Statistics and Monitoring

Support to the development of statistical infrastructure is an important element of the drive both to improve the transparency of policy-making and strengthen the evidence base for policy decisions. Policy makers require information both for efficient targeting of policy initiatives and also for monitoring the impacts of policy implementation.

Hart Group is engaged with statistical offices in the development of statistical capacity, principally in the transitional economies of Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States.

Project work ranges from enquiry into specific issues, which we undertake through our local networks, through long term capacity building and training in which we aim to enable and empower local offices to undertake the work themselves, with the benefit of guidance from internationally experienced consultants. In recent years, the focus of statistical development has largely been on social statistics and the need for poverty analysis and information on progress towards Millennium Development Goals and the targets of country PRSP and equivalent programmes. Several countries have upgraded their household surveys, both for income and expenditure. Social Trends and social analysis have been of particular interest to lobby groups and non-governmental organizations while also providing a useful social overview for senior officials.

Round Table discussion of a monitoring report

Hart Group delivers these types of assistance through its extensive network of researchers, covering most of these regions, through established links with national statistics offices, through a network of experienced individual consultants and through long term relationships with universities and research institutions that specialize in aspects of official statistics. Links to a selection of network organizations are available at the foot of this page.

Our capability includes a strong field data collection organisation, through which we are in a position to undertake large scale surveys, controlled experimental field works, tests of survey instruments and methodologies, using proven teams of specialist interviewers. Cross-sectional surveys and panel studies are complemented by capacity in a range of qualitative tools such as focus groups, expert interviews, observation. Software is available for analysis of qualitative results. Our specialists are skilled in the linkage of quantitative and qualitative findings.

Hart Group consultants in monitoring and evaluation make use of these survey skills to undertake formal programme evaluations, assessing inputs, outputs and outcomes / impacts. This is a critical element of the policy development cycle, providing insight into the leverage of a policy initiative and its hoped for and realized impacts. Carefully organized and timely monitoring can provide valuable feedback to the refinement of policy initiatives and can show their successes.

Some related links:

University of Southampton and the S3RI

University of Liverpool – department of social policy and social work

University of Birmingham – International Development Department

The UK Data Archive

The University of Essex - Institute for Social and Economic Research

Statistics Austria

The UK Office of National Statistics

CURS SA, Bucharest

The Institute for Higher Studies, Vienna

The Institute for Social and Economic Studies of the Population, Moscow

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