SDG Indicators and FAO Role_ ENGLISH

1. The Global SDG indicators’ process and
FAO’s role in support to countries
Pietro Gennari
Chief Statistician, FAO
FAO-OEA/CIE-IICA working group on agricultural and livestock statistics
for Latin America and the Caribbean
Quito, Ecuador, 24 - 26 October 2017

2. The Global SDG Indicators’ Process

3. PROCESS TO DEFINE THE GLOBAL SDG INDICATOR
FRAMEWORK
 The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development will guide the actions
of governments, international agencies, civil society and other
institutions over the next 15 years
 After 2 years from its adoption, we are now finally in full
implementation mode, with all the instrument in place for
undertaking policies aimed to accelerate progress and for monitoring
their results
 UN Statistical Commission responsible for developing the SDG
monitoring framework
 Inter-Agency Expert Group on SDG indicators (IAEG-SDG) to prepare
an initial proposal and oversee this work through to 2030
• 28 countries as members, representing their respective regions.
1/3 of the members rotate every two years (selection by UN
Regional Commissions);
• International organizations only as observers;
=> The process for the selection of the global indicator framework has
been led by countries

4. MEMBER COUNTRIES OF THE IAEG-SDG (AS OF JULY 2017)

5. KEY DECISIONS OF THE 48TH UN STATISTICAL COMMISSION
 Agreed with the refined global indicator framework (GIF)
comprising 232 unique indicators, classified in three Tiers,
according to their methodological development and data
availability;
 Resolution (A/RES/71/313) on the global indicator framework
was adopted by ECOSOC (7 June) and then by the UN General
Assembly on 6 July
 Agreed with the IAEG-SDG’s proposed plan for annual
refinements of the Tier classification and for two comprehensive
reviews of the indicators in 2020 and 2025
 Urged the IAEG-SDG to accelerate the methodological
development of Tier III indicators
 Recognized the valuable role of custodian agencies in global
reporting and recommended them to increase their capacity
building and technical assistance efforts.

6. THE ROLE OF CUSTODIAN AGENCIES
 For each SDG indicator a custodian agency has been
identified to:
 Lead methodological development and documentation
of the indicators
 Support statistical capacity of countries to generate and
disseminate national data
 Collect data from national sources, ensure their
comparability and consistency, and disseminate them
at global level
 Contribute to monitor progress at the global, regional
and national levels (e.g. storyline and data for the
annual SDG reports, Agencies’ flagship publications)

7. GLOBAL AND NATIONAL SDG REPORTING
 Global indicators are to be used for Global monitoring
 Global monitoring should be based, to the extent possible, on
data produced by countries. Therefore the global indicator
framework is a core set of metrics that all countries are invited
to monitor. If national data are not produced, regional and
global indicators may not be produced
 National indicators can complement global indicators for the
purpose of national monitoring (Voluntary National Reviews)
 Should countries monitor both? Yes. Commitment of countries
to monitor global indicators, in addition to national indicators
(par. 75 of the UN resolution on the 2030 Agenda)

8. ALIGNING NATIONAL & GLOBAL MONITORING FRAMEWORKS
MAIN BENEFITS
 Importance for countries of being visible in global and regional
progress reports
 Possibility of benchmarking their performance to that of other
countries: guidance for national policy decisions
 Possibility for international development partners to identify the
key developmental issues at global level and the most problematic
countries, guiding their investment decisions and allocation of
resources across countries
 Importance for countries to align their national monitoring
framework to the global one
 Significantly reduction of the reporting burden
 Significant reduction of data requirements and capacity
development needs
 Increased possibility of receiving technical assistance by international
agencies

9. KEY ISSUES IN GLOBAL REPORTING OF COUNTRY DATA
 International Organizations may need to adjust country data when
they are not compliant with global statistical standards, in order to
produce international comparable statistics. This may lead to
discrepancies between international & national estimates of similar
indicators. How to address them?
 In the absence of national data, International Organizations may use
non-official data or modelled estimates to compile global indicators.
Can these country data be published?
 At national level, there may be different data producers with
overlapping responsibility and the NSO may not have full mandate of
coordinating the National Statistical System. Different country data
may be reported to IOs depending on the national institutions
consulted. Which one should be published?
 National Institutions may receive data requests for the same
indicator by different UN agencies, increasing significantly the
reporting burden. Should data be reported directly to UNSD?

10. KEY ISSUES IN GLOBAL REPORTING OF COUNTRY VALUES
 The 48th session of the UN Statistical Commission requested the
IAEG-SDGs to “develop guidelines of how custodian agencies and
countries can work together to contribute to the data flows
necessary to have harmonized statistics”. The first draft will be
presented at the next IAEG-SDG on 11-15 November 2017.
 The Committee for the Coordination of Statistical Activities (CCSA)
has finalized a set of Principles and practices of global data reporting
and data sharing for the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development,
as a contribution to the IAEG-SDG’s work.
 The document outlines a set of principles guiding the SDG work of
IOs in three main areas:
a. production of country estimates;
b. global data reporting; and
c. data sharing among IOs.

11. GUIDING PRINCIPLES:
PRODUCTION OF COUNTRY ESTIMATES FOR SDG INDICATORS
1. Estimates of the SDG indicators produced by IOs shall be based on national data.
2. If IOs need to estimate country data, they commit to:
a) Select statistical methods & data sources exclusively on the basis of
professional statistical standards
b) Consult NSOs on the methodologies used to calculate country estimates
c) Provide an opportunity for NSOs to review country-specific estimates prior
to their release
d) In cases when an agreement cannot be reached, acknowledge the
disagreement and provide relevant explanations when disseminating
country-specific data
e) Document fully and make publicly available the estimation methods and
data sources used
3. Capacity Development: IOs shall provide technical assistance to countries in
areas where data are not available/of low quality, to enable them to produce
their own data

12. GUIDING PRINCIPLES:
GLOBAL DATA REPORTING FOR SDG INDICATORS
1. IOs are committed to reduce national & international reporting
burdens by:
a) Using already existing reporting mechanisms for data flows
from NSS to IOs
b) Promoting the use of appropriate data transmission standards,
such as SDMX, and API services
c) Using National Reporting Platforms on SDG indicators, when
available
d) Coordinating data collection work & establishing efficient data
sharing arrangements among IOs
2. IOs will always copy NSOs in their SDG data requests and provide
them with the list of all national data providers and the data
collection calendar.

13. GUIDING PRINCIPLES:
GLOBAL DATA SHARING FOR SDG INDICATORS
1. Only designated custodian agency will send data requests to
countries. Once collected, data shall be released publically and
shared at no cost with other IOs
2. Estimates of SDG indicators published in databases maintained by
IOs shall be consistent with the UN SDG global database.
3. Estimates of SDG indicators published in databases maintained by
IOs shall be properly documented & sourced, with clear and
comprehensive metadata

14. FAO Support to Countries

15. STATUS OF SDG INDICATORS UNDER FAO CUSTODIANSHIP
FAO as custodian agency (21 indicators)
Goal Indicators
Goal 2 (Food
security, Nutrition,
Sustainable
Agriculture) 2.1.1 2.1.2 2.3.1 2.3.2 2.4.1 2.5.1 2.5.2 2.a.1 2.c.1
Goal 5 (Gender
equality) 5.a.1 5.a.2
Goal 6 (Use of
Water) 6.4.1 6.4.2
Goal 12
(Sustainable
Consumption and
Production) 12.3.1
Goal 14 (Oceans) 14.4.1 14.6.1 14.7.1 14.b.1
Goal 15 (Life on
Land) 15.1.1 15.2.1 15.4.2
TIER LEVEL OF DEVELOPMENT
I Established methodology
exists and data already
widely available
II Methodology established
but insufficient coverage
(>50% country coverage)
III Internationally agreed
methodology not yet
developed

16. FAO KEY AREAS OF WORK ON SDG INDICATORS
 Regular contribution to global SDG monitoring and
reporting;
 Supporting countries and regions in the preparation of
SDG progress reports, assisting in data gap analyses and
identification of national SDG indicator focal points;
 Development of new definitions and methodologies for
SDG indicators;
 Provision of statistical capacity support and technical
assistance across all 21 SDG indicators under FAO
custodianship;
 Communication and advocacy on SDG indicators.

17. FAO’S CONTRIBUTIONS TO GLOBAL REPORTING
 FAO contributes to the annual Global SDG Report,
submitting storylines, country data, and regional and
global aggregates for the Tier I and II category indicators
 Global SDG Report 2017 fed into the High Level Political
Forum (HLPF) deliberations which this year focused on
Goals 1, 2, 3, 5, 9, 14 and 17
 Revamp of FAO flagship publications to report on the FAO-
relevant SDG indicators (e.g. State of Food Security and
Nutrition in the World – SOFI, launched September 15th)

18. FAO SUPPORT TO NATIONAL AND REGIONAL SDG REPORTING
 In 2017, 44 countries submitted VNRs to the HLPF, while 48 countries have
already committed to preparing a VNR for 2018. FAO will offer enhanced support
to countries to ensure VNRs draw on available SDG indicators.
 Countries are also beginning to prepare national SDG progress reports. UNDG
has issued a set of guidelines for countries reporting on their implementation of
SDGs. FAO will also help countries draw on available SDG indicators, in
collaboration with UNDP.
 UN Regional Commissions are similarly preparing regional SDG progress reports.
In April 2017, ECLAC/CEPAL issued its first Annual report on regional progress and
challenges in relation to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
 FAO can provide targeted assistance to countries in the form of:
 Data gap analyses and country assessments of capacity to report on SDG
indicators (key objective of the FAO’s Regional Office’s TCP in eight countries
in South America)
 Review of national SDG indicator mappings and advice on the alignment
with SDG indicators
 Supporting the development of the institutional network of national focal
points for SDG indicators

19. FAO’S WORK ON SDG INDICATOR METHODOLOGIES
 FAO has submitted workplans for upgrading all remaining Tier III
category SDG indicators at the next IAEG-SDG session on 11-15
November 2017
 In some cases, FAO is developing new international definitions, for
example:
 Definition of small scale food producers (indicators 2.3.1 and
2.3.2)
 Definition of agricultural sustainability (indicators 2.4.1, 15.2.1)
 Definition of rural/urban areas (most SDG indicators)
 In other cases, FAO is developing methodological proposals and
survey tools for new indicators (e.g. 5.a.1, 5.a.2, 12.3.1, 14.6.1)
 These proposed definitions/methods are pilot tested for verifying
their feasibility and are submitted to global consultations for building
international consensus.

20. FAO’S WORK ON SDG INDICATOR METHODOLOGIES
Enlarge the pool of SDG monitoring experts
 Catalytic fund established at FAO to support capacity development
efforts:
 E-learning courses for SDG indicators
 Training-of-Trainers & Regional workshops
Support to national data collections
 Producing new survey/tools as global public goods (e.g. AGRIS)
 Partnering with other IOs to add short modules to internationally-led
surveys and streamline data reporting (MICS, LSMS, DHS)
 Use of new cost-effective methods and new data sources (e.g. remote
sensing)
More on capacity development in the dedicated session on Thursday

21. COMMUNICATION AND ADVOCACY INITIATIVES
 Booklet “FAO and the SDGs Indicators – Measuring up to the 2030
Agenda for Sustainable Development”
 http://www.fao.org/3/a-i6919e.pdf
 Organization and participation in regional advocacy events
 FAO SDG Reporting Platforms consisting of:
 A communications portal embedded in FAO’s existing webpages on
SDGs, where users can find methodological guidelines, training
materials, information on the indicators, key data and other
publications
 http://www.fao.org/sustainable-development-goals/indicators/en/
 A data dissemination platform, where data on the SDG indicators
under FAO custodianship is made available through a variety data
visualisation tools (coming soon)

22. FOR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:
PIETRO GENNARI (CHIEF-STATISTICIAN@FAO.ORG)
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