized System (HS) for imports and exports;

· The International Standard Classification for Occupations (ISCO).

L Consultancy Twinning

x x x x ISIC, CPC, HS-Exim, ISCO developed

ISIC, CPC, HS-ImEx, ISCO documents are printed and used

200 CSO through SRF

Develop a data element dictionary and a glossary of statistical terminology between Dari, Pashto, and English

L Consultancy x x x x Dictionary is developed

Dictionary is used 20 CSO through SRF

Develop and implement Household Master Sample

S Consultancy twinning

x x HH Master Sample is ready for use

HH Master Sample is used by users

100 CSO through SRF








2011

2012

2013

2014

UNFPA

Improve of population estimates/projections

S Consultancy Advising

x x Improved estimates

Improved estimates

70 CSO through SRF

Perform routine updating of the List of Establishments

L Consultancy x x x Directory of Establishments

Directory of Establishments

50 CSO through SRF

Develop and implement more efficient procedures for business and enterprise registry through better and closer cooperation with the Afghanistan Central Business Registry (ACBR)

S Consultancy Collaboratn

x x Improved business registration system in place

Increase in business enterprises

25 CSO through SRF

ACBR

17 Improve Data collection and Analytical Capabilities

Improve methodology and sampling design of NRVA 2011

S Consultancy x x Improved sampling

Valid and precise Survey results

--- CSO through SC of NRVA

Improve routine household survey by conducting Household Income and Expenditure Survey (HIES), beginning in Kabul.

L Twinning Consultancy

x x x HIES in 14 urban areas, in 4 seasonal groups done

Results are made available for use

1,160 CSO through SRF

Improve establishment surveys by conducting Integrated Business Establishment Survey (IBES) and reviewing and revising quarterly establishment

L Twinning Consultancy

x x x IBES conducted IBES conducted every two years and Quarterly reports are

650 CSO through SRF








2011

2012

2013

2014

reports as needed. reviewed

Conduct Multi-Indicator Cluster Survey

S survey x x MDG indicators are updated

CSO capacity is increased in M&E of MDGs

--- CSO UNICEF

Improve National Accounts System

(i) Conduct annual review of data needs for enhanced National Accounts and identify the gaps to fill on priority

L Twinning Consultancy Advising

x x x x Data needs reviewed and data gaps identified

Four reviews conducted

160 CSO through SRF

(ii) Analyse HIES data for use in improvement of CPI and National Accounts

S Twinning Consultancy Advising

x x Analysis of HIES data for CPI, NA done

Source data for CPI, NA improved

150 CSO through SRF

(iii) Analyse IBES data for use in National Accounts


x x Analysis of IBES data done

Source data for NA improved

90 CSO through SRF

(iv) Develop a study of informal sector or unorganized sector


x Study conducted

Informal sector is accounted for

70 CSO through SRF

(v) Develop a pilot study of informal sector in construction


x Pilot in 2 provinces conducted

Construction sector is studied

80 CSO through SRF

(vi) Improve regularity of National Accounts releases and announce advanced calendar

S Advising Twinning

x x Advanced Calendar is

National Accounts Reports are regularly

--- CSO through SRF and








2011

2012

2013

2014

and a clear revision schedule announced released CDA

(vii) Prepare a technical Manual of National Accounts


x x Manual is printed

Manual is used by all concerned

35 CSO through SRF NIBP

(viii) Develop a plan for future improvements of National Accounts and macro-economic data through preparation of Input-Output Table, Supply and Use Table, etc.


x x Plan for improved NAS put in place

Plan is implemented


(ix) Gradually shift from SNA 1968 to SNA 1993 and then SNA 2008


x x x x SNA 1993 and SNA 2008 adopted

Improved NAS compiled and disseminated

20 CSO through SRF

(x) Develop and adhere to the General Data Dissemination Standards (GDDS) of IMF


x x x x GDDS policy is in place

GDDS policy is implemented


Improve Price and Prod. Indices

(i) Improve the computation of Consumer Price Index by updating the basket of commodities covered and by upgrading methodology in line with international


x x Computation of CPI is improved

Price Indices reflect the inflation more realistically

80 CSO through SRF








2011

2012

2013

2014

recommendations

(ii) Expand the Consumer Price Survey to cover more cities.


x x x x CPI covers 14 more cities

CPI is geographically broadened

80 CSO through SRF

(iii) Start other Price and Production Indices


x x x Other relevant price and production indices computed

Other price and production indices are disseminated

80 CSO through SRF

Improve Analytical Capabilities

Constitute an Statistical and Economic Research Group (SERG) by choosing the best talents in CSO for carrying out analytical research and publishing a research journal

S Advising

Consultancy

x x SERG formed and office equipped

SERG starts functioning

- NIBP CSO

Identify the user needs for analysis, in consultation with users

L Advising Workshop Consultation

x x x x Workshops conducted

User needs identified


Develop analytical skills of SERG L Advising, Coaching Consultancy

x x x Analytical papers, Working Papers are prepared.

Analytical papers are published (nil: 4 papers/pa published)









2011

2012

2013

2014

Develop analytical methods and tools for in-depth analysis of statistical data as per users’ needs and improvement of presentations and reports of CSO, including forecasting for national accounts statistics, population, etc.

L Advising

Twinning

x x x Improved CSO publications with more graphs, analyses and trends

CSO publications become more useful to users

55 CSO through SRF

18 Develop Data Quality Assurance System

Develop a quality policy - providing guidelines on the lines of DQAF

L Advising Twinning

x x x A DQAF is developed for CSO

DGAF is put in place

400

CSO through SRF

DFID

Develop quality tools at all stages of data collection

L Advising Twinning

x x x Quality tools developed

Quality tools used

Develop a process to review quality of analysis and reporting

L Advising Twinning

x x x Process developed

---

Train staff in quality awareness, principles, standards, procedures and methods of quality improvement

L Training

Twinning

x x x Relevant staff of CSO are trained in every aspect of quality assurance

Staff apply the standards, procedures and methods of quality improvement

Develop a program of quality reviews to take a comprehensive scrutiny to address specific data sets

L Advising Twinning

x x x Program developed

Program used

Implement the quality policy – including continual quality improvement and evaluation

L Advising Twinning

x x x Quality policy is fully

Data quality assured








2011

2012

2013

2014

program implemented

19 Physical infrastructure Expedite the construction of a Statistical Training Center (STC) including furnished Library

S Infra x x 100 CSO through SRF

Expedite construction of 28 PSOs and the reconstruction of the PSO office for Kabul

L Infra x x x x 29 PSOs get their own building

PSOs function from their own buildings

--- GIRA

20 Improve ICT Infrastructure Prepare and design an ICT plan S Consultancy Twinning

x ICT Plan is designed

ICT Plan printed 80 CSO through SRF

Replace outmoded computers and printers

S Consultancy Twinning

x x New computers and printers purchased

New computers and printers are used

323 CSO through SRF

Provide UPS and scanners for divisional computers


x x UPS and scanners purchased

UPS and scanners are used

Provide additional computers for use on the desks of staff as per their needs


x x Additional computers are provided

Additional Computers are used by staff

Plan network development including designing and creating a data bank


x Network development plan designed

The Plan is operationalized

400

CSO through SRF

Add servers, equipped with suitable programs such as

S Consultancy x x Servers added Servers used








2011

2012

2013

2014

advanced SQL server Twinning

Upgrade network cables and hubs


x Network cables and hubs upgraded

Upgraded system used

Develop a computer software to organize data storage with metadata and facilitate user access


x x Computer software developed

Computer Software used

Train a small, skilled team for database management


x x Database management team trained

Database management team use the database

Improve quality of internet access in CSO and eventually access to all PC’s


x x x x Internet speed and access enhanced

All staff become Internet savy

150 CSO through SRF

Purchase application software as per the planned software need


x x Application software purchased

Application Software used as per need

50 CSO through SRF

Modernize GIS capability, in terms of both hardware and software. The CSO will retain a core GIS group


x x GIS capacity enhanced

CSO attract and retain a core GIS group


Install Internet facilities in all provincial capitals


x x x x Internet facility provided to all provincial capitals

Online access of data and information from and to PSOs is

90 CSO through SRF








2011

2012

2013

2014

ensured

Purchase generators to provide spare capacity for PSO's as needed


x Generators are purchased

PSOs use generators

100 CSO through SRF

Introduce desktop publishing by purchasing a high speed printers and photocopiers


x Desktop publishing is introduced

More knowledge products are published on desktop

200 CSO through SRF

21 Financial Resources Plan and implement an appropriate program of procurement capacity building for the staff of the Finance and Administrative Department of CSO, which includes on-the-job training and relevant external training;

S Advising

consultancy

x x Procurement Plan is implemented.

Procurement capacity of the staff of the Finance and Administrative Department of CSO increased.

10 CSO through SRF

Coordinate discussions with donors to reach agreement on key issues such as reporting and common financial management

S Coord,

Consultancy

x x Agreement reached

Financial management capacity increased.

--- CSO through SRF

Prepare bidding documents in accordance with the World Bank standard and procedures

S Consultancy x x Bidding document prepared.

Bids are operationalized.

--- CSO through SRF

Training and coaching of CSO staff working by PICT on the Project Manuals; Supporting CSO staff in carrying

L Training and Coaching

x x x x CSO staff trained

CSO staff taken over procurement

--- CSO through SRF








2011

2012

2013

2014

out and taking over procurement functions; and Strengthening of CSO procurement system.

functions

22 Mutual Accountability Mechanisms

Improve Internal Control & Internal Auditing

S Consultancy,

Coaching

x x Control and Audit improved in CSO

Improvement is visible.


Prepare an appropriate program of audit and implement it.

L Consultancy x x x x Programme of Audit prepared.

Audit Program is implemented.

--- CSO through SRF

Develop capacity of staff of the Internal Audit Dept of CSO in carrying out and taking over auditing functions, including data audit

L training x x x x CSO staff capacity improved.

Functioning of Internal Audit Dept of CSO is improved. Regular audits done.

--- CSO through SRF

23 Public Engagement: Inclusion, Participation, Equity & Empowerment

Set up sector specific Expert Committees with representation from CSO, line Ministries, Donors and other Stakeholders to deliberate and advise on carrying out specialized statistical tasks in collaboration with all line Ministries

L Advising

Consultation

x x x x Expert Committees set up

Regular meetings of Expert Committees held









2011

2012

2013

2014

Hold workshops and conferences on sector specific official statistics with participation from academia, CSO senior management and other stakeholders like WB, UNDP, ADB, EU, DFID, UNWOMEN and line Ministries

L Workshops

Advising

x x x x Workshops conducted

No of workshops conducted


24 Office Procedure and Project Management

Project Management Team for operationalisation of SRF is put in place and starts operation

L Recruitment and selection

x x x x SRF management and budget utilization for salaries, etc

Budget utilization goes as per the Plan

1,170 CSO through SRF

Conduct a review of operation manual based on internal consultations, identify areas of improvement and review of monitoring of implementation

L SRF, consultation meetings,

Advising

× x x x Operation Manual in place

Capacity of CSO is improved in core functional areas

200 CSO through SRF

Prepare an office procedure manual containing important items like delegation of authority in CSO, modes and forms of internal as well as external communication, records management etc

L Meetings

SRF (Twinning)

Advising

× x x Revised office procedure manual relevant for CSO is in place

Office Procedure manual is used

200 CSO through SRF

Orientation and training programme for staff on office

L In house workshop

x x x Staff familiarized with office

Staff familiar with office procedure

30 CSO through








2011

2012

2013

2014

procedure manual procedure manual and its provisions

manual

(few; all)

SRF

Annual review of implementation of office procedure manual

L Meeting × × × × Updated and dynamic office procedure manual in place

Number of reviews done

(zero, 4)

20 CSO through SRF

25 Monitoring and Evaluation Framework

Organize a workshop to discuss the existing M&E framework &tool for improvement, with participation from CSO and other stakeholders

S Workshop × x Compiled suggestions for improvement in M&E tool

Workshops conducted

50 CSO through SRF

Document the M&E framework for CSO. Fine tune the M&E tool based on feedback & inputs from workshop

S Advising × x A fully functional M&E tool in place

Percent of error free results from M&E tool (50,100)

50 CSO through SRF

Pilot test of final version of M&E tool in ministries

S Advising Pilot

× x Pilot in 3 ministries successfully completed

Pilot implementation of M&E completed in test ministries (0,3)

50 CSO through SRF

Sensitization workshop cum training for all experts/advisors who work in CSO projects on M&E tool

S Workshop cum training

× Key ANSS stakeholders understand M&E framework

Percent of key stakeholders with reasonable awareness on

10 CSO through SRF








2011

2012

2013

2014

and tool M&E framework

Roll out of M&E tool in line ministries

S Advising

consultancy

× x A fully functional M&E tool in place and use by M&E Dept

Ministries using the M&E tool

40 CSO through SRF

Biennial feedback meetings on implementation of M&E framework with all stakeholders.

L Meeting × × × × A relevant and dynamic M&E framework in place

Number of review meetings conducted (0,2)

50 CSO through SRF

Capacity Development at Individual Level

26 Build and Nurture Statistical Manpower in Afghanistan

Explore innovative methods to generate a pool of statistical experts and also to certify the statistical skills

L Advising

Government -Academia collabor.

x x x x Statistical experts generated

Statistical skills certified

175 CSO through SRF NIBP CDA Kabul Univ.

Propagate statistical education in colleges and universities of Afghanistan through campus visits, education and research grants and recruit Young Professionals (YPs)

L Advising


x x x x Statistical Education spreads in Afghan Colleges and Universities

People are aware of career prospects and apply for stat jobs

90 CSO through SRF, NIBP CDA Kabul Univ.

Sponsor suitable degree programs in Department of

L Advising x x x x CSO sponsors Stat Degree

Students study for these

210 CSO








2011

2012

2013

2014

Statistics and Computer Science in the Faculty of Economics of Kabul University


Programmes programmes through SRF NIBP CDA Kabul Univ.

27 Training Needs Analysis Consultative discussion with senior management of CSO and other stakeholders to identify areas of training for different staff members

S Meeting

consultation

× x Broad areas of training agreed

Internal consultation completed.

--- NIBP CDA CSO

Conduct a TNA based on O-T-P model for CSO

S Advising x x TNA conducted

Training Needs Identified.

--- CSO NIBP

28 Integrated Training and Development Strategy for CSO

Develop and implement an integrated training and development strategy which is vertically integrated with CSO goals and horizontally aligned with other human resource development strategies.

L Advising

Consultancy

Twining

x x x x The gaps identified in the training needs analysis filled

T& D Strategy is developed and implemented.

260 CSO through SRF and NIBP

29 Coaching and Mentoring for Senior Management of CSO

Prepare a detailed suggestive annual training calendar with suggested partners/institutes for functional capacities such as leadership, policy & strategy development, knowledge management, team building,

S Advising

Coaching

twining

× x A training calendar with relevant & required courses prepared.

Availability of detailed training calendar for senior management

--- NIBP CSO








2011

2012

2013

2014

M&E, etc

Various activities for organizing the training courses/exposure visits based on above calendar conducted

L Advising, coordination

twinning

× × × × Training programmes conducted

Number of training courses/exposure visits for senior management.

80 CSO through SRF and NIBP

30 Training and development of new CSO staff: Orientation Training within CSO

Prepare a detailed training calendar for new staff of CSO for orientation training in functional capacities such as planning, time management, communication skills, report writing, team building, etc.

L Advising,

Twinning

× x x x A training calendar with relevant & required courses prepared.

Availability of detailed training calendar for orientation training in functional capacities

--- CSO

NIBP

Conduct various activities for organizing the training courses based on above calendar

L Advising, coordination Training


Number of training courses

40 NIBP CSO

Organize Orientation training within CSO

L Training × × × × All new staff imparted training

Transfer of training to workplace.

105 NIBP CSO

31 Training and Development of existing staff of CSO: technical capacities in official statistics

Prepare a detailed annual training calendar with suggested partners/institutes for training on official statistics within and outside CSO

L Advising

Training

Twinning

× x x x A training calendar with relevant & required courses prepared.

Detailed training calendar for technical capacities is available.

--- NIBP

CSO








2011

2012

2013

2014

Selection of trainees for the courses in the training calendar based on TNA

L Advising, coordination

× x x x Trainees selected based on TNA

Trainees are given orientation session

--- NIBP CSO

Organize the training activities based on above calendar and selection of candidates for in-house and foreign training.

L Advising, coordination Training


Number of training courses

170 CSO through SRF and

NIBP

Organize in-house training on basic statistics, economics and official statistics for CSO staff as well with statistical staff from line Ministries with Experts from outside and international consultants engaged in CSO.

L Training

Coaching

Training

x x x x Training classes undertaken for Statistical Staff of GIRA

Database maintained by STC on the courses conducted and trainees.


Send suitable CSO staff and other statistical staff from PSOs and line Ministries for foreign training, long-term as well as short-term

Advising

Twinning

× × × × Foreign Training received, exposure visits conducted

More and more CSO staff receives training and practiced.

510 CSO NIBP

Organize orientation session of trainees before the training programmes

L Orientation Advising

× × × × Orientation session conducted

Appreciation by trainees

--- CSO

NIBP

Organize debriefing and training sessions by trained staff for

L Training × × × × Training for capacity

Number of capacity transfer

35 CSO








2011

2012

2013

2014

capacity transfer to other colleagues

transfer conducted

sessions conducted (0,12)

NIBP

32 Skill Development of Working level staff of CSO: ‘Learning by Doing’ and ICT skills and English proficiency

Coach and transfer skills from consultants to CSO staff (e.g. NRVA) through ‘hands on experience’, across all projects

L Coaching ‘Hands on Experience’

Twinning

x x x x Statistical skills transferred,

Staff learns statistical operations across all project activities.

130 CSO through NRVA and SRF

Foster a culture of learning by doing, urging CSO staff to go for field work for primary data collection and/or supervision

L Advising x x x x CSO becomes a ‘learning organisation’

Field work capacity of CSO increased

--- CSO through NRVA and NIBP CDA

Measure progress and learning achievements regularly and make relative adjustments

L Advising x x x x Learning Achievements measured and recognized

Individual learning is imbedded in the organisational performance

--- CSO through NIBP

Develop ICT Training and training in English to use modern ICT infrastructure to better manage CSO’s work

L Training

Advising

x x x x A critical mass of CSO staff are trained in ICT skills and English proficiency

Staff performance is improved.

280 CSO through SRF



IMPLEMENTATION, MONITORING AND EVALUATION OF CDP

6.1 Implementation of the CD Response

6.1.1 Expected Outcomes and Indicators: The finest strategy achieves little or nothing if it is not implemented well. Implementation of the CD response as described in the preceding chapter and outlined in the CD Response matrix is expected to yield the following broad outcomes:

• deliver the results, achieve the purpose and contribute effectively to the overall CSO goals; • manage the available resources efficiently; and • monitor and report on progress to support performance management.

The underpinning logic of the preparation of this CDP is to support the production of better statistics, their use for better policies and, ultimately, better development outcomes in Afghanistan. None of this happens until it is implemented effectively. Strikingly, reviewers who studied a broader range of strategies found that 'fewer than 10 percent of effectively formulated strategies were successfully implemented'18. Implementation is primarily an operational process requiring considerable funds, special motivation and leadership skills that involve co-ordination among many stakeholders as defined in the stakeholder matrix and it's not easy. 6.1.2 Important Factors for successful implementation: Basic leadership and ownership are crucial to CDP implementation. Given the importance of CSO in ANSS, it is the Head of the CSO who should lead. The support of line Ministers and Governor of Da Afghanistan Bank will be crucial, but they should not take over leadership. Managing change to implement the CD strategy calls for visionary, effective and tenacious leadership with abilities for effective communication with stakeholders, and maintaining external and internal support. Various teams, committees and groups are needed to facilitate the required leadership, participation and coordination. The structure of the Committees depicted in Fig.18 could be considered for coordination in the ANSS.

18 Kaplan and Norton (2001), quoted in National Strategies for the Development of Statistics (NSDS): Some Issues in Design and Implementation Planning, PARIS21, 2006 at http://www.paris21.org/documents/2410.pdf



Fig.18: Suggested Structure for Coordination in ANSS

Source: PARIS21 (2006): National Strategies for the Development of Statistics (NSDS): Some Issues in Design and Implementation Planning.

‘While the process of capacity development inevitably has to be owned, led, and advanced by the responsible national actors, capacity development support typically originates from outside the target organization’ 18F

19. An outside actor with no relationship to the organization does not have responsibility for the implementation of the CD response or achievement of capacity development objectives. This is why capacity development support, though provided by international development agencies like UNDP, should not be delinked from nationally owned capacity development.

Another factor for successful implementation of the CDP is that the staff of the CSO must be fully motivated and informed about the process. The responses drawn from CA will need to be translated and cascaded into annual work programs and objectives for each work area, and into individual job plans and appraisal and incentive systems.

19 UNDP (2009): Measuring Capacity Development: Practice Note, March.



6.2 Challenges of Implementation

6.2.1 Implementation of SRF: The implementation of the CDP depends heavily on the funds from the World Bank managed Statistics for Results Facility (SRF) and successful donor coordination between the World Bank, European Union and the DFID. The system-wide approach can be applied to statistical capacity building programs to scale up government and donor support for statistics. This CDP, covering the whole, or at least the main parts, of the ANSS, provides the framework within which a system-wide approach can be used to deliver coordinated and harmonized financial and technical assistance. Although US $14 million have been allocated under the project, the real challenges before the PICT are coordinating day-to-day project activities, managing reporting and auditing activities and ensuring compliance with the procurement, disbursement, and financial management policies and procedures. The CSO may need support of all, especially the PICT-SRF in the skill development of the CSO staff in the common functional areas and twinning partner in the specialized functional areas. The CSO also requires the support and advice of NIBP CDA in implementing the SRF.

6.2.2 Support to H.E. President General of CSO. A number of activities are proposed to be taken up under SRF and CDP and lots of planning, decision-making and coordination need to take place at the highest level of CSO, i.e. at the level of the President General of CSO. The President General requires constant and effective support of some experienced Statistician for these purposes. The NIBP CDA is entrusted with the task of providing advisory services to him in all sectors.

6.2.3 Twinning Arrangements. Entering into twinning arrangement with counterpart organizations in other countries for the exposure of the CSO staff there and also to call experts for short-term assignments to impart training and coaching in Afghanistan is not an easy task. Even if an MOU is signed, operationalisation is more challenging. NIBP CDA would facilitate operationalisation of this twinning arrangement as well provide advisory services to CSO in twinning arrangement under SRF so as to avoid duplication of activities.

6.2.4 Coaching for Senior Management of CSO. The Departmental Heads and other senior management have to take up a large number of activities identified in the CDP. In order to enable them to effectively plan, execute and monitor such activities, they need to be coached in leadership, knowledge management and other behavioral skills. CDA should provide the coaching himself or facilitate for such coaching by other experts.

6.2.5 Strengthening the System of Administrative Statistics. Some CSO staff needs to be trained to carry out the statistical audits and preparation of statistical plans so that they can work with different Ministries/Agencies over a period of time. The revision/ updating of



questionnaires for collection of administrative statistics require a great deal of efforts and translation. NIBP and SRF team should come forward with necessary support on priority.

6.2.6 Motivation of Staff at the working level. Motivating staff to work for their organisation and for the country is a stupendous task in the absence of tangible (low salary) or intangible rewards (recognition). The implementation of Pay and Grade system is to be completed as early as possible in order to motivate the staff.

6.3 Monitoring and Evaluation of Implementation of CDP

6.3.1 Monitoring: Statisticians often play an important role in the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of national strategies such as poverty reduction strategies or different sector programs. It is important that the same discipline is applied to statistical projects and programs as well. Making arrangements for effective M&E and reporting the results to the various stakeholders constitute important elements of CDP implementation. By monitoring the implementation of CD response and tracking target indicators, we can get a picture of where the strategy is going in relation to stated goals, to learn lessons, to take corrective action, and, possibly, to revise the CDP. Monitoring will be ineffective unless there is action taken in response to what is measured and reported. In that sense, the strategy will be a dynamic document that will require adjustments as objectives and conditions change and experiences are gained. Monitoring will also be essential for providing information that is required for accountability purposes. To

facilitate monitoring, the CD response matrix has set out the main outcomes and indicators (baseline and target). Regular reviews of progress, with agreement on changes to inputs, activities, outputs and goals can yield better outcomes.

6.3.2 Evaluation: At the mid-point in the CD plan, there should be an evaluation to assess the most significant constraints, the most successful activities and generally to assess how well the strategy will meet the goals. It has been observed that evaluation works best when the emphasis is on learning for the future. At the end, an impact assessment should also be done to measure the development outcomes of the CDP.

6.4 Limitations of the CDP

This Capacity Development Plan has been prepared with a great deal of sincerity and commitment. However, it is felt that the quality could have been improved further with some additional time. Purposive sampling technique has been applied for the selection of informants for the capacity assessment at enabling environment and organisational levels. So some element of bias cannot be ruled out in the strict sense of statistics. However, to minimize the bias, all the Heads of Departments and Head of the Organisation have been chosen for the



canvassing the survey questionnaires like a cluster sampling. Due to unavailability of a dedicated translator for the purpose, some communication gap might have occurred to the respondents while providing the response to the questions. No attempt has been made to standardize the scores to avoid ‘investigator bias’. Many of the activities suggested in the CDP are in alignment with those included in the SRF Project so as to avoid conflict of interest and conform to the budget earmarked for them. The implementation of CDP is therefore dependent heavily on the progress of SRF project.

6.5 Concluding Remarks

Every Statistical Plan of Afghanistan appears to be moving concurrent with the new nomenclature propounded by the International Organizations, with little or no regard to its implementation in a country like Afghanistan which is at first level of transition. There was a need to develop a medium term (3-4 years) integrated Capacity Development Plan based a comprehensive capacity assessment in core development issues and cross-cutting functional areas as well as technical statistical capacity. This CDP has been prepared under the aegis of NIBP, UNDP Afghanistan to address this need. But CSO will have to take ownership and implement the same. While some flexibility in priorities and sequences could be allowed in implementing the activities mentioned under the CD response matrix, there should not be many deviations. Although CSO remains the nerve centre of all statistical activities in the country and the main emphasis of the statistical capacity development will be in the CSO, the statistical capacity development is also needed in the line Ministries/Agencies of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. In the next phase, National Strategies for Development of Statistics (NSDS) as per the international standards should be designed to strengthen the ANSS. As a preparatory work, a document on ANSS could be developed to assess the existing system.

***



REFERENCES

1. Boydell, T. and Leary, M. (1998). Identifying Training Needs. Institute of Personnel and

Development. London.

2. Central Statistics Organisation (2010). Afghanistan National Statistical Plan, August

3. Central Statistics Organisation (2010). Statistical Year Book

4. Central Statistics Organisation (2010). Statistics Law 2006

5. DFID Afghanistan (2010): Data Quality Assessment of the National Risk and Vulnerability Assessment (NRVA) Survey 2007/08.

6. International Development Association (2010): Statistics for Results Facility Catalytic Fund - Grant Agreement, No. TF098001: Strengthening the National Statistical System of Afghanistan

7. International Monetary Fund(IMF): Data Quality Assessment Framework

8. Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (2011): Strengthening the National Statistical System Project. Operations Manual, February.

9. Kaplan and Norton (2001), quoted in PARIS21 (2006): National Strategies for the Development of Statistics (NSDS): Some Issues in Design and Implementation Planning, at http://www.paris21.org/documents/2410.pdf

10. McGehee, W. and Thayer, P.W. (1961). Training in Business and Industry. New York: Wiley.

11. Mishra, P. C. (2011): ‘Models and Relevance of Training Needs Analysis for Effective Design, Delivery and Evaluation of Training Activities and Improvement of Organizational Performance’. SAARANSH- A Journal of RKGIT, India

12. Mishra, P. C. (2011): ‘Role of Employee Surveys in Assisting the Development of Human Resource Development Interventions in Organisations’. Arash- A journal of ISMDR, India

13. PARIS21 (2006): National Strategies for the Development of Statistics (NSDS): Some Issues in Design and Implementation Planning, Paris

14. Senge, P. M. (1990). The Fifth Discipline: the art and practice of the learning organisation. Doubleday. New York

15. Taylor, P.J., O’ Driscoll, M.P. and Binning, J.F. (1998): ‘A new integrated framework for training needs analysis’. Human Resource Management Journal, 8(2)

16. UNDP (2008). Capacity Development Practice Note, October

17. UNDP (2009) Measuring Capacity Development: Practice Note, March




18. UNDP (2009): Capacity Development – A UNDP Primer

19. UNDP(2006): Capacity Assessment Practice Note, July

20. UNDP(2007): Capacity Assessment Methodology Users’ Guide

21. UNSD (2003). Handbook of Statistical Organization, Third Edition - The Operation and Organization of a Statistical Agency. Document ST/ESA/STAT/SER.F/88.

22. UNSD: UN Fundamental principles of official statistics, at http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/statorg/FP-English.htm

23. World Bank (2005): Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building: Guidelines and Procedures, TFSCB Internal Management Committee and TFSCB Administration Unit, Development Data Group

24. World Bank (2006): Health Metrics Network (HMN) Framework, September 25. World Bank (2011) at

http://ddp-ext.worldbank.org/ext/CSIDB/getCountryStatInfoXML?id=4&format=CSIDBS (data accessed on 15/04/2011)

26. World Bank (2011): http://bbsc.worldbank.org/bbsc/Overview?cid=4 (data accessed on 15/04/2011)

http://unstats.un.org/unsd/methods/statorg/FP-English.htm

http://ddp-ext.worldbank.org/ext/CSIDB/getCountryStatInfoXML?id=4&format=CSIDBS

http://bbsc.worldbank.org/bbsc/Overview?cid=4



Annexure-I



Annexure-II Department wise Human Resource Structure of CSO

Department of Administration and Finance - Staff Strength by Grade (As on 26.03.2011)

Head of Administration & Finance

G 1

IT Maintenance & Care General Directorate

G 3

Procurement Division G 2

Service Administrative Division

G2

Finance & Budget Division

G2

Human Resources Division

G2

IT Section

G4(3), G5(2), G6(3), G7

Staff Record Section G4,G5(2),G6(3),G7

Recruitment Section G4,G5(3), G6

Money Assignment Section G3,G4,G5(2)G5

Inventory – Budget &Expenditure Section

G3,G4

Maintenance & Care Section

G3, G4, G5(2),G6(2)

Transport Section

G4,G5,G6

Procurement Section G3, G4, G6

Material Account Section G4,G5(2),G6

Grade No in Position Grade 1 1 Grade 2 4 Grade 3 6 Grade 4 11 Grade 5 15 Grade 6 13 Grade 7 3 Total 53

Secretary

G 6

Budget Section G3,G5



Department of Social Statistics and Demography – Staff Strength by Grade (As on 26.03.2011)

Head of Social Statistics and Demography

Demography Division

G 2

Demography Research

G 3

International Population Information

G 4

Social Statistics

G 3

Health Statistics

G 3

Labour Statistics

G 3

Vital Statistics

G 3

Population Estimation

G 4, G 5, G 6

Vital Statistics Methodology

G 4

Data Evaluation

G 5 (2), G6

Labour Statistics

G 4, G5 (3)

Job Seeking Statistics G 4, G5

Heath Statistics

G 4

Mother and Child Statistics

G 5, G 6

Information & Culture Statistics

G 4, G 5

Education Statistics

G 4, G5 (2), G6

Grade No in Position Grade 1 1 Grade 2 1 Grade 3 5 Grade 4 8 Grade 5 11 Grade 6 5 Total 31

Secretary

G 6



Head of Economic Statistics G 1

Dy Head of Economic Statistics

G 2

Secretary

G 6

Communication and Transport Stat

Division G 3

Agriculture Stat Division

G 3

Industries Stat Division

G 3

Investment Stat Division

G 3

Mining & Energy Stat Division

G3

Construction Stat Division

G 3

External trade Stat Division

G 3

Methodology Division

G 3

Communication statistics

G 4

Transport statistics

G 4

Staff

G 5 (2), G 6 (2)

Cooperative & Animals statistics

G 4

Agriculture Statistics

G 4

Staff

G 5 (2), G 6

Kabul Industries Statistics

G 4

Provinces Industries statistics

G 4

Staff

G 5 (2), G 6

Investments statistics

G 4

Aid and Loans statistics

G 4

Staff

G 5 (2)

Mining statistics

G 4

Enterprises Statistics

G 4

Staff

G 5 (2), G 7

Kabul Constructions statistics

G 4

Province Constructions

G4

Staff

G 5(2), G 6

Imports statistics

G 4

Exports statistics

G 4

Internal Trade

G 4

Staff G 5 (3), G 6 (2), G

7

Methodology

G 4

Staff

G 5

Grade No. in Position Grade 1 1 Grade 2 1 Grade 3 8 Grade 4 16 Grade 5 17 Grade 6 8 Grade 7 2 Total 53

Department of Economic Statistics - Staff Strength by Grade (As on 26.03.2011)



Department of National Accounts - Staff Strength by Grade (As on 26.03.2011)

Head of National Accounts

G 1

National Accounts Division

G 2

CPI Division

G 3

Finance Accounts

G 3

Service Accounts

G 3

Production Accounts

G 3

Production Price Index G 4

Kabul CPI

G 4, G 5 (3), G 6

Secretary

G 6

Monetary & Banking Accounts

G 4

Budget & Expenditure Accounts G 4, G5

Trade Accounts

G 5

Transport & Communication

G 4

Construction Accounts G4

Industrial Prod Accounts G 4, G 5

Agriculture Prod Accounts

G4, G5

Social Services Accounts

G 5

No in Position Grade Grade 1 1 Grade 2 1 Grade 3 4 Grade 4 8 Grade 5 9 Grade 6 1 Total 24



Department of Field Operations and Sampling - Staff Strength by Grade (As on 26.03.2011)

Secretary

G - 5

Head of

Field Operations & Sampling

G - 1

Data Processing Divisions

G - 2

Managment of Data Base

G -3

Staff

G - 4 (3)

Staff

G - 5 (3)

Staff

G - 6 (3)

Geoghraphic Information system

G -3

Staff

G - 4 (3)

Staff

G - 5 (9)

Staff

G - 6 (11)

Data entry

G - 3

Staff

G - 4 (3)

Staff

G - 5 (10)

Staff

G - 6 (11)

Vulnerability Assessment

G - 3

Staff

G - 4 (1)

Staff

G - 5 (2)

Staff

G - 6 (9)

Directorate of Administration

G - 3

Staff

G - 4 (2)

Staff

G - 5 (3)

Staff

G - 6 (4)

Field Operation & Sampling Divisions

G - 2

Field Activities

G - 3

Staff

G - 4 (9)

Staff

G - 5 (28)

Staff

G - 6 (42)

Sampling

G - 3

Staff

G - 4 (1)

Staff

G - 5 (1)

Staff

G - 6 (1)

Establishment Registration

G -3

Staff

G - 4 (1)

Staff

G - 5 (1)

Staff

G - 6 (1)

Survey Desgin

G -3

Staff

G - 4 (1)

Staff

G - 5 (1)

Staff

G - 6 (1)

Grade No in Position

Grade-1 1

Grade-2 2

Grade-3 9

Grade-4 24

Grade-5 59

Grade-6 78

___

Total 173



Department of Planning and Donor Relation - Staff Strength by Grade (As on 26.03.2011)

Head of Planning and Donor Relations

G. up

Donor Relation Division

G 2

Recurrence Generation and Proposal writing

Directorate G 3, G 4

Donor Relation Directorate

G 3, G 5

Secretary

G 5

No in Position Grade Grade up 1 Grade 2 2 Grade 3 4 Grade 4 2 Grade 5 3 Grade 6 2 Total 14

Secretary G 6

Planning Division

G 2 Secretary

G 6

Project Coordination Directorate

G 3, G 4

Planning Directorate

G 3, G 5



Department of Internal Audit - Staff Strength by Grade (As on 26.03.2011)

Head of Internal Audit G. up

General Manager of Quality Control

G 3

Staff

G 4, G 5

Secretary

G 6

No in Position Grade Grade up 1 Grade 3 3 Grade 4 3 Grade 5 3 Grade 6 1

Total 11

General Manager of Internal Audit

G 3

Staff G 4, G 5

Staff G 4, G 5

General Manager of Works Evaluation

G 3



Department of Dissemination and Media Relation - Staff Strength by Grade (As on 26.03.2011)

Head of Dissemination and Media Relation

Publication Division

G 2

Publication Unit

G 4, G 5, G 6

Library

G 6

Secretary

G 5

No in Position Grade Grade 1 1 Grade 3 3 Grade 4 3 Grade 5 3 Grade 6 4

Total 14

Communication Division

G 2

Printing Unit

G 4, G 5

Communication Unit

G 4, G 5, G 6

Printing Division

G 3



Department of Headquarter of CSO - Staff Strength by Grade (As on 26.03.2011)

Head of Department of Headquarters

Documents and Relations General

Directorate G 3


Total 14

G.D Correspondence Division

G 3

Foreign Relations

G5

Archives Directorate

G 4

Staff

G 5, G 6

Staff

G 4, G 6

Staff

G 4, G 5, G 6

Computer Operation

G 4, G 5



Statistical Training Centre - Staff Strength by Grade (As on 26.03.2011)

Director of Statistical Training Centre

General Manager of Training

G 3

Staff

G 4, G 5 (2)

Secretary G 5


Total 09

General Manager of Training Administration

G 3

Staff

G 4, G 5

Dy Director of Training G 2



Annexure-III

Core Issue Description of Capacity Levels ScoresLeadership No evidence of relevant capacity 1

Anecdotal evidence of capacity 2Point of Entry Partially developed capacity 3

Enabling EnvironmentWidespread, but not comprehensive, evidence of capacity 4

Fully developed capacity 5

Functional Capacity QuestionsCapacity

Level(1-5)

Engage in Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue Average R

1R2

R3

R4

R5

R6

R7

R8

R9

R 10

R 11

R 12

R 13

R 14

R 15

R 16

R 17

R 18

R 19

R 20

Do authorities have the capacity to manage relations with domestic and external stakeholders inclusively and constructively?

3.16

Govt Data Users? 3.25 4 5 5 4 3 4 2 5 3 4 3 4 2 1 3 1 4 4 2 2Pvt Data Users? 2.55 2 3 5 2 2 3 2 5 3 3 2 2 2 1 3 2 4 3 1 1Govt Data Producers? 3.35 4 5 5 3 3 4 3 5 3 4 4 3 2 1 4 2 4 4 2 2International Organisations? 3.35 4 4 5 3 4 3 3 5 3 3 4 4 3 1 4 2 4 3 3 2Donors and other Countries 3.30 3 4 5 2 5 4 3 4 3 3 4 4 3 1 3 2 4 3 4 2

Analyse a Situation and Create a Vision Average

Do authorities have the capacity to frame, manage and interpret analysis of internal and external dynamics? Do authorities have the capacity to conduct long-term visioning?

3.00 3 3 5 2 3 3 4 5 5 3 3 3 1 2 4 1 3 4 2 1

Formulate Policy and Strategy AverageDo authorities have the capacity to develop integrated plans linked to resources? 2.85 2 4 5 2 3 4 2 4 3 3 3 4 1 3 3 1 3 3 2 2

Budget, Manage and Implement AverageDo authorities have the capacity to manage implementation of (national or local) plans, strategies, programmes?

3.15 4 4 5 2 2 3 4 4 3 3 4 3 1 3 4 2 3 4 2 3

Monitor and Evaluate AverageDo authorities have the capacity to ensure independent evaluation of medium-term target setting, planning and budgeting?

2.80 3 3 5 1 2 3 2 5 5 3 4 2 1 4 4 1 3 3 1 1

Scores by Respondents

Worksheet for Assessment of Common Functional Capacity in Core Issues at Enabling Environment and Organisational levels of CSO (March 2011)



Core Issue Description of Capacity Levels ScoresPolicy and Legal Framework No evidence of relevant capacity 1





Level(1-5)


1R2

R3

R4

R5

R6

R7

R8

R9

R 10

R 11

R 12

R 13

R 14

R 15

R 16

R 17

R 18

R 19

R 20

Do authorities have the capacity to develop policies and legal and regulatory frameworks and mechanisms that ensure multi-stakeholder participation?

3.10 4 4 5 2 4 2 2 4 3 4 3 2 2 4 4 1 3 4 3 2


Do authorities have the capacity to frame, manage and interpret a comprehensive analysis of the policy and legal environment? Do authorities have the capacity to create a vision for fair and equitable policies and legal and regulatory frameworks and mechanisms?

2.80 3 3 5 2 3 2 3 4 4 3 2 3 1 2 3 1 3 4 3 2

Formulate Policy and Strategy AverageDo authorities have the capacity to develop policy, legal and regulatory frameworks and mechanisms? 2.95 3 4 5 1 2 2 1 4 5 3 4 4 1 3 4 2 3 4 2 2

Budget, Manage and Implement AverageDo authorities have the capacity to develop policy, legal and regulatory frameworks and mechanisms that support an integrated approach to budgeting and implementation?

3.05 3 4 5 1 3 4 2 3 4 3 3 4 1 3 4 2 3 4 3 2

Monitor and Evaluate AverageDo authorities have the capacity to develop policies and legal and regulatory frameworks and mechanisms for monitoring and evaluating?

2.90 3 3 5 1 2 4 2 4 5 2 3 3 2 1 4 2 3 5 2 2




Core Issue Description of Capacity Levels ScoresAccess to Information &

Knowledge No evidence of relevant capacity 1





Level(1-5)


1R2

R3

R4

R5

R6

R7

R8

R9

R 10

R 11

R 12

R 13

R 14

R 15

R 16

R 17

R 18

R 19

R 20

Do authorities have the capacity to engage stakeholders throughout the process of developing plans for access to information and knowledge? 3.00 4 4 5 2 3 2 1 3 5 4 3 3 2 5 3 2 3 4 1 1


Do authorities have the capacity to frame, manage and interpret a comprehensive situation analysis? Do authorities have the capacity to create a vision for equitable, broad and meaningful access to and provision of information and knowledge?

2.65 2 3 3 2 3 1 1 4 4 4 4 3 1 2 4 2 3 5 1 1

Formulate Policy and Strategy AverageDo authorities have the capacity to ensure access to and provision of information and knowledge throughout the process of developing policies and strategies?

2.95 2 4 5 2 4 1 1 4 4 4 2 4 3 2 4 2 3 5 2 1

Budget, Manage and Implement AverageDo authorities have the capacity to ensure access to information and knowledge to support the process of budgeting, management and implementation of programmes and delivery of services?

2.90 3 4 5 1 4 2 1 4 5 3 2 2 2 3 4 2 3 4 2 2

Monitor and Evaluate AverageDo authorities have the capacity to ensure, through monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, citizens' access to information and knowledge?

2.80 2 5 5 1 3 1 1 4 4 3 2 2 1 5 4 2 3 5 2 1




Core Issue Description of Capacity Levels ScoresHuman Resources (HR) No evidence of relevant capacity 1


OrganisationalWidespread, but not comprehensive, evidence of capacity 4



Level(1-5)


1R2

R3

R4

R5

R6

R7

R8

R9

R 10

R 11

R 12

R 13

R 14

R 15

R 16

R 17

R 18

R 19

R 20

Does the organisation have the capacity to engage stakeholders in the process of developing HR policies?

2.75 3 4 5 1 2 3 1 2 5 3 2 3 1 5 4 1 3 4 2 1


Does the organisation have the capacity to frame, manage and interpret a comprehensive situation analysis of and to create a vision for human resource development?

2.65 3 4 5 1 3 3 2 4 4 3 2 3 1 1 4 1 3 4 1 1

Formulate Policy and Strategy AverageDoes the organisation have the capacity to develop policies and strategies relating to human resource development?

2.45 2 4 5 1 1 3 1 3 5 2 1 3 1 3 4 1 3 4 1 1

Budget, Manage and Implement AverageDoes the organisation have the capacity to develop, use and improve competencies of employees? 2.80 3 4 5 1 4 3 1 4 5 2 1 3 1 4 4 1 2 4 2 2

Monitor and Evaluate AverageDoes the organisation have the capacity to monitor and evaluate the development and implementation of HR policy and encourage evaluation and feedback?

2.45 2 4 5 1 2 3 1 3 4 2 1 2 1 5 4 1 2 4 1 1




Core Issue Description of Capacity Levels ScoresFinancial Resources No evidence of relevant capacity 1





Level(1-5)


1R2

R3

R4

R5

R6

R7

R8

R9

R 10

R 11

R 12

R 13

R 14

R 15

R 16

R 17

R 18

R 19

R 20

Does the organisation have the capacity to engage stakeholders in the process of developing a financial plan?

3.15 3 5 5 2 3 3 3 3 3 4 2 3 2 4 3 2 3 5 2 3


Does the organisation have the capacity to frame, manage and interpret a comprehensive financial analysis and to create a vision for use of financial resources?

2.85 2 3 5 2 2 4 3 3 4 3 2 3 2 3 3 1 2 5 2 3

Formulate Policy and Strategy AverageDoes the organisation have the capacity to develop a financial plan and policies? 3.10 3 3 5 2 1 4 3 4 5 3 2 4 2 4 3 2 2 5 3 2

Budget, Manage and Implement AverageDoes the organisation have the capacity to manage financial resources appropriately in the implementation of programmes and delivery of services?

2.85 3 4 5 2 3 4 3 3 4 3 1 2 2 2 3 1 2 4 3 3

Monitor and Evaluate AverageDoes the organisation have the capacity to ensure, through monitoring and evaluation, proper use of financial resources?

2.60 2 5 5 2 1 4 3 2 4 3 1 2 1 3 3 1 2 3 2 3




Core Issue Description of Capacity Levels ScoresPhysical Resources No evidence of relevant capacity 1





Level(1-5)


1R2

R3

R4

R5

R6

R7

R8

R9

R 10

R 11

R 12

R 13

R 14

R 15

R 16

R 17

R 18

R 19

R 20

Does the organisation have the capacity to engage stakeholders in the process of developing an infrastructure and physical resources plan? 3.00 3 3 5 2 2 3 3 3 3 4 2 3 3 3 4 2 4 4 2 2


Does the organisation have the capacity to frame, manage and interpret a comprehensive analysis of its infrastructure and physical resources and to create a vision for use of infrastructure and physical resources?

3.05 3 3 5 1 1 3 3 3 4 4 3 4 3 3 4 2 3 4 2 3

Formulate Policy and Strategy AverageDoes the organisation have the capacity to develop a physical resources plan and policies? 3.05 3 3 5 1 1 3 3 5 5 4 2 4 3 1 4 1 3 4 3 3

Budget, Manage and Implement AverageDoes the organisation have the capacity to manage infrastructue and physical resources (including buildings, offices, equipment; transport and energy resources) appropriately in the implementation of programmes and delivery of services?

3.30 4 4 5 1 1 3 3 4 5 4 3 4 3 5 4 2 3 3 3 2

Monitor and Evaluate AverageDoes the organisation have the capacity to ensure, through monitoring and evaluation, proper use of infrastructure and physical resources? 3.00 4 4 5 1 1 3 2 3 4 4 3 3 3 1 4 2 3 4 3 3




Core Issue Description of Capacity Levels ScoresMutual Accountability

Mechanisms No evidence of relevant capacity 1





Level(1-5)


1R2

R3

R4

R5

R6

R7

R8

R9

R 10

R 11

R 12

R 13

R 14

R 15

R 16

R 17

R 18

R 19

R 20

Does the organisation have the capacity to develop accountability mechanisms that ensure multi-stakeholder participation?

2.95 3 4 5 1 4 4 2 5 3 4 1 3 1 4 4 2 3 4 1 1


Does the organisation have the capacity to frame, manage and interpret a comprehensive analysis of the accountability mechanism environment? Does the organisation have the capacity to create a vision for robust accountability mechanisms?

2.65 2 3 5 1 3 4 2 4 4 4 3 2 1 1 4 2 2 2 2 2

Formulate Policy and Strategy AverageDoes the organisation have the capacity to develop and manage accountability mechanisms to ensure formulation of clear and transparent policies and strategies?

2.80 2 3 5 2 2 4 2 4 5 3 2 3 1 3 4 2 2 3 2 2

Budget, Manage and Implement AverageDoes the organisation have the capacity to develop, manage and enforce accountability mechanisms regarding programme budgeting, management and implementation?

2.55 2 3 5 1 3 3 2 2 4 3 2 3 1 2 4 2 2 4 2 1

Monitor and Evaluate AverageDoes the organisation have the capacity to develop and manage accountability mechanisms for monitoring and evaluation?

2.65 2 3 5 1 2 3 2 4 4 3 2 3 1 3 4 2 2 4 2 1




*****

Core Issue Description of Capacity Levels ScoresInclusion, Participation, Equity &

Empowerment No evidence of relevant capacity 1





Level(1-5)


1R2

R3

R4

R5

R6

R7

R8

R9

R 10

R 11

R 12

R 13

R 14

R 15

R 16

R 17

R 18

R 19

R 20

Does the organisation have the capacity to engage stakeholders in the process of developing public engagement policies, frameworks and mechanisms?

2.65 3 2 5 2 3 3 1 2 3 4 2 4 1 4 4 1 3 4 1 1


Does the organisation have the capacity to frame, manage and interpret a comprehensive situation analysis for broad and meaningful participation? Does the organization have the capacity to create a vision for broad and meaningful participation?

2.80 3 3 5 1 3 3 1 4 5 4 1 4 1 3 4 2 3 4 1 1

Formulate Policy and Strategy AverageDoes the organisation have the capacity to ensure involvement of interested parties throughout the process of developing policies and strategies? 2.75 3 3 5 2 2 3 1 4 3 4 1 4 1 2 4 2 3 4 2 2

Budget, Manage and Implement AverageDoes the organisation have the capacity to involve citizens/customers in the development and delivery of programmes and services?

2.45 2 1 5 2 2 2 1 3 3 4 2 3 1 1 4 2 3 4 2 2

Monitor and Evaluate AverageDoes the organisation have the capacity to ensure availability and accessibility of communication and feedback mechanisms for employees, customers and other key stakeholders to be heard?

2.55 2 2 5 1 1 2 1 4 4 4 1 4 1 3 4 2 2 4 2 2
