## D4D Fund — Progress Report and Work Plan (May 2020–October 2021) ## Source details **Canonical URL:** [D4D Fund — Progress Report and Work Plan (May 2020–October 2021)](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/capacity-developement/d4d/3rd-meeting/d4d-fund-progress-report-and-work-plan-may-2020-october-2021.pdf) ## Other formats - [Markdown version](/-/media/files/capacity-developement/d4d/3rd-meeting/d4d-fund-progress-report-and-work-plan-may-2020-october-2021.pdf.md) - [Structured JSON version](/-/media/files/capacity-developement/d4d/3rd-meeting/d4d-fund-progress-report-and-work-plan-may-2020-october-2021.pdf.json) --- ### Objective, scope, and strategic priorities - Objective (D4D Fund): Putting more and better data in the hands of decision-makers to enhance evidence-based macroeconomic policies and support achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). - Scope and period: - USD 33 million for mainly low- and lower middle-income countries, from June 2018 to June 2023. - The D4D Fund aims to finance about three-quarters of the IMF’s externally financed headquarter-based statistics CD under the new work plan. - Conceptual foundation for CD prioritization: - Based on needs assessment considering (i) demand from countries, (ii) policy relevance, (iii) identification of data gaps and data quality concerns, (iv) complementarity with Regional Capacity Development Centers and bilateral CD, and (v) flexibility to react to country capacity and readiness. - Priority areas: Real sector statistics, External sector statistics, Fiscal and debt reporting, Financial access statistics, Online learning, and Statistical information management. ### Program architecture, modules, and indicative budgets - Modules and indicative budget ranges: - M1: Addressing Data Needs and Quality Concerns — USD 19-21 million - Submodules: Real Sector Statistics (RSS); External Sector Statistics (ESS); Fiscal and Debt Reporting (GFS/PSDS) - M2: Financial Access Survey (FAS) — USD 4-5 million - M3: Online Learning — USD 5-7 million - Develop and launch eight fundamental statistics courses (English and up to five other languages) - M4: Statistical Information Management — USD 1-1.5 million - Additional indicative allocations shown: USD 6-7 million; USD 7 million; USD 6-7 million - Detailed budget figures (selected exact amounts as presented): - Total (revised FY19-FY22:Q1-2): 17,348,835 (A+B+C total cell shown) - Sub totals and module entries (A = Latest Approved Budget FY19-FY21:Q1; B = Expenses FY19-20 FY21:Q2-4; C = FY22:Q1-2): - Module 1 – New Total Budget FY19-FY22:Q1-2: 8,246,638 - Real Sector Statistics (M1) A: 1,738,629; B: 1,133,163; C: 537,896; A+B+C total cell shown 2,490,982 - External Sector Statistics (M1) A: 917,481; B: 677,238; C: 566,966; A+B+C total cell shown 1,754,680 - Fiscal and Debt Reporting (M1) A: 2,377,819; B: 1,138,310; C: 535,541; A+B+C total cell shown 3,708,912 - Ad-hoc Advisory Services (M1) C: 164,040; A+B+C total cell shown 292,065 - Module M2: Financial Access Survey A: 1,492,170; B: 843,542; C: 207,337; A+B+C total cell shown 1,922,885 - Module M3: Online Learning A: 2,188,579; B: 1,312,680; C: 1,437,500; A+B+C total cell shown 4,584,775 - Module M4: Statistical Information Management A: 212,279; B: 75,494; C: 14,166; A+B+C total cell shown 254,778 - RM Project Manager A: 485,762; B: 399,598; C: 221,470; A+B+C total cell shown 852,863 - Governance and Evaluation: A: 325,223; B: 26,703; A+B+C total cell shown 351,926 - TF Management Fee (7%): A: 658,890; B: 390,602; C: 280,710; A+B+C total cell shown 1,134,971 - Sub total A: 9,412,719; B: 5,580,025; C: 3,684,917; A+B+C total cell shown 15,861,939 - Total A: 10,071,610; B: 5,970,627; C: 4,290,850; A+B+C total cell shown 17,348,835 - Issues presented for endorsement (selected entries, exact amounts): - No. 1: Module 1, Sub Module Real Sector Statistics — USD 2.49 million - No. 2: Module 1, Sub Module External Sector Statistics — USD 1.75 million - No. 3: Module 1, Sub Module Fiscal and Debt Reporting — USD 3.71 million - No. 4: Module 1, Ad-hoc Advisory Services — USD 0.29 million - No. 5: Module 2: Financial Access Survey — USD 1.92 million - No. 6: Module 3: Online Learning — USD 4.58 million - No. 7: Module 4: Statistical Information Management — USD 0.25 million - No. 8: Program Manager — USD 0.85 million - No.12: Creation of a Governance and Evaluation Budget Line — USD 0.35 million ### Progress to date and financing status (June 2018 – April 2020) - Delivery and impact: - The D4D Fund-supported economic statistics play a major role in SDG monitoring; over 240 indicators listed in the global indicator framework for the 2030 Agenda and over a third relate to economic statistics. - IMF contributes the majority of CD among global providers in economic statistics with USD 28 million, up by more than 50 percent since 2015. - Overall statistics CD delivery rose to USD 689 million in 2017, reflecting growth of almost 17 percent between 2015–17. - Identified financing gap to meet basic SDG monitoring needs: USD 1.3 billion per year. - Activity delivery and utilization: - Out of 109 CD activities planned since inception, 60 were conducted by end-FY 2020. - Travel restrictions required postponement of 27 CD activities; expected implementation rate fell from 80 percent to 55 percent. - USD 6.0 million spent between inception (June 2018) and end-FY 2020 (against USD 6.4 million projected before COVID-19); budget execution rate for this period: 66 percent. - Total partner commitments amount to 94 percent of the five-year program document budget of USD 33.1 million. - Funding gap: USD 2 million against program document budget. - Total received contributions to date: USD 17.1 million; projected total received by end of work plan period (October 2021) based on signed commitments and schedules: USD 28.1 million. - Budget execution at end-FY 2020 (April 30, 2020) reached USD 5.9 million. - Adding the budget of USD 7.3 million for the new work plan period, total expected outlays will reach USD 17.3 million by October 2021. - Online learning uptake: - PSDSx launched September 2019 with over 400 government officials participating. - About 60 percent of participants who passed PSDSx were from low- and lower middle-income countries. - Around one-quarter of participants who passed PSDSx were from fragile and conflict-affected states. - Between February and May (2020), online course participation doubled; PSDSx available 24/7/365 since January 2020. - CBMSx recorded the highest number of participants ever for an IMF online course. - As of mid-May 2020 there were 832 subscribers to the YouTube IMF Institute Learning Channel. ### COVID-19: challenges, adaptations, and work-plan rebalancing - Pandemic challenges: - COVID-19 increased urgency for strengthened statistics to monitor impacts and support recovery. - Pandemic reduced availability and quality of data sources, requiring alternative data sources and new estimation methods. - Many statistical agencies lack technological and organizational preparedness for extended telework, limiting ability to absorb CD. - Strategic adaptations: - Remote delivery options: on-demand remote CD for urgent operational challenges; webinars; business continuity advice. - Larger number of placeholder missions to allow timely calibration to emerging needs. - Small share of resources reserved for short, targeted, ad-hoc assistance. - Proposal to modify SC approval process to a five business day lapse-of-time basis (instead of the current 15 business days) to increase agility. - Lump sum equal to 10 percent of the budget of Module 1 requested to support remote ad-hoc assistance for engagements that take less than one business day of staff time per case; IMF to inform SC quarterly by email. ### Module 1 — Real Sector Statistics (RSS): HFIs, benchmarking, prices, RPPI - High-frequency Indicators (HFIs) and MIEG: - HFIs provide timely measures of economic activity; D4D Fund advanced methodological work on streamlining diverse HFIs through a Monthly Indicator of Economic Growth (MIEG). - MIEG objective: produce timely, comprehensive, and comparable measures of economic growth as a “monthly GDP lite” based on national accounts principles. - Diagnostic findings: HFIs in LLMICs vary widely in coverage, classification, timeliness, and quality; many indicators are partial, unstructured, or not aligned with GDP. - Country engagements: three regional workshops (anglophone AFR, APD, MCD) and six technical assistance missions delivered; follow-up missions planned for Georgia, Jordan, Uganda, and Mongolia. - Work plan numeric changes and planning: Net change in planned CD activities: +17; Country TBD placeholders: 5; On-demand Missions listed: Bhutan +1; Tajikistan +1. - National accounts benchmarking and rebasing: - International recommendation: conduct benchmarking/rebasing every five to ten years. - Table 5 timing of rebasing for LLMICs: - Rebasing within the last 5 years: 15 percent - Rebasing >5 years <10 years: 36 percent - Rebasing > 10 years: 49 percent - Consequences of delayed rebasing: - Nigeria’s rebasing after 20 years caused an 89 percent correction in GDP. - Several delayed exercises in sub-Saharan Africa caused upward corrections of around one-third. - Reform steps (Step 1 to Step 4) outlined to update concepts, source data, integration into SNA 2008, and sectoral accounts. - Selection criteria anchored by rebasing needs and readiness; near-term focus on Step 2 (source data and methods) to support Step 3 (benchmarking/rebasing); CD delivery to be backloaded. - CD portfolio change metric: Net change in national accounts benchmarking/rebasing work plan: +17. - Prices statistics and PPIs/SPPIs: - Services share in LLMIC GDP: ranges from 40 to 50 percent. - Only 12 percent currently disseminate services PPIs (SPPIs). - Planned workshops and targeted country TA on PPIs and SPPIs. - Residential Property Price Indexes (RPPIs): - RPPIs critical for financial stability analysis and macroprudential policy. - STA launched a customizable web‑scraping toolkit to secure listings data to support RPPI compilation and other source data generation. - RPPI progress (selected country timelines and outcomes): - Vietnam: preliminary indexes for Hanoi and Ho Chi Min cities compiled April 2019; follow-up planned summer 2020. - Mongolia: new indexes compiled July 2019; follow-up first half of 2020. - Cambodia: redesigned source-data template July 2019; mid-2020 mission planned to begin analytical work. - Sri Lanka: prototype indexes for Colombo’s condominium market recompiled July 2019 using web-scraped listings; follow-up likely second half of 2020. - Bolivia: assisted in developing an official RPPI and action plan; enhanced indexes expected summer 2020 subject to authorization. - Bangladesh: expanded RPPI coverage projected from July 2021. - Indonesia: prototype house indexes targeted publication from Q1 2020. - eSwatini, Uganda, West Bank and Gaza: assessments and follow-ups planned or requested. - RPPI workshops: regional workshop March 2019 (Kampala) with countries from southern and eastern Africa. ### Module 1 — External Sector Statistics (ESS) - Importance and objectives: - ESS data essential to detect and respond to external risks and vulnerabilities; timely data on trade and capital flows needed to guide policy, especially for LLMICs. - Medium-term objective: adjust ESS compilation to changes in globalization (trade in services, digital remittances). - Progress and country outcomes (selected): - The Gambia: improved coverage of external debt, trade in goods, grants; dissemination of more comprehensive direct investment transactions for 2015–17. - Vanuatu: improved BOP and IIP coverage; dissemination resumed after reporting stopped in 2016. - Jordan: new personal transfers series designed; remittances amounted to 53 percent of goods exports in 2017. - Uzbekistan: established data collection and compilation system; pilot BOP version addressed major spikes in 2014–2015. - Kenya: eliminated inconsistencies across agencies; foreign investment survey 2018 with 85 percent response rate; preliminary IIP compiled. - Morocco, Tunisia, Philippines: missions addressing services data and mobile money. - Root causes of ESS weaknesses: - Inefficient interagency data sharing, weak legal settings, lack of suitable data sources, weak compilation techniques, limited resources. - COVID-19 response and remote CD: - Remote CD provided since onset of pandemic across a wide range of countries including fragile states. - Advice on recording IMF financing and debt relief measures in macro statistics. - Planned delivery: step up in AFR including several FCS; placeholders for operational assistance and webinars; four placeholders for missions in FY 2022; envisaged FY 2021: three regional webinars and five operational remote country missions. ### Module 1 — Fiscal and Debt Reporting (GFS/PSDS) - Context and priorities: - GFS and PSDS CD targeted to countries most exposed to debt sustainability risks; rising counter-cyclical spending and shrinking GDP increase vulnerabilities. - IMF Executive Board approved immediate debt service relief to 25 countries in April 2020. - Delivery and outcomes: - Nine PSDS missions and three GFS missions concentrated on high-risk countries. - 58 percent of GFS and PSDS missions benefited countries in debt distress or at high risk of debt distress. - Three regional PSDS workshops in 2019 engaged 78 country officials from 32 countries, including 16 FCS. - Technical outcomes (selected country examples): - Cabo Verde: compiled data for more than 90 percent of the public sector. - Zimbabwe: broadened public sector coverage to 92 local government entities and ~40 public corporations. - Zambia: raised awareness to include local governments and SOEs in debt compilation. - Côte d’Ivoire: compiled data for 10 key SOEs; SOE debt significantly higher than authorities’ compiled debt. - Liberia: adding debt securities would increase stock of debt in FY 2017–FY 2018 by 1.8 percent of GDP. - Moldova: short-term instruments could have increased stock of debt by 3 percent on average each year over last six years. - Uzbekistan: initiated integrated external debt data compilation; comments on decree to facilitate SOE reporting. - GFS technical assistance and internal consistency: - Ghana: reconciled stocks and flows for 2018; compiled GFS time series 2014–2018 for budgetary central government; data included in GFS yearbook. - Uzbekistan: off-budget accounts accounted for 7 percent of GDP (revenue) and 6.1 percent of GDP (expenditure). - The Gambia: produced draft GFS Compilation Guide and compiled budgetary central government GFS for 2017–2019. - Operational modalities and planned activities: - Leaner operational CD missions, webinars, and country-specific remote TA prioritized while conventional missions scaled down. - Planned workshops by region (AFR, MCD, WHD, APD) and missions deferred or rescheduled due to COVID-19; missions for FY 2021 and early FY 2022 listed for specific countries (e.g., Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, Zimbabwe, Uzbekistan, Mozambique, Côte d’Ivoire, Tajikistan, Sierra Leone, Egypt, Tunisia, Angola, Togo). - Webinars planned: four webinars to support application of IMF’s Special Series on COVID-19 notes plus additional RCDC language webinars. - Tools: an Excel tool to convert SOE financial statements into fiscal statistics; planned delivery via webinars and remote missions. - SOE debt vulnerabilities: - SOEs comprise one-third of emerging market sovereign hard currency debt tracked in a major emerging market sovereign bond index. - In some countries, SOE debt exceeds 20 percent of GDP and/or SOE external debt exceeds 25 percent of exports of goods and services. ### Module 2 — Financial Access Survey (FAS) and financial inclusion statistics - FAS gender-disaggregated data: - Informed policy dialogues on women’s financial inclusion; used by UNSGSA and the Women's Financial Inclusion Data Partnership to identify priority countries for TA. - Partners include Alliance for Financial Inclusion, Data2X, Global Banking Alliance for Women, IDB, IDB Invest, IFC, IMF and World Bank. - 2020 FAS round and data-quality enhancements: - Invitation to submit data sent March 30th, 2020; submission deadline extended from May 31st to June 30th, 2020. - Third regional workshop postponed to FY 2021; validation and metadata review planned during 2020 data validation. - New validation tools under consideration: automated data visualization and outlier detection. - Policy tracker compiled tabulating COVID-19 policy responses in mobile money and SME financing. - New indicators under consideration: value of mobile money transactions per account and non-life insurance policies; review of digital finance indicators. - Pilot: assessing feasibility of using Google Map API geolocation data to visualize mobile money agents and ATMs in Kenya. - Module 2 targets by end of five-year period: - Annual FAS response rate increased to 95 percent of IMF membership. - Number of jurisdictions providing gender breakdown doubled compared to 2017 benchmark. - Number of jurisdictions providing indicators of innovative channels of financial access increased by 50 percent compared to 2017 benchmark. - Coverage target: number of commercial bank branches and ATMs per 100,000 adults on an annual basis covering at least 90 percent of world population. ### Module 3 — Online Learning: curriculum rollout and targets - Achievements and scheduling: - PSDSx launched September 2019 with over 400 government officials; CBMSx had record participation. - Translation expected to begin in FY 2021 (first targeted into French). - GFSx to be launched July 2020. - BOP-IIPx expected by end-2020. - NASx preparation accelerated with tentative launch by end FY 2021. - Development plan: eight fundamental statistics courses in English and up to five other languages; certification to be used as entry requirement for intermediate/advanced face-to-face training. - Delivery and reach: - Regional breakdown for PSDSx active participants: AFR 33%, APD 28%, WHD 16%, MCD 13%, EUR 10%; FCS 23%, Non-FCS 77%; LLMIC 60%, Non-LLMIC 40%. - Content from PSDSx released as three macroeconomic statistics playlists totaling 25 videos; five additional PSDSx videos planned. - Online curriculum expected to increase reach of STA training by at least 50 percent by end of D4D Fund period. ### Module 4 — Statistical Information Management - Dissemination and SDMX: - Bank of Lebanon received TA in May 2019 for SDMX roadmap; Central Bank of Tunisia assisted in February 2020 for NSDP SDMX modernization. - Planned missions: five missions on data collection and dissemination (backloaded implementation due to business continuity concerns). - Vietnam requested TA to strengthen statistical outputs of central bank; two TA missions planned to harmonize source data collection and develop work plan. - IMF staff participation in two sub-regional SDMX workshops in Africa planned with AfDB, Eurostat, and UNSD. - Data management tools and web-scraping: - STA developing web-scraping toolkit initially for RPPI; a more generic version will be developed to retrieve data for other statistical production processes. ### Governance, evaluation, and donor engagement - Steering Committee (SC) governance and operational rules: - SC role: provide strategic guidance, endorse work plan and updates; composed of contributor representatives and IMF; Chair and Vice-Chair one-year terms. - Decisions by consensus; standard lapse-of-time approval period 15 working days (proposal to reduce to five business days for work-plan changes under crisis circumstances). - Work plan distribution: three weeks before SC meeting; strategic changes circulated for non-objection/lapse-of-time endorsement. - Reporting: annual report endorsement by SC; module/submodule descriptions to be provided on Partners Connect platform within three months after endorsement. - Evaluation and outreach: - Independent external evaluation to be initiated no later than 40 months after D4D-funded activities began; evaluation cost borne by D4D Fund. - D4D Fund website revamped; promotional video broadcast during 2019 IMF/World Bank Meetings; PSDSx promotional material and YouTube channel launched. - Meeting timing and donor cadence: - IMF proposes annual SC meetings in June. - Proposal for two remote donor check-ins before the 2021 SC meeting and an interim report in January 2021. - Temporary expansion of country eligibility (crisis-related): - Proposed binding constraint: GNI exceeding current threshold of USD 3,996 by less than 10 percent. - Candidate countries (reported 2018 GNI): Samoa $4,020; Azerbaijan $4,050; Sri Lanka $4,060; Jordan $4,200; Kosovo $4,220; Armenia $4,230; Tonga $4,300. - Rationale: to avoid exclusion of countries barely above threshold but heavily affected by crisis. ### Monitoring, targets, and log frame outcomes (selected strategic objectives) - Real Sector Statistics (HFIs) outcome targets at end of five-year period: - Support at least 10 countries currently not producing HFIs to compile and disseminate an indicator for a significant activity/sector. - Assist at least 15 additional countries to strengthen compilation and dissemination of well-defined HFIs. - National Accounts Benchmarking and Rebasing targets: - Support at least 15 countries in release of updated benchmark estimates of GDP based on improved source data and methods. - Updated business registers in 10 countries; updated business survey/program content in 15 countries; 10 new MOUs for data access; 10 countries augment prices statistics program with new series. - External Sector Statistics targets: - More accurate and comprehensive data on international trade in goods and services for at least 15 eligible countries. - At least 15 eligible countries to receive improved coverage of financial account and remittances. - Fiscal and Debt Reporting targets: - High-frequency GFS improvements for around one-third of LLMICs; high-frequency PSDS improvements for around half of LLMICs (depending on risk-based assessment). - Financial Access Survey targets: - Increase annual FAS response rate to 95 percent of IMF membership. - Double jurisdictions providing gender breakdown compared to 2017. - Increase jurisdictions providing indicators of innovative channels by 50 percent compared to 2017. - Publish commercial bank branches and ATMs per 100,000 adults covering at least 90 percent of world population. *Source: D4D Fund Progress Report and Work Plan (May 2020–October 2021), Statistics Department, IMF.* ### EXECUTIVE SUMMARY __________________________________________________________________________ 8 ### D4D Fund — Progress Report and Work Plan (May 2020–October 2021) — Executive Summary ### Objective and Focus - Objective: Putting more and better data in the hands of decision-makers to enhance evidence-based macroeconomic policies and support achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). - Focus: Strengthen national statistical systems to cope with a more challenging national and international policy environment, promote transparency and accountability, and offer efficient solutions to capacity development (CD). ### Size, Target Countries, and Period - Size, Target Countries and Period: USD 33 million for mainly low- and lower middle-income countries, from June 2018 to June 2023. - The D4D Fund aims to finance about three-quarters of the IMF’s externally financed headquarter-based statistics CD under the new work plan. ### Conceptual Foundation and Priorities - Conceptual Foundation: Based on a needs assessment that considered (i) demand from countries, (ii) policy relevance, (iii) identification of data gaps and data quality concerns, (iv) complementarity of CD provided out of the IMF’s Regional Capacity Development Centers and bilateral CD projects, and (v) the need for flexibility to react to a country’s capacity and readiness to accept CD. - Priority areas: Real sector statistics, External sector statistics, Fiscal and debt reporting, Financial access statistics, Online learning, and Statistical information management. ### Modules and Indicative Budget Ranges - Modules of the D4D Fund: - M1: Addressing Data Needs and Quality Concerns — USD 19-21 million - Submodules: Real Sector Statistics (RSS); External Sector Statistics (ESS); Fiscal and Debt Reporting (GFS/PSDS) - M2: Financial Access Survey (FAS) — USD 4-5 million - M3: Online Learning — USD 5-7 million - Develop and launch eight fundamental statistics courses (English and up to five other languages) - M4: Statistical Information Management — USD 1-1.5 million - Additional indicative allocations shown: USD 6-7 million; USD 7 million; USD 6-7 million (as presented in the overview) ### Progress and Impact to Date (June 2018 – April 2020) - The D4D Fund-supported economic statistics play a major role in SDG monitoring; more than one-third of SDGs include economic data. - CD delivered by the D4D Fund has helped close data gaps undermining countries’ ability to monitor financial and economic stability, with scarce CD resources focused on the most vulnerable countries. - STA targeted fiscal and debt reporting CD primarily on countries at high risk of debt distress, helping authorities arrive at a more comprehensive picture of public sector debt. - Within national accounts CD, demand for support in developing Residential Property Price Indices (RPPI) was particularly strong. - CD on external sector statistics made available crucial data for external sustainability analysis. - The IMF contributes the majority of CD among global providers in economic statistics with USD 28 million, up by more than 50 percent since 2015. - Overall statistics CD delivery rose to USD 689 million in 2017, reflecting growth of almost 17 percent between 2015–17. - Identified financing gap to meet basic SDG monitoring needs: USD 1.3 billion per year. ### Online Learning Achievements and Trends - The Public Sector Debt Statistics online course (PSDSx) kicked off the D4D-funded online curriculum with over 400 government officials participating around the World. - About 60 percent of participants who passed the course were from low- and lower middle-income countries. - Around one-quarter of participants who passed were from fragile and conflict-affected states. - Since the onset of the crisis, demand for statistics online courses increased: between February and May, participation doubled. - Participation exceeded IMF online course participation averages; online delivery expanded as face-to-face training paused due to the pandemic. ### COVID-19 Pandemic: Challenges and Adaptive Measures - COVID-19 has made strengthening statistics production an even more urgent priority for monitoring impacts and supporting recovery. - The pandemic reduced availability and quality of data sources, requiring urgent access to alternative data sources and new estimation methods. - Many statistical agencies are not technologically and organizationally prepared for extended periods of telework, limiting their ability to absorb CD. - The work plan re-balances the CD mix to introduce: - Remote delivery options (on-demand remote CD for urgent operational challenges). - Business continuity advice and webinars for multiple countries. - A larger number of placeholder missions to allow timely calibration to emerging needs. - A small share of resources reserved for short, targeted, ad-hoc assistance. ### Strategic Rationale and Institutional Role - The IMF’s methodological leadership (for example in revisions of the BOP and National Accounts manuals) underpins CD and helps integrate analytical advancements with CD provision. - The D4D Fund consolidates CD to enable more agile resource allocation and efficiency gains. - To meet evolving needs, the IMF proposes expanding eligibility criteria to include a small set of upper middle-income countries on the brink of dropping back to lower level because of the crisis. ### Key Figures and Statistics (as presented) - Over 240 indicators listed in the global indicator framework for the 2030 Agenda; over a third relate to economic statistics. - USD 33 million total D4D Fund size (June 2018 to June 2023). - USD 689 million total statistics CD delivery in 2017. - USD 1.3 billion per year estimated required to finance basic SDG monitoring needs. - USD 28 million IMF contribution among global CD providers in economic statistics. - CD delivery growth of almost 17 percent between 2015–17. - Public Sector Debt Statistics online course participation: over 400 government officials. - About 60 percent of course passers from low- and lower middle-income countries. - Around one-quarter of course passers from fragile and conflict-affected states. - Between February and May (2020), online course participation doubled. *Source: D4D Fund Progress Report and Work Plan (May 2020–October 2021), Executive Summary — Statistics Department, IMF.* ### 7. The World Bank Group’s 2019 International Development Association replenishment ### 7. The World Bank Group’s 2019 International Development Association replenishment (IDA19) ### IDA19 support for statistics capacity development - IDA19 committed to support more robust data and analytics by strengthening institutional capacity to deliver on the production of core data sets, with a focus on Africa and countries in fragile and conflict settings. - IDA’s Data for Policy (D4P) initiative targets economic, social, and sustainability statistics and includes household surveys, population censuses, enterprise surveys, establishment censuses, agricultural data, price data, and administrative records among its deliverables. - A first regional project of USD 326 million (approved in March 2020) supports countries in West Africa in strengthening capacity to produce, disseminate, and use core economic and social statistics. - Another project will support capacity development in the Pacific Islands; similar projects are under consideration for other regions. ### Implications for IMF capacity development (CD) - IDA-funded activities will provide inputs for IMF CD and have potential to enhance absorptive capacity for economic as well as poverty statistics. - Enterprise and household surveys are key inputs for successful rebasing of gross domestic product (GDP); quality GDP rebasing informs on debt vulnerability, fiscal space and policy, and structural challenges such as the informal economy. - World Bank-funded economic censuses will help update the sample frame underpinning economic surveys, improving their quality. ### IMF–World Bank coordination - The IMF and the World Bank are establishing coordination mechanisms to maximize synergies between the IMF’s CD on economic statistics under the D4D Fund and the World Bank’s poverty-focused approach. - Essential to identify priorities jointly with country authorities for a coordinated and phased approach that considers countries’ absorption capacity. - Alignment with National Strategies for the Development of Statistics is required to develop statistical systems on a sustainable basis. ### D4D Fund flexibility for COVID-19 response - The D4D Fund’s agile, modular structure and focus on making high-quality data available for decision-making position it well to finance emerging CD needs from the COVID-19 crisis in close coordination with other CD providers. - Additional flexibility will be necessary to use D4D Fund resources for ad-hoc and operational needs that emerged during the crisis, including the approval process for work plan changes and country eligibility. ### Financial status and fundraising (summary) - Total partner commitments amount to 94 percent of the five-year program document budget of USD 33.1 million. - The D4D Fund currently has a funding gap of USD 2 million against the program document budget. - Since the last SC meeting in January 2019, Norway joined as a new contributor; the European Union signed a top-up contribution agreement in January 2020, doubling their original commitment signed in 2018. - Partners have largely made disbursements on time, bringing total received contributions to USD 17.1 million (Tables 1 and 2). - Based on signed commitments and disbursement schedules, total amount received is projected at USD 28.1 million by the end of the new work plan period (October 2021). - Budget execution at end-FY 2020 (April 30, 2020) reached USD 5.9 million. - Adding the budget of USD 7.3 million for the new work plan period, total expected outlays will reach USD 17.3 million by October 2021. - Conclusion: the D4D Fund has sufficient resources for the SC to endorse the 18-month work plan. ### Progress achieved (June 2018 – April 2020) - Out of a total of 109 CD activities planned since the inception of the D4D Fund, 60 were conducted by end-FY 2020. - Travel restrictions required postponement of 27 CD activities; most are now reflected in the FY 2021 work plan. - The expected implementation rate of 80 percent (documented in the work plan circulated for the February SC) dropped to 55 percent. - Activities under the GFS/PSDS work stream were frontloaded so that close to two thirds of LLMICs have already benefited from D4D Fund CD support in that field. - USD 6.0 million have been spent between the D4D Fund’s inception in June 2018 and end-FY 2020 (against USD 6.4 million projected before the COVID-19 crisis). - Budget execution rate for this period: 66 percent. - Causes of undershoot: concentration of follow-up CD missions toward the end of the fiscal year and simultaneous development of two online courses. ### Proposed work plan (May 2020 – October 2021) — strategic adaptations due to COVID-19 - General approach: - Adaptations to support CD that makes data available to policymakers amid shifting demand toward urgent operational needs. - IMF published guidance notes on organizational business continuity when staff are working remotely and on common statistical challenges caused by the COVID-19 crisis; work plans adjusted toward remote delivery. - Remote delivery: challenges and opportunities - Remote delivery allows more flexible scheduling and can reduce burden on authorities but requires strong commitment from authorities and reliable IT infrastructure for data transmission and communication. - Lessons from remote CD will be used to increase flexibility and efficiency post-crisis; remote missions and webinars likely to become standard components of STA CD. - Work plan assumptions (informed by dialogue with country authorities and IMF Area Departments): - Traditional, project-based CD missions temporarily cut back during first half of FY 2021; gradual resumption expected once operational challenges are addressed and travel is feasible. - On-demand operational CD engagements added as placeholders for flexibility; these remote activities typically require less than five days of work, often spread over weeks or months, and address immediate operational challenges (e.g., integrating new source data to maintain quarterly GDP compilation). - Large demand for remote ad-hoc assistance via short engagements (email/phone) expected; work plan proposes a lump-sum allocation for ad-hoc assistance with regular reporting to SC members. - Proposed Structure of CD Provision (Number of CD Activities): - Project based: 77 - On-site: 52 - Remote: 22 - Total: 151 - Online learning and curriculum delivery: - D4D Fund focus on online learning enabled intensification of training on debt statistics and acceleration of efforts to deliver full statistics curriculum online. - Work on the national accounts course and translation preparations advanced. - The already completed online course on PSDS is used for webinars, to be complemented by courses on GFS (in July) and ESS (in October). ### Transition to new financing architecture and coordination with other funding - The work plan completes transition to the D4D Fund as the main delivery platform for IMF statistics CD, increasing agility and efficiency to address COVID-19 demands. - Multi-donor structure allows agility in aligning resources with changing global priorities and developments in recipient countries. - D4D Fund covers all LLMICs, enabling flexibility in country selection to maximize peer learning. - STA’s funding from the D4D Fund is complemented by the Financial Sector Stability Fund (FSSF) for monetary and financial sector CD and by select bilateral projects. - Regional Capacity Development Centers (RCDCs) have methodological focus and are well-positioned to assist with delivering remote, operational CD. ### Module I: Addressing Data Needs and Quality Concerns - Objective: support development of robust and consistent macroeconomic statistics (real, external, and fiscal/debt reporting) to aid early detection and monitoring of economic risk and vulnerabilities, improve transparency, and foster government accountability. - Strategic log frame completed for the work stream on source data/intermediate statistics by adding a quantitative objective to turn short-term GDP rebasing support into sustainable long-term improvements in GDP quality. Submodule: Real Sector Statistics (RSS) - Context: - Real sector statistics are mainly produced by statistics agencies that often suffer from structural underfunding; COVID-19 has caused operational impacts (remote work, limited connectivity, unreliable electricity) slowing data collection. - Demand for timely, high-frequency data has risen; need to develop High-frequency Indicators (HFIs). - Exploration of open data, big data, and other non-traditional data sources will be necessary; agencies may need to accept release of experimental HFIs. - Demand for new national accounts benchmarks and rebasing has slowed but remains a medium-term priority where resources permit. - Work Stream: High-frequency Indicators (HFIs) - HFIs provide timely measures of economic activity; critical to monitor pandemic impact. - Most LLMICs do not compile HFIs or other indicators that provide a comprehensive, structured, and timely picture of the economy. - Pandemic has hindered statistical activities and challenged availability and validity of usual indicators and methodologies. - Progress achieved on HFIs: - Delivery consistent with original work plan supported by methodological advances. - Three regional workshops combining hands-on training with assessment of possible CD needs delivered. - Six technical assistance missions delivered. - STA advanced methodological work on streamlining diverse and unstructured HFIs through a Monthly Indicator of Economic Growth (MIEG). *Source: “d4d-fund-progress-report-and-work-plan-may-2020-october-2021 — 7. The World Bank Group’s 2019 International Development Association replenishment (IDA19)”* ### Box 1. MIEG: A Comprehensive Approach to HFIs Development ### Box 1. MIEG: A Comprehensive Approach to HFIs Development ### Objective and framework - MIEGs aim at producing timely, comprehensive, and comparable measures of economic growth, broadly based on national accounts principles and methods, providing a systematic framework for HFIs as a “monthly GDP lite”. - The IMF CD on HFIs uses the MIEG framework to: - help countries structure and systematize existing HFIs; - identify coverage, timeliness, and quality issues and gaps requiring additional HFIs; - define and prioritize next steps and develop a work plan to improve and develop HFIs towards a MIEG; - support selection of countries for follow-up TA. ### Diagnostic findings on HFIs in LLMICs - The production of HFIs in LLMICs varies widely in coverage and classification of economic activity, timeliness, and quality. - Common limitations: - Indicators often partial (industrial production, agriculture, retail sales indexes), unstructured, or not aligned with GDP. - Business sentiment indicators are often qualitative and economy-wide but not systematically comparable. - MIEG premise: most inputs needed for a MIEG are often available in countries, but require structuring, methodological guidance, and aggregation templates. ### Country engagements and case findings - Three opening workshops included officials from anglophone AFR, APD, and MCD countries. Countries represented in the workshops were: - Anglophone AFR workshop (February 2019): Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, The Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria. - APD workshop (March 2019): Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Lao P.D.R., Mongolia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam. - MCD workshop (June 2019): Armenia, Egypt, Jordan, Kyrgyz Republic, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Uzbekistan. - Selected country-specific findings and actions: - Jordan: existing high-frequency industrial production index progressively lost ability to track aggregate activity and is no longer consistent with national accounts (Figure 4). Mission provided recommendations to improve quality and broaden coverage of HFIs; FY 2021 mission to assist authorities with developing a MIEG. - Uganda: inflation targeting lite regime requires timely monthly estimates of economic growth. Some sectoral indicators are disseminated but not always with required frequency, timeliness, or coverage. February 2019 mission concluded most inputs needed are available; a template to compile a MIEG will guide development of additional HFIs ahead of a follow-up mission. - Vietnam: General Statistics Office compiles a bulletin for cabinet monthly meetings but HFIs are individual and partly inconsistent. March 2019 mission assessed source data and technical capacity as sufficient; authorities committed to advance recommendations for an experimental MIEG. - Philippines: September 2019 mission assessed monthly indicators and proposed a roadmap; follow-up training mission in February 2020 focused on compilation of quarterly national accounts. - Mongolia: HFIs unstructured, partial, sometimes inconsistent. September 2019 mission explored broadening HFIs using tax data and proposed an experimental template for aggregation into a MIEG; authorities indicated a new unit could support the initiative; FY 2021 follow-up mission planned. - Republic of Congo: heavily commodity-dependent; September 2019 mission identified potential improvements using existing source data, identified 24 activities from available source data, and recommended pooling resources between the Institute of National Statistics and the Ministry of Economy. ### Work moving forward: demand, delivery modes, and planned countries - Demand for CD to support HFIs identification and development in LLMICs expected to increase as countries seek timely measurement of the pandemic’s economic impact. - The D4D Fund’s CD will be agile and innovative, exploring alternative data sources and methods for HFI compilation, with placeholders in the work plan for operational remote CD as well as traditional project-based CD. - Follow-up CD missions planned for FY 2021 to Georgia, Jordan, Uganda, and Mongolia. - New countries expressing demand for TA (supported by ADs) include: - Bolivia: assess MIEG, plan updates, incorporate new source data and improved methods, and assist with a dissemination policy. - Sao Tome and Principe: explore sectoral high-frequency data (agriculture, energy, mining, manufacturing, trade) and propose work plan to expand scope, harmonize methods, and improve compilation techniques. - Kenya: follow-up requested to harmonize many available monthly datasets into a system of HFIs. - Emerging needs: Bhutan (HFIs) and Tajikistan (quarterly national accounts); preparatory remote CD possible before travel resumes. - Two webinars (AFR and APD) will establish foundation for selection of further CD beneficiary countries; APD webinar to be conducted jointly with SARTTAC. Five placeholders in the work plan will be decided after webinars. - Work plan numeric changes and planning: - Net change in planned CD activities: +17. - Country TBD placeholders: 5 (listed as "Country TBD (5)" and shown as +5 in the WP). - On-demand Missions listed: Bhutan +1; Tajikistan +1. ### Work stream: National Accounts Benchmarking and Rebasing — rationale and approach - Objective: support national accounts benchmarking/rebasing to ensure national accounts accurately reflect structure and level of economic activity and are internationally comparable. - International recommendation: conduct national account benchmarking/rebasing every five to ten years. - Table 5 — Timing of GDP Benchmark/Rebasing for LLMICs: - Rebasing within the last 5 years: 15 percent - Rebasing >5 years <10 years: 36 percent - Rebasing > 10 years: 49 percent - Consequences of delayed rebasing: - Nigeria’s rebasing after 20 years caused an 89 percent correction in GDP. - Several delayed benchmarking/rebasing exercises in sub-Saharan Africa caused upward corrections in GDP of around one-third. - Indicators based on national accounts (e.g., many SDG indicators, debt and external stability ratios) may be deteriorating in quality. - Reform steps for national accounts enhancement (Step 1 to Step 4): - Step 1: Identify necessary conceptual and methodological updates (volume and prices). - Step 2: Review and update source data and statistical infrastructure (better use of administrative data, redesigned household and business surveys, expanded price statistics, improved measurement of informal economy). - Step 3: Integrate revised source data into the national accounts framework consistent with SNA 2008 and UNSD Guidelines for Statistical Business Registers. - Step 4: Develop comprehensive sectoral accounts with flows between sectors and balance sheets. ### Prioritization, delivery, and scope - Country selection for CD activities will be explicitly anchored by rebasing needs and readiness; selection driven by underperformance relative to international rebasing standards and capacity to undertake multi-year projects. - Near-term focus: improve source data and methods (Step 2) to support benchmarking/rebasing (Step 3) and result in sustained improvements in annual/quarterly national estimates. - CD delivery in this work stream will be backloaded as absorptive capacity for demanding projects may slow demand, especially in FY21; number of missions reduced by around one fifth compared to an earlier work plan. ### Prices statistics and PPIs/SPPIs - For robust real GDP measurement, information beyond CPI is needed (import/export prices, machinery and equipment prices) to compile industrial producer price indexes (PPIs). - Current statistics on services and PPIs in LLMICs: - In LLMICs, the share of services in overall GDP ranges from 40 to 50 percent. - Only 12 percent currently disseminate services PPIs (SPPIs). - For advanced countries with industrial PPIs established, CD supports development of SPPIs. ### Progress achieved — selected CD activities and outcomes - English-speaking African diagnostic workshop (October 2019) trained NSO staff to: - undertake diagnostics of economic data collection and processing systems; - enhance survey design, data collection, and processing. - Result: work plans for future IMF TA advanced for Ethiopia, Ghana, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Sierra Leone, and Zambia. - Honduras: June 2018 mission and March 2019 follow-up assisted project design and planning to update base year from 2000 to 2016; target date to release revised estimates is 2021. - Zambia: February 2020 mission assisted in creating a new business register from administrative tax data to support GDP rebasing scheduled to be completed at the end of 2020; staff trained on a profiling program to allocate output to industry and product classifications. - Services PPI work: - October 2019 APD regional workshop (Thailand) invited countries producing industrial PPIs and developing/planning SPPIs; participants selected two services activities for potential PPI development and identified source data. - November 2019 mission to Vietnam assisted the General Statistics Office with improving SPPIs by preparing deflators and advancing a new sample of services businesses to replace judgmental selection; new price questionnaires were developed. *Source: D4D Fund progress report and work plan (May 2020–October 2021), IMF Statistics Department.* ### 41. With Uganda and Moldova already further advanced in the compilation of national ### National accounts, price indexes, and residential property price indexes — D4D Fund progress and work plan ### National financial and balance sheet accounts — progress - Bank of Uganda: - Developed source data required to produce a national financial and balance sheet account. - A mission in April 2019 assessed the data and assisted in preparing experimental data up to 2018. - Remaining data gaps can be closed, but lack of collaboration between Bank of Uganda and Uganda Bureau of Statistics has hampered data exchange. - Accounts already developed will improve the assessment of financial risk by providing insights into the degree of leverage of households and corporations. - A follow-up mission will assist with targeted publication in 2020. - Moldova: - Work started in 2018 on annual national financial and balance sheet accounts to better capture macro‑financial developments. - A December 2018 mission reviewed international macroeconomic accounting standards and helped design a work plan. - A second mission in September 2019 found significant progress; authorities committed to compiling annual estimates for 2015 to 2017 by 2020. - Further capacity development (CD) is needed to support dissemination of 2015–2020 data in March 2022. ### National accounts benchmarking/rebasing — needs, selection, and metrics - Global scope and metrics: - Over 38 LLMICs have not updated their national account benchmarks in the last 10 years. - 55 countries do not produce quarterly GDP in constant prices. - Selection criteria and coordination: - Selection of new countries for CD will focus on need for benchmarking/rebasing and capacity to engage in large multi‑year projects. - The IMF will launch a survey to collect detailed metadata on RSS from member countries to guide CD workplans and track progress. - Coordination with regional CD centers (RCDCs), area departments (ADs), and other CD providers is being initiated. - Suitability notes: - Philippines, Mali, and Côte d’Ivoire: rebasing projects near completion. - Yemen, Syria, and Haiti: need capacity building via RCDCs for large-scale source data projects. - Uzbekistan: national accounts CD limited until the 2022 population and agricultural census provides necessary source data. - The D4D Fund’s diagnostic workshops and contacts through ADs will continue to explore suitability among countries with long-overdue rebasing. ### Source data, surveys, and statistics capacity building — country actions - Common needs: survey and register design/updates; strengthening measures of the informal sector, which in many LLMICs often accounts for more than half of economic activity. - Ethiopia: - Substantial progress on constructing a new single business register as part of the National Strategy for the Development of Statistics. - Upcoming mission to support use of the new business register to generate sample frames for new business surveys to update source data and prices for GDP benchmarking/rebasing. - Sierra Leone: - Technical assistance (TA) will support new surveys measuring the labor force and business enterprises to improve informal sector and business activity estimates. - Lesotho: - Mission to support expanded use of administrative data to reduce delays and costs in updating the business register. - Malawi: - Requested assistance to incorporate value‑added and income tax data as source data for GDP compilation. - Nigeria: - Assistance to the National Bureau of Statistics on using income tax data from the Federal Inland Revenue Service to update the business register and calculate annual GDP. - Sudan: - Political changes provide an opening to support reforms including rebasing severely outdated GDP. - Sudan will be invited to prices and source data workshops and a mission has been identified; additional resources may be allocated from workplan placeholders if needed. ### Price deflators and SPPI/PPIs — workshops and country targets - Planned workshops in AFR and MCD to provide guidance on improving price deflators (industrial PPIs, SPPIs, construction cost indexes, import/export price indexes), with CD missions to follow for countries with greatest need and capacity. - Indonesia: - Statistics Office planning to introduce new PPIs for information and communication technology services. - Technical assistance in 2020 to support introduction; follow-up mission in FY 2021 to assist dissemination of new price indexes by end-2021. - Vietnam: - Additional TA in FY 2021 to support dissemination of updated SPPIs by August 2022; follow-up mission will help with data review and validation of a new sample of service providers collected using new questionnaires in 2021. ### Sectoral accounts and balance sheets — focus and continuity - Developing sectoral accounts/balance sheets is advanced work; focus is on countries where CD has already started. - Remote assistance to Moldova on methodology and source data for the nonfinancial sector will continue. ### CD activity portfolio change metrics (as reported) - Net change in national accounts benchmarking/rebasing work plan: +17 - Net change in RPPI work plan: +4 --- ### Residential Property Price Indexes (RPPIs) — rationale and approach - Importance: - Residential property represents the household sector’s largest asset and most purchases are financed by mortgages; timely, high‑frequency RPPIs are critical for financial stability analysis and macroprudential policy design. - RPPIs are increasingly important for IMF surveillance and the FSSF‑funded Financial Sector Stability Review program. - Data challenges and method innovation: - Administrative and survey data constraints in LLMICs complicate RPPI development. - CD employs flexible approaches and leverages “Big Data” techniques (web‑scraped property listings) where appropriate. - The IMF’s Statistics Department (STA) launched a project to develop a customizable web‑scraping toolkit to help secure access to listings data and support RPPI compilation and other economic statistics source data generation. ### RPPI progress achieved — country summaries and timelines - Vietnam: - July 2018 mission recommended more reliable residential property price data; April 2019 mission compiled preliminary indexes for Hanoi and Ho Chi Min cities. - Follow-up mission in summer 2020 planned to assist preparations for publication. - Mongolia: - July 2019 mission compiled new indexes showing different trends from existing series; follow-up mission in the first half of 2020 to finalize indexes for publication. - Cambodia: - July 2019 mission redesigned a source data template presented at a seminar; once regular reporting is established, a mid‑2020 mission will assess data quality and begin analytical work on index development with a possible follow-up to finalize for publication. - Sri Lanka: - July 2019 mission recompiled prototype indexes for Colombo’s condominium market using a new methodology and web‑scraped listings; a follow-up mission likely in the second half of 2020 to finalize indexes for publication. - Bolivia: - October 2019 mission assisted the Central Bank of Bolivia in developing an official RPPI and action plan; enhanced indexes expected to be ready for publication in the summer 2020, subject to authorities’ authorization; a follow-up mission will extend geographic scope and add other data sources. - Bangladesh: - Central bank has been developing an RPPI for new apartments in Dhaka using financial‑institution data; a December 2019 mission enhanced the index and plans to broaden coverage. - RPPI publication with expanded coverage is projected from July 2021; follow-up mission tentatively scheduled for early 2021. - Indonesia: - Web‑scraped listings provided promising data; Bank Indonesia compiled prototype house indexes, expanded coverage beyond Jakarta, and targeted publication of the new series from the first quarter of 2020. - Bank Indonesia presented prototype results at an international real estate statistics conference in March 2019. - eSwatini: - January 2020 mission assessed suitability of potential source data; agreed to compile a prototype RPPI using deeds data. - Uganda: - Regional workshop participants included Uganda, which had recently published an RPPI with IMF assistance; Uganda requested a remote follow-up mission to further enhance the published RPPI. - West Bank and Gaza: - Authorities requested assistance to finalize an index under development; remote assistance planned during the summer of 2020. ### RPPI workshops, toolkit development, and outreach - Regional workshop (March 2019, Kampala) for selected southern and eastern African countries provided overview of data sources, methods, and strategic issues; attendance included central banks and national statistics offices from Botswana, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. - Key short-term focus areas identified: - Define the scope of RPPI mindful of country‑specific market conditions (e.g., land purchase, self‑construction). - Engage potential data providers to secure data access and consider Big Data where appropriate. - MCD regional workshop planned for Jordan in March 2020 to develop RPPI work plans was postponed due to COVID‑19. - STA is developing a web‑scraping toolkit to assist countries with harvesting listings data; the toolkit can be adapted to generate source data for other areas of economic statistics. --- *Source: D4D Fund progress report and work plan (May 2020–October 2021), IMF Statistics Department* ### 53. ESS data are essential to help detect and respond to external risks and vulnerabilities. Timely ### d4d-fund-progress-report-and-work-plan-may-2020-october-2021 - 53. ESS data are essential to help detect and respond to external risks and vulnerabilities. Timely ### Importance of External Sector Statistics (ESS) - The report emphasizes that ESS data are essential to help detect and respond to external risks and vulnerabilities. - Timely data on trade and capital flows are needed to guide monetary, fiscal, and exchange rate policies, particularly for LLMICs which are generally more open to the rest of the world than more advanced countries. - The work stream will assist countries with the medium-term objective to adjust ESS compilation to changes in globalization (for example, unprecedented growth in trade in services and new channels for cross-border remittances due to digitalization). ### Progress Achieved — Country-focused CD missions and outcomes - The report documents country missions where ESS weaknesses hampered policy formulation and summarizes outcomes: - The Gambia: February 2019 mission enhanced working arrangements within the Central Bank and other agencies, improving statistical coverage of external debt, trade in goods, and grants; compilation and dissemination of more comprehensive direct investment transactions for 2015–17. - Vanuatu: May 2019 mission improved coverage and quality of several BOP components, contributing to dissemination of BOP and IIP data for the first time in three years after reporting had stopped in 2016. - Jordan: September 2019 mission designed a new personal transfers series using banks and money exchanges to better estimate remittances, given remittances amounted to 53 percent of goods exports in 2017. - Uzbekistan: September 2019 mission provided hands-on training, established data collection and compilation system, supported compilation and dissemination of consistent BOP and IIP time series; a pilot version of the 2014–2015 BOP addressed major spikes in time series. - Kenya: October 2019 mission eliminated inconsistencies between annual BOP compiled by National Bureau of Statistics and Central Bank of Kenya; conducted the 2018 foreign investment survey with an 85 percent response rate; compiled a preliminary IIP consistent with BOP and external debt statistics, with dissemination through Kenya’s NSDP expected by end-June 2020. - Morocco: mission reviewed services components data collection, assisted integration of a cross-border services survey expected to start Q1 2020, and advised on BOP–IIP linkages. - Tunisia: mission provided guidance on recording BOP transactions and improving coverage of cross-border informal economy transactions; transition to BPM6 requires overhauling recording of direct investment operations. - Philippines: short visit (December 2019) explored cooperation on collecting data on mobile money and potential future CD needs. - A second ESS workshop in December 2019 focused on improving scope of financial account components and emphasized data sources, techniques, and consistency across financial accounts to reduce net errors and omissions. - There were thirty-nine participants from central banks and statistics offices from 13 countries (Afghanistan, The Gambia, Jordan, Kenya, Kiribati, Madagascar, Philippines (host), Solomon Islands, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, West Bank and Gaza, and Zimbabwe). ### Key challenges and root causes identified - Lack of sound source data and compilation errors in critical components were key factors impacting BOP reliability. - Most serious root causes: - Inefficient interagency cooperation in data sharing and weak legal settings. - Lack of suitable data sources. - Weak compilation techniques. - Limited resources. - Establishing collections from new data sources could be achieved in the short- to medium-term, with countries at different stages of implementing CD recommendations. ### COVID-19 response and remote CD - Remote CD was provided since the onset of the pandemic to address operational challenges of compiling ESS associated with COVID-19, covering a wide range of countries including fragile states (example: Haiti) and with varied funding sources (example: operational help for Cambodia, Lao P.D.R., and Myanmar funded by the Government of Japan). - Advice has been provided on how IMF financing and debt relief measures should be recorded in macroeconomic statistics. - Online “hands-on” advice was provided on using alternative data sources to compile ESS and on recording COVID-19 related government/central bank policy actions in BOP statistics. - The report notes specific remote CD plans and missions: - Remote mission to the Philippines to strengthen data sources and techniques for better coverage of cross-border transactions, including those from digitalization. - Remote CD to Afghanistan to improve data collection and compilation, including coverage of illicit/informal cross-border flows. - Onsite CD to Madagascar to improve source data on international mobile money transfers and direct investment. - Remote mission to Uzbekistan to continue supporting establishment of ESS compilation system and hands-on staff training. ### Work moving forward — demand, geographic focus, and delivery modalities - The work stream will focus on addressing new CD demands emerging from COVID-19, strengthen presence in FCS in line with IMF priorities, and conduct a survey among D4D-eligible countries to gauge operational support needs and capacity to participate in new and remote CD delivery. - Placeholders in the work plan allow potential demand for operational assistance including webinars tailored to country- and region-specific topics; diagnostic work will emphasize FCS. - Beginning in FY 2021, CD delivery supported by the D4D Fund will step up in AFR, including several FCS. Targeted activities include: - Strengthening data sources and identifying new ones for improving reliability of BOP statistics (Comoros, South Sudan, Sao Tome and Principe, and Equatorial Guinea). - Achieving better internal and/or sectoral data consistency to improve linkages between financial account components and associated income, and across macroeconomic statistics (Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Gabon, Djibouti, Democratic Republic of Congo, Morocco). - Improving statistical techniques for producing higher frequency BOP statistics (countries already cited plus Zimbabwe). - Follow-up CD will address cutting-edge themes such as cross-border transactions from digitalization and using mobile money transfers as source data. - Four placeholders are included for missions during the first two quarters of FY 2022 to accommodate potential demand. - Two thematic workshops planned: - Follow-up workshop for participants in the first two workshops focusing on select major challenges with hands-on training and peer learning. - Workshop for francophone African countries focusing on external debt statistics. - Leaner, operational CD missions will complement traditional CD activities through webinars and country-specific remote TA; envisaged for FY 2021: three regional webinars and five operational remote country missions. - El Salvador, Rwanda, Zambia, and West Bank and Gaza already requested short on-demand missions to assist in developing estimation and grossing up techniques to fill data gaps during lockdowns. ### Fiscal and Debt Reporting (GFS/PSDS) — context, progress, and priorities - Context: - The submodule supports addressing data gaps in compilation and dissemination of GFS and PSDS, which gained prominence as the pandemic deepened debt vulnerabilities. - Rising counter-cyclical spending, declining export receipts, and shrinking GDP are projected to increase debt vulnerabilities. - The IMF Executive Board approved in April 2020 immediate debt service relief to 25 countries; the G20 has called for similar support from bilateral and private creditors. - Activities and outcomes: - Most activities under this submodule remain focused on PSDS: nine missions on PSDS and three on GFS concentrated on countries most exposed to debt sustainability risks. - 58 percent of GFS and PSDS missions benefited countries in debt distress or at high risk of debt distress. - Three regional PSDS workshops in 2019 engaged a total of 78 country officials from 32 countries, including 16 FCS. - Priority PSDS data gaps identified in workshops: institutional coverage of SOE debt and coverage of arrears, followed by gaps in coverage of local governments and extrabudgetary units debt and pension liabilities; other gaps included valuation of debt and stocks–flows consistency. - Technical assistance outcomes: - Cabo Verde: TA missions compiled data for more than 90 percent of the public sector. - Zimbabwe: TA broadened public sector coverage by compiling data for 92 local government entities and about 40 significant public corporations. - Zambia: mission raised awareness to include local governments and SOEs in debt compilation. - Côte d’Ivoire: mission assisted with compilation of data for 10 key SOEs to be included in Debt Sustainability Analysis; a compilation tool translated financial statements into fiscal statistics and showed debt for the 10 SOEs was significantly higher than authorities’ compiled debt. - Central African Republic: mission assisted in compiling quarterly debt statistics for the budgetary central government and initiated publication of the 2018 public debt management report on the Ministry of Finance website in September 2019. - Liberia: adding debt securities to the stock of debt would increase the stock of debt in FY 2017 to FY 2018 by 1.8 percent of GDP. - Moldova: short-term instruments issued by the National Bank of Moldova, if included, could have increased the stock of debt by 3 percent on average each year over the last six years. - Uzbekistan: progress in initiating compilation of integrated external debt data in national currency, training on methodology and source data; comments on draft inter-governmental decree on SOE reporting to facilitate broadening debt coverage. - Zambia and Djibouti: TA supported steps towards data dissemination (debt statistics bulletin review and development of data collection/reporting templates respectively). *Source: d4d-fund progress report and work plan, May 2020–October 2021 (Statistics Department section).* ### 68. GFS Technical Assistance focused on internal consistency in government finance data: ### 68. GFS Technical Assistance focused on internal consistency in government finance data ### Mission outcomes and technical findings - Ghana mission (joint with a balance sheet mission under the FSSF): - Examined statistical discrepancies for above-and-below the line fiscal data and integration of stocks and flows for the financial balance sheet. - Assisted the Ministry of Finance to reconcile stocks with related cash flows for 2018 and identified several other economic flows that explained discrepancies between the change in stocks and flows. - Compiled a GFS time series for the period 2014–2018 of budgetary central government operations; these data were disseminated to the IMF and included in the GFS yearbook. - Uzbekistan missions: - Compiled new fiscal data for off-budget accounts, revealing consolidated revenue and expenditure made via off-budget accounts representing 7 percent of GDP and 6.1 percent of GDP, respectively. - Assisted reconciliation of stocks and flows in monetary and fiscal statistics that revealed differences amounting to 0.9 percent of GDP in government loans. - Authorities established a legal basis to implement international standards in fiscal reporting, including regular reporting of comprehensive SOE data. - The Gambia mission (hands-on workshop): - Assisted source data providers and GFS compilers in producing an initial draft of “The Gambia: GFS Compilation Guide” to improve documentation. - Assisted the Ministry of Finance to compile GFS for the budgetary central government for 2017–2019; data for 2017–2018 were thereafter disseminated to the IMF for the GFS yearbook. - Discussed integration of GFS throughout budgeting, accounting, and fiscal reporting in close coordination with ongoing PFM reform. ### Integration of D4D Fund CD with IMF surveillance and other CD - Close coordination with IMF ADs ensured alignment of CD with surveillance needs and provided better access to policymakers, elevating data discussions to the policy level. - Examples of overlaps and complementarities: - PSDS missions to Liberia and Moldova overlapped with AD missions, enabling engagement with senior policymakers. - PSDS mission to Zimbabwe overlapped with an FSSF-funded mission from the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department that included a debt management aspect, strengthening complementarities between debt statistics and debt management. - PSDS TA missions in January 2020 to Côte d’Ivoire and the Central African Republic piggybacked on RCDCs’ ongoing work to focus on specific PSDS issues. - For EAC countries (Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda) attending the Mauritius workshop, diagnostics will feed into CD from AFRITAC East aimed at implementing EAC guidelines; D4D Fund could support SOE debt statistics if considered macro-relevant. - Leveraging other CD vehicles: - PSDS missions to Liberia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe benefited from concurrent UK-funded EDDI2 missions focused on source data for compilation of GFS and PSDS. - The joint D4D Fund and FSSF mission in Ghana contributed to a wider scope of activities allowing a better understanding of how to address data inconsistencies. ### Operational support and COVID-19 related guidance - IMF’s Special Series on COVID-19 notes provided practical guidance on recording fiscal policy interventions and related issues, complemented by operational support to countries on fiscal recording challenges. - Examples of operational assistance during the COVID-19 period: - Lesotho: recording of arrears. - Rwanda: recording of debt securities purchased in the secondary market. - Uzbekistan: compilation of a financial balance sheet integrating stocks and flows. - Georgia: sector classification of SOEs. - Senegal and Uganda: classification of COVID-19 relief related transactions. - Egypt: follow up to obtain information needed to conduct sectorization of public sector units. - Support with data compilation provided to: - Bhutan: obtain sub-annual GFS to support surveillance and review revisions to the financial balance sheet. - Mongolia: initiate development of from-whom-to-whom data on the financial balance sheet. - Kenya: via the RCDC, compilation of general government fiscal data for publication in the annual economic survey required as input to the budget process. ### Work moving forward — modalities and priorities - Multipronged approach to address fiscal and debt reporting gaps, respond to COVID-19-triggered needs, and adapt delivery modalities: - Traditional, project-oriented CD missions are being scaled down due to travel restrictions; leaner operational CD missions will address immediate issues through webinars and country-specific remote TA. - Workshops and country groups (selection of planned coverage and rationale): - Anglophone African workshop for Eritrea, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan (note: Sierra Leone, Ghana, Ethiopia have latest ratings indicating a high risk of debt distress; The Gambia, Eritrea, South Sudan are in debt distress). - MCD workshop invitations: Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, West Bank and Gaza, Yemen (all FCS except Pakistan; none covered by a long-term CD project). - WHD workshop focus: LLMICs in the region (Bolivia, El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua), possibly complemented by UMICs with urgent debt vulnerabilities. - APD workshop split into two: remote workshop for countries with necessary infrastructure (Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Vietnam) and an on-site workshop planned for Pacific Island countries (Kiribati, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu). - PSDS mission program adjustments due to COVID-19: - FY 2021 postponed missions to assist Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, and Zimbabwe to improve institutional and instrument coverage of debt statistics. - Follow-up mission to Uzbekistan (cut short in FY 2020) and mission to Mozambique to address debt stock and flow reconciliation issues. - Mission to Côte d’Ivoire to follow up and assist with compilation of SOE data for debt sustainability analysis. - Mission to Tajikistan to assist with improving debt recording. - Mission to Sierra Leone to assist with recording of arrears securitization complicating IMF program monitoring. - Remote missions to Egypt and Tunisia to identify source data and compile data for SOEs and broaden coverage of significant public sector units. - Missions for early FY 2022 include follow-ups and TA to countries that will have attended planned regional PSDS workshops; mission to Angola to assist with debt stocks and flows consistency; assistance to Togo to improve consistency between fiscal and debt outturn data. - GFS mission priorities: - FY 2021 mission to Haiti (cancelled in prior period due to COVID-19) to assist with availability of quality high-frequency GFS and broaden coverage beyond budgetary central government; current monthly GFS submissions are broadly adequate but suffer from limited coverage, high aggregation, misclassifications, and non-reporting of major categories. - Follow-up mission to Ghana to address key deficiencies in GFS compilation and institutional coverage identified in FY 2020. - Mission to eSwatini to improve reliability of fiscal data and expand coverage to significant general government units and key SOEs. - Prospects to reschedule cancelled mission to Comoros are yet to be clarified. - Remote mission to Morocco to assist with consolidation of sub-sector data of the general government units. ### Webinars, tools, and SOE-focused work - Webinars planned to support application of IMF’s Special Series on COVID-19 notes: - Four webinars to inquire about elements not covered in guidance notes and assist countries with specific recording issues; additional webinars to be conducted through RCDCs in Arabic, English, Portuguese, and Russian. - SOE fiscal statistics tool and outreach: - STA developed an Excel tool to convert financial statements of SOEs into fiscal statistics, capturing stocks (balance sheet), transactions, and other economic flows in an integrated manner to facilitate compilation of public sector balance sheets, including SOEs. - Planned delivery via webinars and remote missions to meet demand for understanding SOE fiscal operations and associated fiscal risks. ### SOE debt vulnerabilities and monitoring priorities - Key observations: - SOEs comprise one-third of the entire emerging market sovereign hard currency debt tracked in the most widely followed emerging market sovereign bond index. - Large SOEs are prominent in banking, energy, industrials, and utilities. - Limited transparency of SOE operations and financial relations with government is a common challenge for monitoring SOE debt vulnerabilities. - Disclosure of SOE financial statements in LLMICs and many emerging market economies is often restricted to listed SOEs. - Few countries integrate SOE financial operations and assets/liabilities into financial statements of the public sector; this holds for sub-Saharan Africa and most of Europe. - In some countries, debt of SOEs exceeds 20 percent of GDP and/or SOE external debt exceeds 25 percent of the countries’ exports of goods and services. *Source: IMF Statistics Department — D4D Fund progress report and work plan (May 2020–October 2021), Section on GFS Technical Assistance focused on internal consistency in government finance data.* ### 79. The FAS gender-disaggregated data have informed policy dialogues on how to advance ### d4d-fund-progress-report-and-work-plan-may-2020-october-2021 - 79. The FAS gender-disaggregated data have informed policy dialogues on how to advance ### FAS gender-disaggregated data and policy influence - The FAS gender-disaggregated data have informed policy dialogues on advancing women’s financial inclusion as a component of enhancing access to economic opportunities. - Examples of use: - The Office of the United Nations Secretary General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance (UNSGSA) conducted a study on the usage of the FAS’s gender-disaggregated data for policy design; findings were presented at a seminar “Promoting women’s financial inclusion: The role of the IMF’s Financial Access Survey (FAS)”, organized by IMF and UNSGSA at the 2019 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings. - The FAS gender-disaggregated data have been used by the Women's Financial Inclusion Data Partnership to identify priority countries for TA to improve gender data collection. - Partners in the Women’s Financial Inclusion Data Partnership include the Alliance for Financial Inclusion, Data2X, the Global Banking Alliance for Women, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), IDB Invest, the International Finance Corporation, the IMF and the World Bank. ### FAS operations, 2020 round, and data-quality enhancements - 2020 FAS round: - Invitation to submit data sent to country authorities on March 30th, 2020. - Submission deadline extended from May 31st to June 30th, 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. - Capacity building and workshops: - Third regional workshop (initially scheduled March 2020 in Georgia for 12 MCD countries) postponed to FY 2021 owing to the COVID-19 outbreak; follow-ups with participants planned; a workshop for francophone AFR is planned during the work plan period. - Countries invited to the Georgia workshop (except host Georgia and Armenia) were LLMICs: Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Kyrgyz Republic, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Uzbekistan. - Validation and metadata: - New validation tools under consideration include automated data visualization of country-level data and outlier detection. - A comprehensive FAS metadata review planned during the 2020 FAS data validation process to ensure metadata is up-to-date and optimize user experience. - Policy tracker and new indicators: - A policy tracker tabulating COVID-19 policy responses in mobile money and SME financing has been compiled and shared; the tracker will be updated regularly. - New FAS indicators under consideration include the value of mobile money transactions per account and non-life insurance policies; FAS indicators related to digital finance will be reviewed to capture innovations in digital payment platforms. - Pilot projects and non-traditional sources: - Pilot case assessing feasibility of using geolocation data from the Google Map Application Program Interface (API) to visualize distribution of mobile money agent outlets and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) in Kenya. ### Module III — Online Learning: rollout, achievements, and plans - Demand and initial outcomes: - The Compilation Basics for Macroeconomic Statistics online course (CBMSx) had the highest number of participants ever recorded for an IMF online course. - The PSDS online course (PSDSx) launched in September 2019; participation significantly exceeded averages for IMF online courses. - Around 60 percent of all participants that passed the PSDSx originated from LLMICs. - Regional breakdown for PSDSx active participants: AFR 33%, APD 28%, WHD 16%, MCD 13%, EUR 10%; FCS 23%, Non-FCS 77%; LLMIC 60%, Non-LLMIC 40%. - Availability and platform expansion: - Since January 2020 the PSDSx is available 24/7/365 to the general public; revisions and periodic updates to continue for several months. - As of mid-May 2020 there were 832 subscribers to the YouTube IMF Institute Learning Channel. - Content from PSDSx released as three macroeconomic statistics playlists totaling 25 videos; an additional five PSDSx videos planned to be released over the next weeks. - Translation and future course schedule: - Translation expected to begin in FY 2021, with first targeted translation into French. - GFSx (government finance statistics course) to be launched in July 2020. - BOP-IIPx expected to be launched by end-2020. - Preparation for NASx accelerated with a tentative launch by end FY 2021. - Development of eight fundamental statistics courses (English and up to five other languages) is part of the updated work plan. ### Module IV — Statistical Information Management: progress and planned TA - Dissemination & SDMX: - Bank of Lebanon received TA in May 2019 to familiarize with SDMX and develop a roadmap for implementation; follow-up mission deemed unnecessary as objectives were achieved. - TA mission in February 2020 assisted the Central Bank of Tunisia to modernize data dissemination practices related to its NSDP by moving to SDMX; additional TA agreed to upgrade National Institute of Statistics and Ministry of Finance data portions. - Planned missions and activities: - Five missions planned on data collection and dissemination, assuming backloaded implementation due to countries’ business continuity concerns. - Vietnam requested TA to strengthen statistical outputs of its central bank; two TA missions planned to assist harmonizing and streamlining source data collection and develop a work plan; possible complement by Module 1 or other donor-funded projects. - Follow-up mission to Tunisia to finalize SDMX implementation across the NSDP and support establishment of governance for timely SDMX dissemination. - Nauru mission replaced by a placeholder due to unclear TA needs. - IMF staff to participate in two sub-regional workshops in Africa organized by the African Development Bank, Eurostat, and the United Nations Statistics Division to train authorities on SDMX. - Data management toolkits and web-scraping: - STA developing a web-scraping toolkit initially for RPPI; a more generic version will be developed to retrieve data for other statistical production processes, enabling submodules to leverage the toolkit and configure it for country needs. ### Indicative program budget and implementation outlook - Spending timeline and projections: - Expenses until end-2019 account for about one-third of the FY 2020 endorsed budget; spending slowed significantly in late FY 2020 due to the COVID-19 outbreak. - It is expected that an additional USD 4.3 million be spent by the end of FY 2021, and another USD 3.0 million by the end of the work plan period FY 2022 Q2. - Budget posture: - The FY 2021 – FY 2022 Q2 revised budget represents the steady-state implementation of the D4D Fund but is subject to uncertainty due to the current crisis. - Online learning curriculum development will continue in a staggered fashion with translation into up to two different languages. - Date stamp for budget table: As of May 28, 2020 (in USD). *Source: D4D Fund Progress Report and Work Plan (May 2020–October 2021), IMF Statistics Department.* ### 99. Moving forward, the IMF proposes annual SC meetings to be held in June. The crisis-related ### d4d-fund-progress-report-and-work-plan-may-2020-october-2021 ### Meeting timing and financial reporting - The IMF proposes annual Steering Committee (SC) meetings to be held in June. - The crisis-related delay in the 2020 SC meeting from February to June improved alignment of D4D Fund work plan preparations with the IMF’s internal planning cycle by the beginning of the fiscal year (May 1). - Financial reporting adjusted to reflect actual expenses during the full fiscal year, facilitating comparison of projections and actual outcomes. ### Operational agility and remote ad-hoc assistance - Proposal to modify the SC approval process for changes to the work plan to a five business day lapse-of-time basis (instead of the current 15 business days); see Paragraph 12 in Annex II (report reference). - A lump sum equal to 10 percent of the budget of Module 1 is requested to support remote ad-hoc assistance (Table 12 and Paragraph 18 of the report). - Remote ad-hoc assistance parameters: - For engagements that take less than one business day of staff time per case. - Only for countries eligible for D4D Fund financing. - IMF would inform the SC on the use of these resources on a quarterly basis by email. ### Temporary expansion of country eligibility (Box 6) - Rationale: - The World Bank revises country income group classifications in June based on the previous year’s official GNI per capita data, causing delays in reclassifying countries during the crisis. - Countries barely over the LLMIC threshold and heavily affected by the decline in economic activity can be excluded from LLMIC-targeted support, including D4D Fund eligibility. - A cautious, temporary expansion is proposed given limited resources. - Binding constraint proposed: GNI exceeding the current GNI threshold of USD 3,996 by less than 10 percent. - Candidate countries (based on the GNI criterion) and reported data: - Samoa — 2018 GNI $4,020; Graduated to UMIC FY 2018; IMF lending assistance Approved - Azerbaijan — 2018 GNI $4,050 - Sri Lanka — 2018 GNI $4,060; Graduated to UMIC FY 2020; IMF lending assistance Under consideration - Jordan — 2018 GNI $4,200; Graduated to UMIC FY 2019; IMF lending assistance Under consideration - Kosovo — 2018 GNI $4,220; Graduated to UMIC FY 2020; IMF lending assistance Approved - Armenia — 2018 GNI $4,230; Graduated to UMIC FY 2019; IMF lending assistance Under consideration - Tonga — 2018 GNI $4,300; Graduated to UMIC FY 2018 ### Donor engagement and reporting cadence - Proposal for more frequent donor check-ins: two remote check-in meetings before the 2021 SC meetings to provide donors with opportunities to guide work plan orientation. - An interim report in January 2021 to update SC members on work plan implementation and indicate demand evolving for the FY 2022 Resource Allocation Plan. ### Governance, evaluation, and outreach - A Governance and Evaluation budget line added to the current work plan. - Per Terms and Conditions of the D4D Fund, an independent evaluation must be initiated no later than 40 months after D4D-funded activities have begun; the evaluation cost to be borne by the D4D Fund. - Other small SC-related costs included under this budget line. - Outreach activities and communication tools: - D4D Fund website revamped to showcase activities and deliverables; success stories posted on social media. - Templates of D4D-funded CD activity documents updated to reference the D4D Fund (website address and logo with partner flags). - D4D Fund promotional video broadcast during the 2019 IMF/World Bank Group Annual and Spring Meetings. - FAS showcased during the Annual Meetings and at the 2019 European Development Days Global Village. - PSDSx promotional video broadcast during the Annual Meetings; a YouTube channel with PSDSx videos launched in April. ### Budgetary figures and allocations (selected exact figures) - Module and submodule budgets and expenditures (exact figures preserved): - Module 1 - Addressing Data Needs and Quality Concerns - Latest Approved Budget FY19-FY21:Q1 (A): 5,033,929 - Expenses FY19-20 FY21:Q2-4 (B): 2,948,711 - FY22:Q1-2 (C): 1,804,443 - New Total Budget FY19-FY22:Q1-2 (A+B+C): 8,246,638 - Submodules: - Module M1: Submodule Real Sector Statistics: 1,738,629 (A); 1,133,163 (B); 537,896 (C); 214,457 (A+B+C total cell shown 2,490,982) - Module M1: Submodule External Sector Statistics: 917,481 (A); 677,238 (B); 566,966 (C); 270,233 (A+B+C total cell shown 1,754,680) - Module M1: Submodule Fiscal and Debt Reporting: 2,377,819 (A); 1,138,310 (B); 535,541 (C); 795,552 (A+B+C total cell shown 3,708,912) - Ad-hoc Advisory Services: - (A); - (B); 164,040 (C); 128,024 (A+B+C total cell shown 292,065) - Module M2: Financial Access Survey: 1,492,170 (A); 843,542 (B); 207,337 (C); 223,377 (A+B+C total cell shown 1,922,885) - Module M3: Online Learning: 2,188,579 (A); 1,312,680 (B); 1,437,500 (C); 958,696 (A+B+C total cell shown 4,584,775) - Module M4: Statistical Information Management: 212,279 (A); 75,494 (B); 14,166 (C); 28,333 (A+B+C total cell shown 254,778) - RM Project Manager: 485,762 (A); 399,598 (B); 221,470 (C); 145,631 (A+B+C total cell shown 852,863) - Sub total: 9,412,719 (A); 5,580,025 (B); 3,684,917 (C); 2,764,303 (A+B+C total cell shown 15,861,939) - Governance and Evaluation: 325,223 (A); 26,703 (B); 351,926 (A+B+C total cell shown) - TF Management Fee (7%): 658,890 (A); 390,602 (B); 280,710 (C); 195,370 (A+B+C total cell shown 1,134,971) - Total: 10,071,610 (A); 5,970,627 (B); 4,290,850 (C); 2,986,376 (A+B+C total cell shown 17,348,835) ### Issues presented for information and endorsement (Table 13 selected entries) - No. 1: Module 1, Sub Module Real Sector Statistics — USD 2.49 million (Tables 4, 6, 7 & 12) - No. 2: Module 1, Sub Module External Sector Statistics — USD 1.75 million (Tables 8 & 12) - No. 3: Module 1, Sub Module Fiscal and Debt Reporting — USD 3.71 million (Tables 9 & 12) - No. 4: Module 1, Ad-hoc Advisory Services — USD 0.29 million (Table 12 & Section VI) - No. 5: Module 2: Financial Access Survey — USD 1.92 million (Tables 10 & 12) - No. 6: Module 3: Online Learning — USD 4.58 million (Figure 18 & Table 12) - No. 7: Module 4: Statistical Information Management — USD 0.25 million (Tables 11 & 12) - No. 8: Program Manager — USD 0.85 million (Table 12) - No. 9: Timing of Next SC Meeting — Section VI - No. 10: Lapse-of-Time Approval of Changes to Work Plan — Section VI - No. 11: Country Eligibility Criteria — Section VI - No. 12: Creation of a Governance and Evaluation Budget Line — USD 0.35 million (Section VI) *Source: IMF — D4D Fund Progress Report and Work Plan, May 2020–October 2021.* ### Annex I. D4D Fund Strategic Log Frame ### Annex I. D4D Fund Strategic Log Frame ### D4D Fund Strategic Objective - Assist LLMICs in strengthening national statistical systems to cope with a challenging national and international policy environment, promote transparency and accountability, and offer efficient solutions to capacity development. - Impact outcome: More and better data are available for decision-makers and analysts, with the ultimate objective of better informing economic policies and supporting monitoring of the SDGs. - Impact indicators and data sources: - Improvements in indicators across all macroeconomic and financial statistical domains. - Dissemination on National Summary Data Pages (NSDPs), IMF and/or World Bank databases, and/or country web sites; IMF’s Article IV and program reports; follow-up assessments through IMF CD activities. ### Module 1 — Policymakers and the public have access to more and better data (Real, External, Fiscal and Debt Statistics) Real Sector Statistics — Objective 1 (High Frequency Indicators, HFIs) - Objective: HFIs provide policymakers with information about the cyclical position of the economy to be able to adjust the policy mix in a way that eases economic volatility. - Outcome indicators and targets: - Strengthened compilation and dissemination of well-defined, high-frequency indicators of economic activity. - Currently about two-thirds of LLMICs compile some type of a monthly or quarterly economic activity indicator. - At the end of the five-year D4D Fund period: - supported at least 10 countries currently not producing HFIs to compile and disseminate an indicator for a significant activity/sector in the economy; and - assisted at least 15 additional countries to strengthen the compilation and dissemination of well-defined HFIs of economic activity. - Data sources: Follow-up assessments through IMF CD activities; dissemination on NSDPs, IMF databases, and/or country web sites. Real Sector Statistics — Objective 2 (National Accounts Benchmarking and Rebasing) - Revised objective: National Accounts Benchmarking and Rebasing every five to ten years ensures the accurate and exhaustive reflection of structure and level of economic activity, strengthening evidence-based economic decision-making and international comparability, e.g., for SDG monitoring. - Baseline diagnostics: - Currently, about half of LLMICs have not updated their national account benchmarks/base year for more than 10 years. - More than 70 percent of LLMICs do not produce quarterly GDP in constant prices, which is an indicator for availability of source data for GDP benchmarking. - About a quarter of LLMICs use tax data for national accounts compilation. - About one-fifth of the eligible countries collects regular business survey information. - About half of LLMICs include estimates for the informal economy in the national accounts, with only about one-fifth of them being able to substantiate them through an informal sector survey. - At the end of the five-year D4D Fund period, this work stream will have: - supported at least 15 countries in the release of updated benchmark estimates of GDP based on improved source data and methods. - These improvements will include: - Updated business registers in 10 countries ensuring a more comprehensive measure of business activity. - Updated business survey /program content in 15 countries ensuring the data collected / acquired aligns with the methodological framework of the 2008 SNA. - 10 new memorandums of understanding are signed and implemented to provide the NSO with access to data from outside government departments (e.g. tax authorities, social security programs). - 10 countries augment their existing prices statistics program with the release of new price index critically important to the GDP rebasing exercise. - Output dissemination and measurement: - Revised estimates of the national accounts are published on the NSO website along with a revision report. - Reports disseminated via the NSO public website describing the redesigned business register. - Reports, updated questionnaires, published survey results disseminated via the NSO public website. - MOUs signed by delegated authorities and the transfer of data is occurring on a regular basis; indicator measured by the number of data transfers between the NSO and joint department. - New price series disseminated via the NSOs public website. - Data sources: Follow-up assessments through IMF CD activities. Real Sector Statistics — Objective 3 (Residential Property Price Index, RPPI) - Objective: The RPPI provides information about price trends in real estate which are important to assess risks in banks’ balance sheets. - Outcome indicators and targets at the end of the five-year D4D Fund period: - For the around one-tenth of eligible countries that already have a basic RPPI: - Compilation and dissemination will be brought in line with guidelines and best practices outlined in the Handbook on Residential Property Price Indices; and staff capacity will be increased through CD. - For the around one-eighth of eligible countries that are currently working on the compilation of an RPPI: - Staff capacity will be increased through CD. - For the around four-fifths of eligible countries where no RPPI is available: - Regional workshops will provide training on data needs and methodology, complemented by follow-up TA missions if sufficient progress in basic data collection. - Data sources: Follow-up assessments through IMF CD activities; dissemination on NSDPs, IMF databases, and/or country web sites. External Sector Statistics — Objective (Balance of Payments) - Objective: High-quality balance of payments statistics are compiled and disseminated to allow policymakers to monitor and assess cross-border risks and vulnerabilities; and to facilitate more informed analyses of global trade, digitalization and financial integration. - Outcomes and targets for the five-year D4D Fund cycle: - More accurate and comprehensive data on international trade in goods and services for at least 15 eligible countries. - Indicators include: targeted countries develop and utilize new data sources; new/improved data compiled and disseminated to facilitate analysis of global value chains and the digital economy; improved coverage of goods, including measuring informal cross-border transactions. - Strengthened analysis of cross-border risks and vulnerabilities through improved scope of key components of the financial account, including direct investment and external debt; and improved coverage of remittances. - At least 15 eligible countries to receive more accurate and comprehensive coverage of the financial account and remittances. - Indicators include: targeted countries develop and utilize new data sources to improve the scope of the financial account and coverage of remittances; coverage of private sector external debt transactions will be widened; financial account data are improved as evidenced in greater consistency between stocks and flows data. - Note: Accuracy of the balance of payments should improve when measured by the errors and omissions metric; however, this indicator might not show a linear trend. - Data sources: Follow-up assessments through IMF CD activities; dissemination on NSDPs, IMF databases, and/or country web sites; IMF Article IV and program staff reports. Fiscal and Debt Reporting — Objective (GFS and PSDS) - Objective: Improved government finance statistics (GFS) and public sector debt statistics (PSDS) are compiled and disseminated to support sound fiscal policymaking, the assessment and monitoring of fiscal risks and debt sustainability, and transparency and accountability. - High-frequency GFS — projected improvements for around one-third of LLMICs (depending on risk-based assessment): - Frequency improved from annual to quarterly or from quarterly to monthly. - High-frequency GFS follow the latest GFS manual, including classifications and presentation of summary fiscal data. - Institutional coverage expanded to help resolve policy-relevant fiscal risks. - Internal consistency of GFS is improved (e.g., reduction of the statistical discrepancy). - Scope of transactions and/or stock positions improved to capture policy-relevant positions. - Regular and sustained compilation and dissemination of high-frequency GFS to the public with improved timeliness. - Dissemination of adequate metadata and documentation of business processes to enhance fiscal transparency and accountability. - High-frequency PSDS — projected improvements for around half of LLMICs (depending on risk-based needs assessment): - Frequency improved from annual to quarterly or from quarterly to monthly. - PSDS follow the guidelines of the PSDS Guide, including classifications and presentation of summary debt data. - Institutional coverage expanded (e.g., include debt of state-owned enterprises). - Scope of stock positions improved to capture contingent liabilities and arrears. - Regular and sustained compilation and dissemination of high-frequency PSDS to the public with improved timeliness. - Dissemination of adequate metadata and documentation of business processes to enhance fiscal transparency and accountability. - Data sources: Follow-up assessments through IMF CD activities; dissemination on NSDPs, IMF databases, and/or country web sites; IMF Art. IV and program staff reports, including debt sustainability analyses. ### Module 2 — Financial Access Survey (FAS) and Financial Inclusion Statistics - Objective: Provide policymakers and analysts with high-quality statistics on financial inclusion through the FAS database. - Outcomes, targets, and indicators: - Continued production of the FAS, providing access to long time series on financial access. - The FAS survey is sent annually to all IMF members. - Data are validated by IMF staff according to the reporting guidelines, with close follow-up with respondents. - Data are disseminated on a rolling basis (immediately following validation). - Data source: IMF FAS website. - Production of new data series to address quickly changing data needs: - By the end of the five-year D4D Fund period: - The annual response rate to the FAS is increased to 95 percent of the IMF membership; - The number of participating jurisdictions providing information on the gender breakdown of FAS is increased by two-fold compared to the 2017 benchmark; - The number of participating jurisdictions providing indicators of innovative channels of financial access is increased by 50 percent compared to the 2017 benchmark. - Data source: IMF FAS website. - Provide monitoring basis for the SDGs financial inclusion indicator (8.10.1). - Provide the data on the number of commercial bank branches and ATMs per 100,000 adults on an annual basis, covering at least 90 percent of the world population. - Data published on the United Nations SDG Indicators Global Database. - Contribute to research and policy agenda on financial inclusion: - FAS data are used to create a global financial inclusion index; - FAS data are featured in IMF reports on financial inclusion, including country and policy documents, as deemed appropriate. - Data sources: IMF FAS website; published IMF reports and analytical publications on financial inclusion. ### Module 3 — Online Learning Curriculum for Statistics Training - Objective: Expand global reach of statistics training by developing and rolling out a new structured online learning curriculum. - Outcomes and implementation targets: - Development and implementation of a new online training curriculum covering eight fundamental statistical topical courses. - Translation in up to 5 languages, depending on availability of resources. - Certification from online training established as entry requirement to improve efficiency of face-to-face intermediate and advanced training. - Phasing in of online courses: One coming on-stream during Year 1, two in Year 2-4, and one in Year 5. Priority to be given to most oversubscribed face-to-face courses. - Increasing reach of STA training by at least 50 percent by the end of the D4D Fund period. - Data source: IMF tracking system for online learning. ### Module 4 — Statistical Information Management - Objective: Streamline, standardize and automate statistical information management to enhance countries’ ability to compile and disseminate macroeconomic and financial statistics. - Outcomes and activities: - Disseminate and facilitate implementation of best practices in statistical data and metadata management and related frameworks established by the international community, including: - transferring knowledge on governance structures; - information on suitable technical standards and statistical information models; - advice on project design. - Enable recipient agencies to design and implement state-of-the-art statistical information management structures and tools, facilitating joining the IMF’s data dissemination standards and reducing countries’ reporting burdens. - Pilots in Kenya (2017), Lebanon, Egypt and/or Tunisia (planned for FY 2019) will provide a basis to guide the selection of indicators to measure progress in this module. - Data sources: Follow-up assessments through IMF CD activities. --- ### Annex II — Operational Guidance Note (Data for Decisions (D4D) Fund Operational Guidelines) - Purpose: The D4D Fund is an IMF multi-partner initiative to put more and better data in the hands of decision-makers to enhance evidence-based macroeconomic policies and support achievement of the sustainable development goals. This thematic fund will start operations in June 2018. - Steering Committee (SC): - Role: Provide strategic guidance and assist in setting priorities, endorsing the work plan and its updating. - Composition: Representatives from each Contributor of the D4D Fund subaccount and the IMF. - Chair and Vice-Chair: - The SC will be chaired by a donor with a strong interest in contributing to the operations of the D4D Fund. - The IMF, as the secretariat of the SC, will propose to the SC a Chair and a Vice Chair. The Chair and Vice Chair will be elected by consensus. - The term of the Chair and Vice Chair will be one year, at the end of which the Vice Chair seated at that time becomes the Chair. - The Chair presides over the SC, may host SC meetings, and is consulted on agenda preparation and urgent issues. When decisions are required outside meetings, the Chair convenes the decision by circulation of an email with a period of non-objection if applicable. The Vice Chair assumes the role of Chair when the Chair is absent. - Decisions: SC decisions (including endorsement of the work plan) are made by consensus; each party entitled to have a representative on the SC has one voice. If consensus is not possible, the proposed decision will be postponed or withdrawn. The SC may further define decision-making during SC meetings. The SC approves minutes prepared by the IMF. - Meetings: The SC will meet in person annually. The Chair may convene ad hoc meetings. Observers may be invited on a case-by-case basis. - Work Plan: - Preparation: IMF staff will consult with SC members informally in early stages. A work plan will be distributed three weeks before the relevant SC meeting. - Changes: - Strategic changes will be sent to SC by email for endorsement on a non-objection/lapse-of-time basis. Strategic changes include changes in objectives that leave the budget unchanged. - Budget adjustments of less than +/- 10 percent of the originally endorsed modules and submodules’ budget can be made without recourse to the SC. - For urgent cases, amendments to CD activities in the endorsed work plan, and new CD activities, may be proposed between SC meetings with circulation of summaries on a non-objection/ lapse-of-time basis. - Standard lapse-of-time approval period is fifteen working days, but may be adjusted under special circumstances. - Reporting: - The SC will be asked to endorse the annual report. - The IMF will provide on the Partners Connect platform: detailed modules and submodules descriptions no later than three months after endorsement; annual modules and submodules assessments, adjustments, and utilization updates; and end of modules and submodules assessments as projects are completed. - Evaluation: - Activities financed under the D4D Fund will be subject to an external, independent evaluation. The SC shall endorse the terms of reference and methodology to be used in the independent evaluation. --- _Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/capacity-developement/d4d/3rd-meeting/d4d-fund-progress-report-and-work-plan-may-2020-october-2021.pdf_