Pilot activity in francophone Africa and the Andean Community

— National Statistical Institutes as pioneers in the measurement of governance and democracy

In 1996, Antananarivo, the capital city of Madagascar, was the first place where data on governance and democracy was gathered through modules attached to the regular questionnaire of a socio-economic household survey. Since then, results have been gathered in seven other capital cities

Workshop of data-analysis, Afristat, Bamako

of francophone Africa, by means of the same questionnaires. In the cities of Abijan (Côte d'Ivoire), Bamako (Mali), Cotonou (Bénin), Dakar (Senegal), Lomé (Togo), Niamey (Niger) and Ouagadougou (Burkina Faso), the total sample amounted to more than 10000 households.

Today, data collection in francophone Africa has ended and an in-depth analysis is close to completion. Each National Statistical Institute will produce a national report according to a common template. Results promise to be of high interest; they will allow for a regional comparison of 8 capital cities of francophone Africa, which will be coordinated by Metagora partner DIAL. A preliminary analysis of the results with an emphasis on the case of Bamako (Mali) was presented by Mireille Razafindrakoto (DIAL) in a public debate in Bamako in June 2004.

The National Statistical Institutes of francophone have taken on a role of pioneers: It is the first time in history that the public producers of data measure phenomena like the efficiency of public administration with the scientific rigor statistical institutes stand for. Several countries have already implemented surveys with the same methodologies outside the capital city, others have expressed the will to repeat the exercise in the capital city and thus produce time series that can be used as a powerful monitoring tool. The institutional framework of Afristat and the close collaboration with DIAL guarantees a common approach despite different national strategies.

Andean Community: taking it one step further

Even though the method of the attached modules was implemented in the Andean Community only at a later stage, there are some remarkable advances to be mentioned: Peru started to attach the three modules "governance", "democracy" and "subjective poverty" in 2002 on a nationwide scale, and has continued to do so since then: This generates results with two highly interesting features:

• The nationwide coverage allows for a disaggregation of the results along the lines of urban/rural population, which is of special interest in the context of decentralization;
• The regular frequency with which the data is gathered allows for the creation of timelines, creating thus a tool to monitor the evolution of phenomena like corruption or adherence to democratic values.

Peru has thus taken the experience from francophone Africa two steps further and has to be considered a world-wide pioneer in monitoring governance and democracy; this monitoring tool allows for a policy-design that is not based on assumptions, but on scientific facts. Furthermore, the preliminary presentation of the Peruvian results (.pdf; 250kb) in a joint meeting of Metagora and GovNet (Network for Governance; OECD) showed the great interest for a replication in other countries.

Within the framework of Metagora, the Peruvian experience is replicated in all five countries of the Andean Community (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela). This activity is co-ordinated jointly by the Andean Community's General Secretariat (SGCA; responsible for the operational co-ordination) and DIAL (responsible for substantial co-ordination, technical assistance and regional data analysis). The complexity of coordinating

Discussing a common approach, Quito, Ecuador

distinct calendars and survey designs in all of the five countries has proven to be a challenge. Nevertheless, the activity has taken major steps towards the production of tangible results:

In two meetings of the Andean Community's Group of NSI's Experts in Statistics on Democratic Participation and Governance (held in Lima on January 2004 and in Quito on October 2004), a common approach was adopted by all five countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela), allowing for a regional comparative analysis of the national results. As a result, the activity implemented by five national statistical institutes, a research centre and an international organization has become one coherent, common action. Data was already collected in Peru and Ecuador and is being collected in Bolivia. Survey plans and questionnaires were completed in Colombia and Venezuela, where field work will start in January 2005.

In Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia, the data is gathered nationwide, whereas the statistical institutes of Colombia and Venezuela will concentrate on the capital cities. The totality of data gathered in the Andean Community will therefore allow for a cross-country comparison of a) Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru at a national level and b) the five capital cities Bogotá, Caracas, La Paz, Lima and Quito.