Draft biennial programme of regional and international cooperation activities of the Statistical Conference of the Americas of ECLAC, 2007-2009

Includes bibliography

  Documento de trabajo (Español e Inglés); / Working document (Spanish and English); Fourth meeting of the SCA-ECLAC. Santiago, Chile, 25- 27 July 2007 1. As stated in resolution 2000/7 of 25 July 2000 of the United Nations Economic and Social Council, one of the objectives of the Statistical Conference of the Americas of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC); is "to draw up a biennial programme of regional and international cooperation activities, to meet the demands of the countries of the region, subject to the availability of resources". 2. The Statistical Conference of the Americas of ECLAC will adopt, at its fourth meeting, the strategic plan 2005-2015, which defines the mission, vision, strategic goals, specific goals and principal lines of action on which the Conference should focus its work during the period ending in 2015. The choice of 2015 as the deadline for the strategic vision coincides with the target date set for the Millennium Development Goals, which constitute a serious challenge for national statistical systems in the region, insofar as it will be necessary to develop an appropriate system of information to monitor progress towards the Goals. There is also the preparation of the 2010 round of population censuses and the implementation of the System of National Accounts (1993 SNA); in all countries of the region, together with the updating and revision scheduled for 2008. The Conference will thus be facing three major challenges in the medium term. 3. Hence, the strategic plan 2005-2015 of the Conference is intended to serve, now and in the future, as a frame of reference for the biennial programme of regional and international cooperation. This long- term vision will enable the Conference to optimize the contribution of this programme to the effective fulfilment of the four strategic goals of the plan. The programme will sum up the specific aims for a two- year period, which should be consistent with one or more of the four strategic goals of the plan and facilitate progress towards its implementation. Furthermore, in keeping with the goals of the plan, the biennial programme should contain clear guidelines to provide direction and stimulate concrete action by countries, international and subregional organizations and the different coordination and cooperation bodies created for these purposes (for example, the working groups and committees of experts);. 4. The strategic plan outlines four major goals, which, in turn, are broken down into specific goals and translated into different lines of action. The four strategic goals are as follows: Goal 1: To strengthen the strategic and operational management practices and organization of the national statistical offices and national statistical systems in order to ensure the quality of their outputs and the satisfaction of users Goal 2: To promote the training of staff in producing high-quality statistical information, managing national statistical systems and carrying out research into statistical methodology Goal 3: To promote the development of technical and methodological capacities in order to generate high-quality statistical information in the region Goal 4: To promote coordination and cooperation between the member countries of the Statistical Conference of the Americas of ECLAC and international agencies 5. This document contains a draft biennial programme of regional and international cooperation activities which covers the period from the fourth meeting of the Conference until its fifth meeting, scheduled for mid-2009. The programme consists of a series of specific measures in line with the goals referred to, beginning with a definition of priorities and programme components and a reference to the role and functioning of the working groups, which will contribute to clarifying the proposed tasks.