ECLAC, as the implementing agency of the SCA in monitoring the MDG, has react to the concerns expressed by countries, related to the validation and use of national official statistics by the international agencies that working in the region.

Coordinated by the Statistic and Economic Projections Division, ECLAC has produced a detailed diagnosis of data gaps and discrepancies in the values of the MDG indicators between international and national official sources and has create social ties with the NSOs and the sectoral ministries in charge of the preparation of MDG national reports (see MDG Statistical Programme background).

Bases for the elaboration of a Regional MDG Conciliation Strategy were set as a result of the former. Its objective is to reduce statistical discrepancies among different sources of information, and/or document the differences, and progressively fill the information gaps.

To reach these objective, activities need to be carried out in four fields:

• Interintitutional coordination.

• Use of common concepts and methodologies.

• Metadata diffusion

• Statistical development and definition of statistical standard in emerging fields

The strategy requires the development of a set of different action according to the area of work involved, even some times according to the indicator that is been treated. This in correspondence with the actors that take part of the indicators production and use, at the international, regional or national level.

The need of specialization derives from the different causes that explain the discrepancies between the indicators values, and is related to the heterogeneity of the statistical development in each of the thematic areas involved in the MDGs.

Many factors may explain the divergences in data values from national and international source for each indicator. For example differences in the methodology (vital statistics and poverty indicators), differences in statistical standards and institutional leadership (environmental indicators), or differences due lack of inter-institutional coordination (particularly in indicators that require many actors for their construction).

Building competences to face up these challenges demands a coordinated work among the persons in charge of the official statistics and the experts in each of the MDG fields. A group of actions may than be coordinated, were a variety of actors have different complementary responsibilities.

Undertaken the problematic by specific thematic areas can facilitate the exchange and discussion in each MDG field, making it possible to build the necessary synergies for countries and specialized agencies to be able to design mechanism that face up the challenges y search for solutions regarding their human and financial resources.

In the same way, it is necessary to disseminate the findings coming out from each of these specialized spaces of work.

Lines of action

a. Diagnosis of data gaps and discrepancies in the values of the MDG indicators between international, regional and national reports.

b. Diffusion of good practices in MDG statistical production and MDG inter-institutional coordination by Latin America and the Caribbean countries.

c. Diffusion of good practices of International Agencies’ activities in statistical conciliation mechanisms and supporting national technical teams in the production of MDG statistics and indicators.

d. Conciliation mechanism proposal, according to MDG goals and indicators.