Strengthening the capacity of selected least developed countries to address gaps
and integrate good practices in their implementation of the 2030 Agenda
Synopsis
This project provided technical assistance to four Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Lao PDR and Tanzania, on different aspects of their efforts to integrate the 2030 Agenda into national development plans and strategies. The work focused on policy coherence and inclusiveness, financing of national development priorities, and data and monitoring, areas that many countries have identified as a priority for technical assistance in Voluntary National Reviews (VNRs). The assistance was tailored to the specific needs and demands of each country.
A range of analysis and modelling tools were delivered through this project, including ten reports on different aspects of financing strategies, one guide on integrating the 2030 Agenda into national development plans, as well as a set of good practices and practical checklist. The project organized six workshops and one study tour from 2019 to 2021, engaging over 440 participants, among whom 37% were women. In addition to delivering the technical assistance itself, the project piloted close cooperation with the Resident Coordinator’s Office (RCO) in each country.
The main deliverables of the project by country include:
- In Bangladesh, the project supported work in connection with the Data for Now initiative aiming to strengthen national capacity for high-frequency and local-level poverty estimates using non-traditional data sources. The national stakeholders have identified this area of work as being of high importance for tracking the SDGs and national development priorities. Project activities supported national stakeholders to identify data sources and work with innovative and non-tradition models that could be used for higher frequency, local poverty estimates.
- In Ethiopia, the project partnered with ECA to support the Central Statistical Agency (CSA) in developing a draft revision of the country’s Statistical Proclamation and Regulations. In addition, it has supported CSA in preparing the country’s third national strategy for developing statistics (NSDS-III) and the 10-year Statistical Roadmap, including arrangements for validation, implementation, and monitoring. Both support areas aimed to strengthen CSA’s ability to access and use non-traditional data sources to track the SDGs and national development targets.
- Activities organized in Lao PDR have helped reinforce the government’s network of SDG focal points, including line ministries. Aside from bringing together this larger network, it developed a small pool of facilitators in the government who can lead future engagement in the SDG focal points network in the country as well as analysis on who is currently participating in the national planning process and which entities need to be engaged more actively. Support was provided to different aspects of the planning process, including arrangements to strengthen links between national planning and the work of the Lao Statistics Bureau (LSB).
- Activities in Tanzania strengthened stakeholder engagement in the country’s VNR process and put in place mechanisms that can be used to include stakeholders in future planning and reporting processes. The project also contributed input and analysis to drafts of Zanzibar’s Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP). Technical assistance was also provided to Asset Management Action Plans (AMAPs) in six municipalities (Arusha, Mwanza, Tanga, Ubungo, Singida and Temeke) and in building an enabling policy environment for asset management at the national level, including a gap analysis for the drafting of asset management policies on mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. A workshop and advisory services under the project supported the revision of the national statistical legislation.
Spotlights
