## Mid-Year Report to the D4D Fund Steering Committee (May–December 2023)

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Mid-Year Report to the D4D Fund Steering Committee (May–December 2023)](https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/capacity-developement/d4d/jan-2024/mid-year-report-to-d4d-sc-2024.pdf)

## Other formats

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### Overview and context
- The report updates developments since the D4D Fund Steering Committee (SC) meeting of June 2023.
- Implementation of the 18-month work plan (May 2023–October 2024) has been strong, with most capacity development (CD) activities conducted in person or in blended format.
- Africa remains the largest beneficiary of D4D-funded CD support across statistical areas and multilingual online learning courses.
- The largest share of technical assistance remains on government finance and external sector statistics.
- The online learning curriculum development continues as planned, with the launch of the eighth course on Financial Soundness Indicators (FSIx).
- The annual SC meeting in June 2024 will focus on program implementation, the next and final work plan of Phase I, use of D4D Fund resources, and a presentation of the draft program document for Phase II.

### Program execution and implementation
- Program execution accelerated in response to stronger demand, with over two-thirds of the 18-month work program planned for FY 2024 (which ends April 30, 2024).
- Key implementation figures (May–December 2023):
  - Number of activities in the 18-month work plan: 187
  - Activities to be implemented in FY 2024: 142
  - Activities implemented (May - December 2023): 64
  - Activities implemented (May - December 2022): 40
- Most activities during the period were conducted in person following full resumption of CD-related travel by the IMF, facilitating full reengagement with authorities.
- CD delivery was particularly robust on fiscal and debt reporting, reflecting IMF diagnostic-priority countries and continued demand related to pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine policy responses.
- CD delivery was also robust on national accounts and external sector statistics, where demand for better data to steer economic policymaking remains strong.
- CD delivery on the Financial Access Survey (FAS) proceeded as planned, with one of three regional workshops conducted in the Middle East and Central Asia region.
- Resident Advisor on External Sector Statistics for Central Africa started November 1, 2023; orientation and relocation to Libreville, Gabon completed, diagnostic mission to Cameroon conducted. Planned next steps include diagnostic missions to eight additional beneficiary countries and a regional workshop on trade in services and digital trade in French.

### Outcomes and country-level results emerging
- Yemen: STA supported development of a preliminary time series for central government domestic and external debt; dataset established in November 2023. Next steps: validate and disseminate the time series and develop a time series for central government fiscal data, including financing.
- The Gambia: began compiling IIP and reported it to STA for the first time in December 2023.
- India: new PPI being finalized with release plans for March 2024.
- Armenia and Jordan: development of a Residential Property Price Index with publication planned for the second half of 2024.

### Financial Access Survey (FAS) — coverage, reporting, and outreach
- 2022 FAS results were released in October 2023 alongside “FAS 2023 Trends and Developments”.
- As of November 2023, 168 jurisdictions submitted data to the 2023 FAS round, increasing total economies covered to 191.
- Reporting numbers (FAS database):
  - Total reporters: 2022 Round: 167; 2023 Round (as of November 2023): 168
  - Gender data reporters: 2022 Round: 82; 2023 Round (as of November 2023): 83
  - Mobile money reporters: 2022 Round: 79; 2023 Round (as of November 2023): 80
  - Note: The number of mobile money reporters in the 2022 round was revised down from 86 to 79 because mobile money data reported by some countries earlier were reclassified as broader e-money services.
- Two new reporters in 2023: Andorra and Nauru.
- One additional jurisdiction started reporting gender-disaggregated data in 2023.
- Outreach and engagement:
  - Regional workshop (joint with CCAMTAC) conducted November 2023 in Almaty, Kazakhstan; attended by 26 officials from nine CCAMTAC member countries.
  - First inaugural meeting of the FAS Advisory Group held virtually in November 2023; Advisory Group established in summer 2023 to enhance future FAS content and usage.
  - Consultations and preparation for FAS pilot survey underway to expand fintech and gender-disaggregated coverage, coordinated with G20 DGI-3 Recommendation 12. A stocktaking exercise with G20 economies conducted July–August 2023 will inform the pilot survey.
  - FAS featured in multiple outreach events including G20 DGI-3 Global Conference (June), the 11th IMF Statistical Forum (November), a high-level seminar at the 2023 IMF Annual Meetings in Marrakech (October), and other seminars and internal courses.
- Tools and usage:
  - Internal FAS Tool launched November 2023 to facilitate retrieval of FAS series, indicators, and charts and to enable cross-country comparisons.
  - Between May and October 2023, FAS was the 7th most-downloaded IMF dataset (out of 24 datasets).

### Online learning curriculum development and usage
- Curriculum progress and launches:
  - FSIx launched in July 2023.
  - Additional offerings during the period: QNA/HFIx, EDSx, CPIx, NASx, BOP-IIPx, GFSx, and PSDSx in English, French, and Spanish.
  - Development of PPIx is almost complete; development of MFSx has started.
- Participation and reach (as of December 2023, after release of eight out of twelve courses):
  - Over 12,000 active participants have benefited from sixty-four offerings of D4D-funded online courses.
  - Participant composition: more than half are from low- and lower middle-income countries; almost a third from Africa; a sixth from fragile states.
  - Active participant definition: those who have registered for the course and have answered at least one graded question correctly. If their overall average score is above 0 percent, that participant is considered active.
- Micro-learning and multimedia dissemination:
  - Micro-learning clips prepared from course video material; playlists for PSDSx, GFSx, BOP-IIPx, CPIx and EDSx available on the YouTube IMF Institute Learning Channel; clips for NASx, FSIx and QNA/HFIx to be posted soon.
  - YouTube channel statistics: total of 15,607 subscribers as of end-November 2023; 2,719 new subscribers since January.
- Integration of Modules:
  - Integration between Modules 1 and 3 deepening; video material used in remote and blended training to familiarize participants with basic concepts prior to face-to-face sessions.
  - Example use: GFSx and PSDSx video clips used in regional workshops and in-country trainings, including a joint D4D Fund–IMF’s Pacific Financial Technical Assistance Centre mission for Papua New Guinea compilers in August 2023.

### Phase II expectations and future focus
- Phase II is expected to expand scope and coverage building on Phase I successes.
- Proposed continuations and additions:
  - Continue support for statistical areas identified in Phase I.
  - Strong focus on the use of big data to strengthen data coverage and timeliness and promote more cost-effective collection systems.
  - New workstreams on climate and data dissemination and use will be added.
- A concept note detailing the Phase II proposal has been circulated to the SC as a separate document and will be discussed at the mid-year check-in.
- Upcoming Steering Committee meeting:
  - Annual SC meeting expected June 24–25, 2024 in Seoul, South Korea (hybrid format).
  - Agenda to include D4D Fund implementation, work program and resources, and the draft Program document for Phase II. D4D Fund donors will receive briefing materials ahead of the meeting.

### Annex — Remote D4D-funded ad-hoc assistance (May–November 2023)
- Background: In June 2020, the SC approved a lump-sum allocation equal to 10 percent of the budget of Module 1 (around $292,000) to support remote ad-hoc assistance limited to engagements taking less than one business day of staff time per engagement to D4D-eligible countries.
- Use and demand (May–November 2023):
  - STA completed interventions on 12 requests (against 38 for the same period in 2022).
  - Total expense: $10,940 (against $24,624 for the same period in 2022).
  - Most interventions (10) related to fiscal and debt reporting; two interventions related to external sector statistics (ESS).
  - Regional demand distribution: Africa: 5; Middle East and Central Asia: 3; Asia-Pacific: 3; Western Hemisphere: 1.
- Examples of ad-hoc assistance provided (September–November 2023):
  - Assisted Cambodia in linking the old GDP series to the new rebased series.
  - Supported São Tomé and Príncipe with the recording of value added tax refunds in GFS.
  - Guided South Sudan in the analysis of the International Transactions Reporting System data and preparation of the list of transactions for further validation.
  - Advised Suriname on the recording of a perpetual loan of the central government to a commercial bank.
  - Discussed with Uzbekistan the status of GFS and other statistical issues.

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_Source: https://www.imf.org/-/media/files/capacity-developement/d4d/jan-2024/mid-year-report-to-d4d-sc-2024.pdf_