Data for Decisions (D4D) Fund

Overview

Demand for more and better statistics is expected to persist for the remainder of this decade. With uneven medium-term economic growth prospects and the risk of further divergence across countries, continued statistical capacity building helps country authorities root policymaking on evidence. It is also an important pillar of the IMF’s key policy priorities. High-quality data are vital for the IMF’s analysis and policy advice and underpin its surveillance and lending operations. Sustaining efforts to strengthen national statistical systems—particularly in low- and lower middle-income countries (LLMICs) and fragile and conflict-affected states (FCS)—is crucial not only for preserving the progress made but also for addressing emerging data needs, tapping alternative data sources, and advancing data transparency.

Phase II of the Data for Decisions Fund (D4D-II) aims to provide timely and more agile responses to technical assistance requests across macroeconomic statistics workstreams. It complements the IMF’s multi-year field-based capacity development support in statistics by addressing stronger demands on both staple and more advanced and policy-relevant macroeconomic statistics.

The D4D Fund is now a well-established thematic fund with a proven record of accomplishment and wide recognition. Since 2018, the D4D Fund has been supporting LLMICs and FCS in building stronger national statistical systems to better inform macroeconomic policymaking.

Each module focuses on strategic objectives (see Figure).

• Module 1 addresses data needs to empower policymaking in fiscal, external, as well as real sector (national accounts, high-frequency indicators, and prices);
• Module 2 sustains and expands the Financial Access Survey database, both in terms of geographic coverage, data disaggregation and thematic scope;
• Module 3 builds on the 12-course-strong curriculum developed and made available in three languages (English, French, and Spanish) during D4D-I;
• Module 4 supports the IMF’s Data Standards Initiatives for data transparency as a public good, and expands the support to countries in the adoption and deployment of the SDMX standard to data standards, dissemination, and use; and
• Module 5 supports countries in producing policy-relevant environmental and climate change statistics.

To achieve the objectives for D4D-II, the D4D Fund requires partner funding of US$45 million covering a five-year period (2025-2030).

 

Governance

The governance arrangements are expected to remain broadly the same as in D4D-I. The D4D Fund Steering Committee will be the overarching governing body of the D4D Fund and will provide strategic guidance. The Steering Committee will approve beneficiary countries and the rolling 18-month work plans.

Partners

Overview

The global economic policy dialogue has recognized the growing need of policymakers for quality data to formulate prudent macroeconomic and structural policies, monitor their implementation, identify looming economic risks, and create the conditions for strong and equitable growth. The 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) officially commit countries and the international community to modernize national statistical systems to monitor progress in meeting development objectives.  

This is the context in which the IMF has launched the Data for Decisions (D4D) Fund, with the overall goal of putting more and better data in the hands of decision-makers, thereby enhancing evidence-based macroeconomic policies and supporting the achievement of the SDGs. The D4D Fund will also foster accountability and transparency and be conducive to private sector decision-making. The D4D Fund innovates on the IMF’s existing capacity development expertise through a dynamic modular approach this will allow the IMF, in close collaboration with partners, to flexibly react to country demands as well as changing priorities in the global policy dialogue. The work under the D4D Fund is also fully embedded in the Overarching Strategy for Data and Statistics at the IMF in the Digital Age.

Each module focuses on strategic objectives (see Figure).

M1: Addressing Data Needs and Quality Concerns

Help countries compile and disseminate data in three topical domains (real, external and government finance sectors) to support policy analysis and formulation and detect economic risks and vulnerabilities.

Bring more and better data into the public domain, thus enhancing transparency and accountability.

Offer technical advice on enhancing source data and promoting higher-frequency data.

M2: Financial Access Survey (FAS)

Provide policymakers and analysts with high-quality statistics in this unique financial inclusion database covering 189 economies.

Improve and expand FAS to new areas, such as new access points, gender-disaggregated statistics, and costs of financial access.

Provide monitoring basis for SDG financial inclusion indicator.

M3: Online Learning

Develop a new structured online learning curriculum to exponentially enhance reach of statistics training in eight fundamental statistical topical areas.

Offer online learning in up to six languages to allow truly global delivery.

M4: Statistical Information Management

Develop advice to help statistical offices, central banks, and ministries to streamline, standardize, and automate their data management practices and infrastructure.

Enhance countries’ ability to compile and disseminate macroeconomic and financial statistics.

 

The multi-partner initiative is based on donor contributions of US $33 million over the course of five years (FY2019-2023) and mainly targets low and lower middle-income countries, including fragile states. Complementarity with the IMF’s own resources, existing bilateral projects, and the Regional Technical Assistance Centers make the D4D Fund a much-needed answer to the changing challenges of today and the medium-term future.  The D4D Fund was launched on June 22, 2018 in Bern (Switzerland).   

Governance

The Steering Committee currently consists of Luxembourg, Switzerland, the European Commission, the Netherlands, South Korea, China, Germany, and Japan. The body has been established to provide strategic guidance and assist in setting the priorities, endorsing the work plan -and its updating- of the D4D Fund. The inaugural meeting of the Steering Committee took place in June 2018 in Bern, and the second meeting in January 2019 in Luxembourg.

Work Plan

The modular approach offers flexibility to adapt to newly emerging issues, ensuring that resources are reallocated between countries and work streams more efficiently. Allowing for different paces in implementation across the four modules, the following work plan has been endorsed by the Steering Committee until July 2020.

 

Partners