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).
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
M2: Financial Access Survey (FAS)
M3: Online Learning
M4: Statistical Information Management
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
