Monitoring the state of statistical operations under the COVID-19 Pandemic 5 June 2020 Highlights from a global COVID-19 survey of National Statistical Offices The Global COVID-19 survey of National Statistical Offices As the COVID-19 pandemic spreads, National Statistical Offices (NSOs) around the world have not been exempt from the massive disruptions to lives and livelihoods being caused by the novel coronavirus. Now more than ever, governments, firms, civil society organizations, and the general public require timely and reliable information to navigate, cope with, and respond to the unprecedented impacts of the global pandemic. At the same time, national statistical systems are being challenged by serious disruptions to censuses, household surveys, and other crucial data collection, processing and dissemination operations. This report presents the results of the first wave of a global survey1 on the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the operation of NSOs, their responses, and the ensuing needs of financial and technical support. The results provide useful information for the global statistical community, donors, development partners, and the general public to ensure that contingency plans and strategic decisions are based on evidence and the actual needs of countries. This information helps us understand disruptions in national statistical activities, towards identifying priorities for allocating resources and establishing technical cooperation in the areas of greatest need. 1 The web-based survey was e-mailed to 218 National Statistical Offices. Of these, 122 responded, representing a variety of geographic regions and income levels. The figures in this report are based on data from all NSOs that responded to each question; therefore, the denominator for each graph may vary slightly due to non-response for individual questions.  About 65 percent of the headquarters offices of NSOs are fully or partly closed, 90 percent have instructed staff to work from home, and 96 percent have fully or partially stopped face- to-face data collection  9 in 10 NSOs in low- and lower-middle income countries saw the pandemic affect their ability Key to meet international reporting requirements.  8 in 10 NSOs in low- and lower -middle- income countries face difficulties operating during the findings pandemic due to funding constraints  Phone surveys are the most commonly used approach to analyze or monitor aspects of the pandemic  Around half of the NSOs are setting up or planning to set up national data platforms to serve governmental and public data needs  6 in 10 NSOs that participated in the survey, stated the need for additional external support to face the challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic NSOs around the world have been heavily impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As of mid-May 2020, 15 percent of the offices were fully closed, and half were only open to essential staff. While strict closures have been relatively more The functioning of frequent in Latin America and the Caribbean, in Sub-Saharan Africa, the NSOs of a dozen countries continued to open normally. National Statistical Offices is heavily However, even in most of the offices that remain open, staff have been advised to work from home: only 12 of the NSOs impacted… that responded to the survey (10 percent) have not currently instructed any of their staff to work from home. Approximately 90 percent of NSOs have provided their staff with individual protective gear, such as face masks, gloves, and sanitizing wipes. Nonetheless, face-to-face field data collection has been impacted in all but 4 percent of responding …65 percent of offices are offices, with 69 percent halting it altogether. Only 27 percent of offices are continuing some form of face-to-face data collection. fully or partially closed, and 9 out of 10 offices As consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic: have instructed some or all Have you stopped field Is your main office Is staff instructed to data collection involving currently closed? stay and work from home? face-to-face interviews? staff to work from home. Nearly all NSOs have 15% 10% 26% 4% stopped or significantly 35% 27% reduced face-to-face data 69% collection… 50% 64% Office is closed to ALL staff Yes, all Yes, fully Office is closed only to non-essential staff Yes, some Yes, partly Office is not closed No No The disruptions to work arrangements and data collection have severely limited the ability of two thirds of NSOs to produce essential statistics and meet international reporting requirements. Low and lower-middle income countries, and countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have been particularly affected. Every single low-income country responding to the survey indicated that COVID-19 was affecting their ability to meet international reporting requirements. In comparison, 48 percent of high-income countries stated that COVID-19 did not affect their ability to meet international reporting requirements.. …and the ability to Is the current COVID-19 pandemic affecting your ability to: produce essential statistics Meet international Produce essential Produce and to continue publishing reporting requirements? monthly and quarterly statistics? administrative data statistics? is being severely affected Total Low and lower middle income Upper middle income High income 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Yes, severely Yes, moderately No, not at all Administrative data production has been on average relatively less affected, When asking about the major with 56 percent of offices reporting moderate or severe impediments. This challenge they faced in producing masks however a very pronounced difference in impacts across regions and statistics based on administrative income level. More resourced statistical systems in East Asia, Europe and North data, 54 NSOs reported that America have largely seen no impact on the production of administrative data, providers of administrative data while the near totality of offices in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, and two were not able to collect/receive data thirds of those in the LAC and MENA regions have been either moderately or themselves, and/or that the NSOs severely affected. had difficulties in contacting them. …and the ability to Is the current COVID-19 pandemic affecting your ability to: produce essential statistics Meet international Produce essential Produce reporting monthly and quarterly administrative and to continue publishing requirements? statistics? data statistics? is being severely affected All regions Sub-Saharan Africa Oceania Northern Africa and Western Asia Latin America and the Caribbean Europe and Northern America Eastern and South-Eastern Asia Central and Southern Asia 0% 50% 100% 0% 50% 100% 0% 50% 100% Yes, severely Yes, moderately No, not at all Only 28 out of 121 national statistical offices reported that new legislation or regulations specific to statistical legislation had been issued in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of which were in higher income countries. In most cases (22 out of 28), the new legislation or regulations were issued by the government, while in 13, the NSO issued the new regulation. Approximately two out of three national statistical offices are also altering their scheduled calendar of publication and data dissemination as a result of the pandemic. The main constraints faced by NSOs are difficulties related to mobility and transport restrictions, which were indicated as 62 percent of the respondents reported to have faced moderate or severe difficulty. Many other factors, including connectivity constraints for remote work, funding constraints, and procurement difficulties, were also widely cited as areas where operational difficulties associated with the pandemic have emerged. Mobility and transportation restrictions As consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic, are you facing difficulties in operating due to: are particularly Office IT not suitable High income: 14 challenging for NSOs in for remote work 11 13 Office IT not suitable for remote work low-and lower middle- 9 Mobility restrictions / 15 transportation Mobility restrictions / 13 transportation problems income countries (34 out Procurement Upper middle income: 20 Procurement difficulties of 38, and upper middle- difficulties 14 16 29 Funding limitations income countries (29 out Funding limitations 11 21 Personnel not equipped of 37), but far less so for Low and lower middle income: to work from home Personnel not equipped to work from home 27 Personnel not 34 NSOs in high-income Personnel not 30 34 available / ill countries (11 out of 44). available or ill 21 26 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% 0 10 20 30 Yes, severe Yes, moderate No Not applicable Number of NSOs responding 'moderate or severe difficulty' The impact of the pandemic on funding of National Has your funding been affected due to Statistical Offices has been highly heterogeneous. About the current COVID-19 pandemic? half of them report no change in funding (with the percentage ranging from 74 percent in high-income countries to 20 percent in low- and lower middle-income Total 12 38 48 countries (LMIC)). Of those reporting changes in funding, Low and lower- the majority indicate a decline in government funding, middle income 20 8 53 20 Funding has been funding from donors, and other resources. impacted Upper middle income 14 38 49 While this affects offices across income levels, it is most heterogeneously, as common in LMICs, where more than 53 percent of offices High income 23 74 funding decreases are have seen funding cuts, as opposed to 38 percent in upper more frequent than middle-income countries, and 23 percent in high-income 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% countries. Interestingly, there seems to be a dichotomy in increases, and funding low- and lower middle-income countries, with a non- Increased remained steadier in well- negligible number reporting increases in funding, mostly Decreased from government, from donors, but in some cases also from government resourced offices sources. . increased from other sources Decreased No change For all censuses combined, preparatory activities were to some extent In particular, the breakdown by type of impacted in 55 percent of cases. Fieldwork had to be postponed to later census is as follows: in 2020 in 40 percent of the cases, and to 2021 and beyond in another 16 percent.  61 countries were planning a Population and Housing Census in 2020; 58 percent of countries responding saw an impact on preparatory activities, and 53 percent Census operations have Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, did you have to stop or postpone: of those which responded had to been impacted in many of Preparatory activities for Field work of planned census? postpone fieldwork to later in 2020 or to 2021 or beyond. . the countries that were planned census?  44 countries were planning an planning the 14% 13% 16% Agricultural Census in 2020; 50 percent implementation of a of countries responding saw an impact on preparatory activities, and 55 Population and Housing, 45% percent of those which responded had to postpone fieldwork to later in 2020 Agricultural, or Business 41% 32% or to 2021 or beyond. 40% Census in 2020.  26 countries were planning a Business Census in 2020; 57 percent of countries responding saw an impact on No. Activities were completed No. Neither stopped nor postponed before the COVID-19 arrival preparatory activities, and 64 percent No. Proceeded / will proceed with Yes. Had to postpone to later in 2020 of those which responded had to activities in spite of COVID-19 postpone fieldwork to later in 2020 or Yes. Had to postpone or cancel SOME Yes. Had to postpone to 2021 or beyond preparatory activities to 2021 or beyond. Yes. Had to postpone or cancel most/ALL preparatory activities The main reasons for the impact on census operations as identified by respondents were the need to reduce face-to-face interviews, followed by mobility and transport restrictions. Countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and Oceania were the most affected, with no offices able to carry on with census activities according to their original plans. Well-resourced offices have been better able to continue census operations without major disruptions. It will be critical to monitor the ability of less well- resourced offices to resume census activities in 2020. Official survey operations have been impacted in 4 of 10 countries. High-income countries have been better able to continue survey operations, with three quarters of survey operations continuing without postponement, compared to just half in LMICs. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, did you have to stop or postpone the field work of planned survey? All countries 3% 3% Low and lower Survey operations have 5% middle income also been impacted 27% 63% Upper middle income No High income Yes. Postponed to later in 2020 Yes. Postponed to 2021 or beyond 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Yes. Stopped indefinitely Yes. Had to skip wave(s) Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, did you have to stop or postpone the field work of planned survey? Household Budget / Inc. & Exp. Of the various types of Living Conditions / Multi-topic planned surveys, time use Demographic and Health Survey and price surveys were the Multiple Indicator Cluster Labor Force Survey most likely to continue. Price Survey Enterprise Survey Agriculture Survey Time Use Survey Other Health / Education Survey 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100% Share of responding countries No Yes. Postponed to later in 2020 Yes. Stopped indefinitely Yes. Postponed to 2021 or beyond Yes. Had to skip wave(s) Statistical agencies are adapting their survey operations by relying on alternative data collection modes, in addition to adding questions about the pandemic to ongoing surveys. Notwithstanding the disruption caused by the pandemic, agencies are responding to new needs and demands in various ways. 62 percent of responding NSOs have begun working on new data collection efforts to monitor and assess the impact of COVID-19 – and in more than half of the cases, these efforts follow a request from the government. Meanwhile, around half of responding NSOs are setting up or planning national data platforms to serve public data needs during the pandemic. Many NSOs are adapting and responding to the If you had to alter a planned survey because of the COVID-19 Has your institution planned Are you currently setting up new data needs and pandemic, which changes did / will you introduce? any survey on COVID-19 and or planning to set up any its impacts? national platform to respond demands of the COVID-19 Change data collection mode or use alternative source/approach to data needs of the government/ public? pandemic Add COVID-19 related questions Reduce questionnaire content Reduce sample size 38% Change sample design 49% 51% Other 62% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Share of planned surveys No Yes Fifty-eight percent of countries that responded to the survey are relying on phone surveys, 53 on administrative data, and 34 percent are relying on web surveys. These three alternative sources are used commonly across income levels. The use of administrative data is most common in high-income countries, while LMIC countries are much less likely to use web surveys, most likely due to a lack of online infrastructure. In monitoring the impacts of COVID-19, statistical Is your institution using alternative/nontraditional data sources/approaches to analyze or monitor aspects of the agencies are using COVID-19 pandemic? alternative data sources Phone survey Administrative data Web surveys Social media Phone call detail records Remote sensing / satellite imagery Citizen generated data / crowdsourcing Other 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% Percentage of countries responding to survey In facing these new challenges, NSOs are in need of additional support So far, most of the external support in for several reasons. Globally, 6 in 10 agencies reported needing implementing alternative, non-traditional additional external support to face the challenges associated with the data sources and approaches to data COVID-19 pandemic, with NSOs in Sub-Saharan Africa and Latin collection in relation to the COVID-19 America and the Caribbean in particular expressing the need for such impact have come from the donor additional support. While NSOs in 82 percent of LMICs need additional community (27 of the 37 offices that support, nearly a third of NSOs in high-income countries are also received support). looking for additional support for their operations. Proportion of national statistical offices that need additional external support Many agencies need to face the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic support to face the challenges posed by the Overall average Overall Average COVID-19 crisis High Latin America and the Caribbean 94 income 32 Sub-Saharan Africa 90 Northern Africa and Western Asia 71 Upper middle 75 income Central and Southern Asia 67 Eastern and South-Eastern Asia 55 Low and lower middle 82 income Europe and 28 Northern America 0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100 Share of responding countries (percent) Share of responding countries (percent) The most critical support needs are technical (96 percent high or Top three support priorities by income group moderate priority), financial (92 percent high or moderate priority), and software for remote data collection (83 percent high or Low and lower middle income countries: moderate priority). Software for remote 68 29 data collection Technical assistance is a high priority for nearly 6 out of 10 NSOs in Financial 74 26 high-income countries, 8 out of 10 NSOs in upper middle-income countries, and three quarters of NSOs in LMICs. Technical assistance 77 23 / capacity Upper middle income countries: Seventy three NSOs Support priorities Software for remote data collection 64 8 stated the need for Technical assistance / capacity 74 22 4 Software for remote work 54 23 Financial additional external 61 31 8 Technical assistance 80 20 Software for remote data collect 60 23 17 / capacity support Software for remote work 51 31 18 High income countries: Equipment 42 37 21 Software for remote 36 36 Connectivity at home for staff 41 36 23 data collection Connectivity in other locations 36 33 31 Financial 46 31 Connectivity at HQ 36 33 31 Technical assistance Protective gear for staff 30 27 43 57 21 / capacity Training on social distancing 19 29 51 0 20 40 60 80 100 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100% Share of responding countries High priority Moderate ripority Not a priority High priority Moderate priority The COVID-19 survey of NSOs • Mode: Computer Assisted Web Interviewing (CAWI), programmed in Survey Solutions • Launched on 5 May 2020, questionnaire accepted through 17 May • Questionnaires sent to 218 NSOs, 122 responses received • Sections: General impacts on NSO functioning; Status of main statistical operations (Censuses & Surveys); Response and support needs; Open-ended questions on impacts, responses, and support needs • First wave: 5-17 May, 2020 • This work was carried out under the aegis of the United Nations Statistical Division (UNSD), in partnership with World Bank’s Development Data Group and in coordination with the UN Regional Commissions. The Team who worked on the survey and the report was led by Francesca Perucci (UNSD) and Gero Carletto (World Bank), and consisted of Faryal Ahmed, Daniel Eshetie, and Luis G. González Morales (UNSD), and Sergiy Radyakin, Zurab Sajaia, Philip Wollburg and Alberto Zezza (World Bank).