Sustainable Development Goals and Statistical Capacity

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) place significant demands on national statistical systems. Monitoring progress requires not only data availability but coherent institutional governance, quality assurance, and alignment between SDG indicators and official statistics.

From ORBICAP’s perspective, statistical capacity building for the SDGs is primarily a system-level challenge. It concerns how SDG indicators are integrated into national statistical planning, how responsibilities are allocated across institutions, and how quality, transparency, and coherence are ensured over time.

Key capacity challenges typically relate to:

• alignment between SDG monitoring frameworks and national statistical mandates;

• coordination across data producers, including national statistical offices, line ministries, and administrative data holders;

• documentation and assessment of the quality of SDG indicators in line with international quality principles; and

• sustainable use of administrative data, surveys, registers, and emerging data sources within official statistical systems.

Effective SDG monitoring depends on governance arrangements that enable prioritisation, data disaggregation, timely reporting, and clear communication with users and decision-makers. Without such arrangements, investments in tools, methods, or indicators risk remaining fragmented and short-lived.

ORBICAP’s work on the SDGs focuses on strengthening statistical systems rather than producing SDG indicators. This includes advisory support on governance frameworks, quality documentation, integration with official statistics, and the use of Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) as a mechanism for continuous improvement.

By embedding SDG monitoring within robust national statistical systems, countries are better equipped to:

• monitor progress in a transparent and credible manner;

• identify gaps and inequalities;

• support evidence-based policymaking; and

• meet international reporting commitments sustainably.

Relevant international frameworks and references

• National Statistical Development Strategies (NSDSs).

• Cape Town Global Action Plan for Sustainable Development Data.

ORBICAP aligns its work with international principles for transparency and accountability, including those promoted by the UN Global Compact.

This page was last updated in February 2026.