23-24 March 2015 Bangkok, Thailand

Fourth Meeting of the Steering Group for the Regional Programme on Economic Statistics (RPES)
Concept Note and Draft Programme
23-24 March 2015
Bangkok, Thailand
The fourth meeting of SGRPES will be held before the fourth session of the Committee on Statistics (2527 March 2015) and in parallel or back-to-back with the meetings of other expert groups operating
under the auspices of the Committee. By organizing these meetings in the same week, the secretariat
aims to facilitate inter-group exchanges and allow for discussion on cross-cutting issues related to
statistics development. In the afternoon of Tuesday, 24 March a Joint meeting bringing together
members of SGRPES, TAG as well as of the Strategic Advisory Board for the Modernization of Statistical
Production and Services in Asia and the Pacific (SAB-AP), the Bureau of the Committee on Statistics,
Chairs of other groups (on CRVS, disaster statistics, etc.) and the Partnership for Statistics Development
in Asia-Pacific will be organized. All SGRPES members are invited to attend the SGRPES meeting on
Monday, 23 March and the Joint meeting on Tuesday afternoon, 24 March. Separate invitations will be
sent out for each meeting organized in the week of the fourth session of the Committee (please see the
Draft Schedule of Activities for an overview of the week).
The Chairs or co-Chairs of the Committee on Statistics Groups are invited, in addition, to present the
reports of their respective groups to the fourth session of the Committee on Statistics which will take
place on 25-27 March, with the participation of the heads of national statistical offices from an expected
40-45 Asian and Pacific countries.
Expected outcomes of the fourth meeting of SGRPES
Given the progress in implementing RPES outlined in the SGRPES Report to the fourth session of the
Committee on Statistics, the results of fundraising efforts and the landscape of consultations outlined
above, the fourth meeting of SGRPES is expected to:
1. Review status of the implementation of RPES with reference to the work plan developed
following the third meeting of SGRPES;
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2. Review and make recommendations on the general approach taken to developing project
concepts and resource mobilization;
3. Review and make recommendations on the activities and roles proposed for the Steering Group
in the implementation of RPES taking into consideration the post-2015 agenda and other related
initiatives;
4. Make recommendations on the development of the work plan to cover Phase II of the Regional
Programme (2015-2017) and the next steps for SGRPES;
5. Form a common position for SGRPES that will be presented at the Joint meeting to take place on
Tuesday, 24 March especially regarding the implementation and monitoring of the elements of
the RPES that cut across domains (especially advocacy, coordination and statistical
infrastructure).
Participation and funding
There is a limited budget for financing participation to the fourth meeting. Funding requests will be dealt
with on an individual needs basis, with priority accorded to representatives from Least Developed
Countries. SGRPES members who anticipate that they will need funding are encouraged to contact the
secretariat at their earliest convenience. Please send any requests to Ms Nixie Abarquez,
[email protected]
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Draft Programme for the fourth meeting of SGRPES
Monday, 23 March
08.15-09.00
Registration
09.00-09.30
Opening remarks and round of introductions
09.30-10.00
Agenda and the expected outcomes of the fourth meeting of SGRPES
Presentation by the Co-chair of SGRPES
10.00-10.45
Review of RPES implementation since the third meeting (Relevant documents:
Report of the Third Meeting of SGRPES, SGRPES Report to CST-4 and Work Plan)
Presentation by the secretariat and discussion
10.45-11.00
11.00-11.30
Coffee break
Development of project concepts and resource mobilization for RPES
Presentation by the secretariat and discussion
11.30-12.30
Break-out groups and guiding questions for discussion
Presentation by the secretariat and formation of groups
12.30-13.30
13.30-15.00
Lunch
Break-out groups to discuss—based on guiding questions and/or relevant
documents, modalities, criteria and organization among SGRPES members for
performing the following roles and responsibilities by all or some members in
implementing RPES:
-
Oversight (SGRPES):
o
Overseeing development/design of projects within
RPES (Relevant documents: Note on existing RPES
project concepts)
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o
-
15.00-15.15
15.15-17.00
Screening/approving country proposals for technical
assistance funded by an RPES Resource Facility
(Relevant documents: Resource Facility, Country
proposal template)
Development of tools (regional) and taking part in delivery of
activities (regional/subregional/national) (SGRPES Working
Groups)
o
Actively contributing to the development of tools for
RPES implementation, e.g. assessment tools, e.g.
guidelines for development of national economic
statistics development plans/incorporation of the Core
Set of Economic Statistics into NSDS/similar plans; Peer
Reviews of national statistical systems, In-depth
assessments for specific areas of economic statistics
(Relevant documents: Annotated Outline for NESDP
guidelines, Peer Reviews, In-depth assessments)
o
Actively contributing to the implementation of RPES,
e.g. Conducting Peer Reviews and In-depth
assessments; Provision of technical assistance (Relevant
documents: Peer Reviews, In-depth assessments, Roster
of Experts)
Coffee break
Report back to Plenary and Discussion
Tuesday, 24 March
08.00-09.00
Proposed work plan for Phase II and next steps for SGRPES
Presentation by the Co-Chair and discussion
09.00-09.45
Proposed inputs for the Joint Meeting and Discussion
Presentation by the Co-Chair and discussion
09.45-10.00
Closing remarks
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