The Central Statistical Office, of the Ministry of Finance and Energy, is preparing to design a National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) as part of its efforts to strengthen the Grenada National Statistical System (NSS). This is being done with technical assistance from the Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (PARIS21).
The NSDS Training will be held on 10, 11 and 13 July 2017, at the Grenada National Stadium from 9 am to 4 pm. The training will target key stakeholders within the National Statistical System of Grenada.
The launch will be held on 12 July 2017 at the Grenada Trade Centre Annex at 10 am and will target senior officials in government ministries, departments and agencies as well as key representatives from the private sector including non-governmental organisations. Prime Minister, Dr Keith Mitchell, is scheduled to deliver the keynote address at the launch.
The objective of the training and the launch is to introduce the concept of NSDS as a national strategic planning tool for development and advocate for statistics strategic planning to be mainstreamed into the national development planning agenda. It is important for policy makers to see the value of evidence-based planning, to understand the critical role of statistics in achieving sustainable development and to see that better statistics results in better lives and ultimately better development outcomes.
During the training and in the following week of the training a comprehensive assessment of the Grenada National Statistical System will be undertaken by the PARIS21 consultant, Sonia Jackson, former Director General of the Statistics Institute of Jamaica (STATIN). The assessment is aimed at mainly establishing the current state of affairs and identifying statistical development needs for the medium term, taking into consideration national development goals and priorities and the monitoring and reporting requirements of the Sustainable Development Goals in the country.
These activities are being funded and facilitated by PARIS21 and hosted by the Central Statistical Office, Ministry of Finance and Energy. PARIS21 is a global partnership of national, regional and international statistics experts and policy makers seeking to improve evidence-based decision-making in developing countries. Prime Minister Mitchell has taken up the invitation to become a board member of PARIS21 as a key advocate for Statistics in Small Island Developing States (SIDS). As an initial activity in the preparation of the NSDS, PARIS21 assisted Grenada in the revision of its Statistics Act with the aim of strengthening the role of the Central Statistical Office in establishing an integrated statistical system in Grenada.
Ministry of Finance and Energy