Overview -National Statistical Systems Division (NSSD)
The National Statistical System Directorate is among the various reforms established under the administration of the Statistician-General Professor Osman Sankoh.
The act mandated Statistics Sierra Leone to create a sustainable National Statistical Systems Division[NSSD] whose role is very strategic in the coordination of statistical activities such as the production, dissemination and accreditation of official statistics to support evidence-based decision-making processes at both planning and policy levels.
The Division (NSSD) serves as the nucleus for coordination of statistical activities undertaken by institutions within the framework of the National Statistical System (NSS).
This section works collaboratively with Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs), Civil Society and other data producers to coordinate the effective generation of relevant and credible data required for development initiatives.
The National Statistical System Division is very strategic in development plans undertaken by Statistics Sierra Leone both at national and international level. This is coordinated through the rollout of a strategic document that navigates and drives the vision of Statistics Sierra Leone in a national context. This document; National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) has proven to be of critical importance in driving the mission, vision and objectives of the institution. Through the stakeholder approach, the directorate has supervised the rollout of two series of the NSDS, and consultations for the third is underway.
The National Statistical Systems Directorate is headed by a Director who works closely with other divisions to support the Statistician-General and the council to ensure the effective coordination of reliable data required by the government, MDA’s and stakeholders for evidence-basedplanning and decision making.
The Directorate is subdivided into four (4) main sections, namely:-
- National Strategy for the Development of Statistics – NSDS
- Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)
- Non-Governmental Organizations and Civil Society Organizations – (NGOs/CSO)
- Schools, Colleges and Universities.
National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) NSSD
Statistics Leone, together with MDAs and support from the World Bank, developed the first National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (2008–2012) to enhance the effective coordination of statistical activities. The second strategy developed and launched in 2016 to cover the period (2016–2020) just witnessed a mid-term review in preparation for the third series-NSDS 111.
The review was a highly participatory stakeholder process based on a clear understanding, appreciation and objectives of the NSDS 11 framework and articulated recommendations for Government and development partners.
The National Strategy for the Development of Statistics provides the road map for the effective functioning of the National Statistical Systems and puts in place an effective coordination mechanism within the institution for the production, analysis, and dissemination of official statistics in the country.
Coordination of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were born at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro 2012 and adopted in 2015 seeks to transform and make the world a better place to live. The objective was to produce a set of universal goals that met the urgent environmental, political and socio-economic challenges facing the world.
As part of this transformation, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development goals calls for a systematic follow-up and review of implementation of the goals.This makes provision for the strengthening of global partnership to support and achieve the ambitious targets of the 2030 Agenda, bringing together national governments, the international community, civil societies, the private sector and other non-state actors, to foster the implementation, and monitoring progress in achieving the SDGs.
Progress in implementing and achieving the SDGs can only be done when there is relevant and credible data available to tell the current status and plan for achieving the set targets.The SDG section within the National Statistical System Division (NSSD) strengthens the coordination of data production and collects data for monitoring progress.
The National Result Framework as an M&E tool, highlights the Sierra Leone specific SDG indicators, baseline data to show our current position, source of baseline data and targets set at country level to achieve the 2030 agenda. This result framework is up-dated regularly by the SDG unit within the NSSD with data from the conduct of stats SL periodic household surveys and from administrative data sources validated by the Stats SL team.
Non-Governmental/Civil Society Organizations (NGOs/CSOs)
The contribution of non-governmental and civil society organizations in the production and consumption of data cannot be undervalued. This section at the NSSD constitutes another foundation of the National Statistical System in the production and dissemination of official statistics.
