Background
Poverty assessments and by extension the poverty reduction strategy has been constrained by lack of access to reliable high-quality data, inadequate poverty analysis, limited spatial analysis and absence of linkages among data collectors, analysts and policy makers. In assisting the Guyanese government to realize its overall poverty reduction strategy UNDP in Guyana has embarked on projects such as, Strengthening National Capacity for Poverty Eradication, Capacity Building to Develop a Monitoring System for the Poverty Reduction Strategies and most recently the Development of Institutional Social Statistics Capacities (DISSC).

Objectives
The main objectives of the Development of Institutional Social Statistics Capacities (DISSC) are:

• To support the Government, its line ministries and the Bureau of Statistics by strengthening its capacity to collect, analyse and disseminate key economical and social data
• To support the Monitoring and Evaluation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy and the Millennium Development Goals.


Achievements and expected results
The DISSC project has resulted in:

• An enhanced capacity at the Bureau of Statistics.
• The strengthening of statistical units in the Line Ministries (Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Housing and Water).
• A new statistical unit was established in Ministry of Home Affairs.
• Statisticians are being trained and work programmes formulated to streamline data gathering, analysing and dissemination.
• Four regional databases are being established in regions 2, 5, 6 and 10 to strengthen data management and capacity, and to generate regional data to enable regional analysis.

UNDP is also supporting the Monitoring and Evaluation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy through the DISSC project and helping to develop a system to ensure feedback from civil society on policy framework and programming. Poverty Reduction Strategy Regional Committees have now been established in eight out of ten administrative regions of Guyana. The Regional Committees monitor and track expenditure of priority poverty programmes and local PRS initiatives.

UNDP supports the Monitoring and Evaluation Unit of the Office of the President producing Poverty Expenditure Tracking Reports (PETR). The PETRs highlight the financial input invested by the Government towards the implementation of prioritised programmes and projects for poverty reduction. The Monitoring and Evaluation Unit of the PRSP recognises the national budget as a pivotal policy instrument with which the Government translates statements into implementable programmes to realise the MDGs and poverty reduction.

The PETRs represent the initiation of an institutionalised system for monitoring and evaluating Guyana’s Poverty Reduction Strategy. The Regional Committees submit Community Monitoring Reports (CMRs) concerning projects monitored at the community level. These CMRs qualitatively assess the implementation and output of localised capital projects. In addition, and most significantly, they report on the communities’ satisfaction with the projects.

 

Last Revised: February 2008