The programme which is on the theme ‘National Partnership to Harness the Power of Data for Development’ is being organised by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS).

The objective of the pro­gramme was to introduce the power of data and the national data partnership mechanisms for creating and sustaining political incentives for investing in data and develop a matrix on the status of data sharing within and across the participating institutions.

It was also to create awareness of the definition of fundamental concepts including data, statistics, information, research, statistical data, database, microdata, meta­data and research, and develop a framework for consolidating gains, harnessing the data dividend, and also building structures for sus­taining impact.

Opening the programme, the Government Statistician, Profes­sor Samuel K. Annim, said there was power in data and the only the MDAs could harness the power of data was through collaboration.

He said the major challenge to sustained economic growth and development since independence was the misalignment of policies, adding that the development of the country depend solely on the effective use of data where sector policies had statistical targets.

Prof. Annim said the GSS was interested in how statistical data was been used in the development and evaluation of policies, saying there were inconsistencies in the use of statistics for national devel­opment policies.

It was in that direction that the GSS is working to promote the National Statistical System to coordinate and collaborate with all the MDAs in order to ensure their Information Communication systems spoke to each other and were interoperable.

Prof. Annim said the GSS was working to ensure the country’s policy document was aligned with data and the basis of national policies was statistics.

The Government Statistician said the GSS was being supported by international organisations to ensure the harmonisation of the National Statistical Systems under the Harmonising and Improving Statistics in West Africa Project.

The Head of the Civil Service, Dr Evans Aggrey-Darkoh, said Chief Directors held a pivotal po­sition in the Civil Service, serving as the backbone of administrative efficiency.

“Chief Directors must lead efforts to establish robust data management systems that facilitate easy access, integration and analy­sis of data across various sectors,” he stated.

The Resident Representative of UNDP in Ghana, Angela Lusigi, said the UNDP was pleased to support the Power of Data Initia­tive in line with its commitment to enhancing the development partner collaboration and country ownership.

“Let me assure you of UN­DP’s continuous support towards leveraging data as a powerful tool for sustainable development,” she stated.

Ms Lusigi said data was critical in achieving the sustainable de­velopment goals, adding that data could be used to influence change.