Country: West Africa Region
Name of Project: Harmonizing and Improving Statistics in West Africa
Grant No: P169265
Assignment Title: Individual Consultant (IC) to perform the Consultancy services for Revising the African Charter on Statistics (ACS).
Reference No. TN-STATAFRIC - AUC-477840-CS-INDV

1. Background

The African Union Commission has received financing from the World Bank toward the cost of the Harmonizing and Improving Statistics in West Africa (P169265) and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services.

The consulting services (“the Services”) include this assignment which will focus on to revise the African Charter on Statistics to incorporate provisions for emerging issues-related developments such as Agenda 2063, 2030 Agenda, big data, Artificial Intelligence, data revolution, data governance, and innovative technologies while reinforcing its role in harmonizing statistical systems across the continent.

The African Charter on Statistics (ACS) provides a policy framework for statistics development in Africa. The Charter supports the production, management and dissemination of official statistics at national, regional and continental levels. The Charter was adopted in February 2009 and since then, the continent has experienced rapid changes in technology and the emergence of new data ecosystems, including Agenda 2063, 2030 Agenda, big data, Artificial Intelligence, and data revolution. This technological advancement has fundamentally transformed how data is collected, analyzed, disseminated and used. To effectively address the current situation, the Charter needs to be revised to incorporate these emerging trends and challenges, fostering robust and sustainable statistical systems across Africa.

2. Objectives of the assignment

The main objective of this consultancy is to revise the African Charter on Statistics to incorporate provisions for emerging issues-related developments such as Agenda 2063, 2030 Agenda, big data, Artificial Intelligence, data revolution, data governance, and innovative technologies while reinforcing its role in harmonizing statistical systems across the continent.

Scope of Work

1. Review and assessment:

   1. Conduct a review of the African Charter on Statistics to identify gaps and

      areas for improvement.

   2. Analyze global, continental and regional best practices, frameworks, and

      case studies related to Agenda 2063, 2030 Agenda, big data, data

      governance, and innovative statistical methodologies.

2. Stakeholder Engagement:

   a. Facilitate consultations with national statistical offices (NSOs), regional economic communities, academic institutions, private sector and development partners to gather inputs and recommendations.

3. Revise the Charter:

   Revise the African Charter on Statistics, ensuring inclusion of:

   1. Agenda 2063, 2030 Agenda, and Big data applications and integration into

      national statistical systems.

   2. Opportunities and challenges of the data revolution.

   3. Ethical standards for data governance, including privacy and security.

   4. Infrastructure and capacity building for modern statistical tools and

      methodologies.

   5. Strategies for cross-border data sharing and partnerships.

4. Validation:

   a. Present the draft revised Charter for validation during stakeholder workshops and incorporate feedback.

5. Implementation Plan:

   a. Develop a roadmap to guide the adoption and operationalization of the revised Charter.

4. Deliverables

1. Inception Report: Detailing the methodology, work plan, timeline, and stakeholder engagement strategy.

2. Gap Analysis Report: Highlighting areas in the current Charter that require updates.

3. Stakeholder engagement Report: A summary of the consultations, including feedback from stakeholders and an analysis of their needs and priorities.

4. Draft Revised Charter: Incorporating emerging issues and stakeholder input.

5. Validation Report: Summarizing the outcomes of stakeholder validations.

6. Final Revised Charter: Consolidated and ready for approval.

5. Duration and Timeline

The individual consultant is expected to produce a revised ACS within 60 days from the date signing the consultancy services contract. The first revised version will be submitted to the AU Member States and the relevant stakeholders from RECs and international organizations for comments and validation.