December 2022 - You are accessing an archived version of our website. This website is no longer maintained or updated. The Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform has been migrated here: https://sdgs.un.org/

Week 9 - The role of civil society in disability data collection (Sightsavers)

27 June 2016

At the UN Statistical Commission in March, it became apparent that Member States will have to determine individually how to transpose the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into national data collection. This exercise can prove to be difficult when it comes to collecting quality data around disability due to a number of reasons: little understanding, lack of adequate methodology, a gap between discussion at the global level and national realities. At the Commission, Member States expressed their needs in building the capacity of their National Statistics Offices (NSOs). They also shared their worries about the high number of SDGs Indicators - 231 - describing them as a ‘burden’ for countries which have fewer resources. They articulated the need for a strong data collection plan that has support in place.

NSOs cannot do it alone!

Civil Society (CS) and NSOs must work hand in hand if Member States want to achieve the SDGs. In fact, CS is used to playing a key role in data collection. We do so for information gathering, technical development of policy, assessment and monitoring of service delivery, as well as advocacy and dissemination. The role of CS in disability data collection is varied but in summary, it can be about:

  1. advocacy and the promotion of the 2030 Agenda
  2. practice and innovation
  3. partnership /collaboration.

The full blog entry provides explanations of two Sightsavers’ projects around data collection.
United Nations