PARIS21, in collaboration with UN Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific (UNSIAP), conducted a regional training course on the National Strategies for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) on December 9-12, 2014 at UNSIAP in Chiba, Japan. This training course was designed to introduce high level country representatives in the new NSDS Guidelines. In collaboration with the Accelerated Data Program (ADP) a new addition known as the “Data Module” was introduced into the NSDS process. Pilot work is being undertaken to develop a “Data Module” that would assist countries developing their NSDS to compute and plan their survey program.

The Third Group Training Course in the Production and Development of Official Statistics (in support for National Development including the Achievement of MDGs) conducted by the Statistical Institute for Asia and the Pacific in Chiba, Japan included a short module on microdata access and survey documentation. The 25 participants came from 15 countries, namely, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Ethiopia, India, Iraq, Lao P.D.R., Lesotho, Micronesia, Mongolia, Pakistan, Philippines, Samoa, Syria and Tanzania. The Toolkit was used by the participants in documenting their course project on a survey of ex-SIAP trainees. The final presentation of the project output will be done using the NADA.

The ADP, in coordination with the Afghanistan Offices of the World Bank and UK Department for International Development (DFID), conducted a Microdata Management Toolkit training at the Central Statistics Organization (CSO) in Kabul on 6-10 March 2011. Participants came from three department of CSO. At the end of the training, participants recommended to the CSO management the documentation of their surveys using the Toolkit. The features highlighted in the recommendation were the Toolkit’s adoption of international standards for documentation and its being a single easy-to-use package for documentation, archiving and dissemination.

A Toolkit training was held from Feb. 2-14 in Beirut Lebanon. The training was attended by representative from the Central Agency of Statistics (CAS) and a group of Afghan representatives who were documenting a Household Budget Survey (NRVA 2007). The training was hosted at the new training center, Basil Fuleihin Institute by the Institute of Finance. In addition, the training center was attended by representatives from the World Bank and was co-facilitated with assistance from the UK Department for International Development. The workshop was officially opened by Ms. Maral Tutelian, Director General of the Lebanese Central Agency for Statistics.