Can CBPM become a national system ?

Vu Tuan AnhSocio-Economic Development CentreHanoi, Vietnam

THE 3rd ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF PEP NETWORK

Dakar (Senegal) - June 2004_____________________________________________

Tasks of a poverty monitoring system

• To provide a clear understanding of the characteristics of the poor, causes of their poverty, and where they are located.

• To monitor the progress and impacts of poverty alleviation policies, programmes, measures and projects.

PMS collects, analyses, disseminates poverty-related data to policy makers, researchers, communities.

Existing popular PMSs(1) Household living standards survey• quantitative income - consumption survey• both census / sampled survey • national scope• centralised activities(2) Participatory poverty assessment• qualitative survey• sampled survey • local scope • decentralised activities

• Heavy surveys • Too costly to be replicated frequently. • Different coverage and reference

periods of surveys => impossible to get a comprehensive profile of the different social groups at a specific point in time.

• Sampling designs do not usually correspond to the geographical disaggregation needed for policy planning.

do not provide regular and up-to-date picture of the poverty status of vulnerable groups.

Disadvantages of existing PMSs

CBPMS• Frequently conducted • Simple indicators (focussing on basic needs)• Participation of the communities• Different local scopes• Decentralised and flexible activities Low-cost. Providing frequent and comprehensive

information on poverty in localities. Easy-to-sustain.

Enhancing local capacity.

However... Concerns about CBPMS

Does the set of simple indicators satisfy the needs of policy-making process?

Does the participatory data collection meet the quality requirements?

Can local communities properly process and analyse the collected data?

Can results of CBPMS be aggregated and integrated in a national database?

Can CBPMS extent scope and become a national system?

Decentralisation

CBPMS at localities

A national database of CBPMS

Implementation of CBPMS in Vietnam

(1) Set of indicators:

Basic needs + Income

(2) Types of household surveys:

Census (1st year) + Sampling (next 4 years)

(3) Data gathering:

Local surveyors + External supervisors

(4) Data processing:

Computerisation + Ready software

Buiding a national CBPMS (1) Steps in our top-down approach:

Implementing CBPMS in a national system of poverty observatories 2002: testing CBPMS in 20 communes, 12 provinces.

Implementing CBPMS in provinces

2003-04: testing CBPMS in 2 provinces:

+ Hatay with 30 communes

+ Yenbai with 10 communes

Buiding a national CBPMS

Encouraging other provinces to build provincial poverty observatory systems.

Integrating data of provincial poverty observatories in a national system => Provincial observatories become national.

Buiding a national CBPMS

Buiding a national CBPMS

Buiding a national CBPMS

Buiding a national CBPMS (2) Standardisation and unification of

indicators at national and local levels:

Set of main indicators (for all levels) + Set of specific indicators (different for

localities and administrative levels)

(3) Institutionalizing CBPM and searching financial support.

(4) Integrating CBPMS with LSS and other national surveys.

Thank you