Speaking at the opening of a three-day stakeholder workshop, Sean Mathurin, Director of the Central Statistical Office (CSO), highlighted that a key pillar of the National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) is ensuring that the CSO and other major data-producing ministries and agencies are equipped with the necessary human, financial, and institutional resources to meet the country’s evolving data needs.
“In essence, it’s a costed action plan for the advancement and development of statistics that’s aligned with a national strategy, development strategy. In Saint Lucia’s case, it would be the MTDS, the Medium Term Development Strategy. And, it’s just to ensure that the generation, compilation, and production of statistics can meet the emerging needs within a five to ten-year period.”
Until now, Saint Lucia has not had a coordinated, strategic approach to data collection and management. The NSDS is set to change that by uniting all major data-producing entities including the Ministries of Finance, Public Service, Agriculture, Health, the Civil Status Registry, and others, under a single, cohesive framework.
Natalie Jacob, the designated NSDS Focal Point, is responsible for guiding the implementation process across these agencies.
“The hope is that everybody in this room gets a good understanding of what the National Strategy for the Development of Statistics, or the NSDS, what is expected from the various agencies, and how it will be executed.”
A critical element in the transformation of Saint Lucia’s national statistical system is the planned revision of the Statistics Act. This legal update is designed to align directly with the country’s NSDS, ensuring that the CSO not only has the technical guidance but also the legislative authority to implement the action plans and reforms outlined in the strategy.
“What the NSDS would allow through a functioning national statistical system is for there to be coordination and for the central statistical system to operate as the repository of all official statistics that those ministries, departments, and agencies would be producing.”
Other countries in the region have already begun similar strategies. Once completed, the NSDS will serve as a blueprint for smarter, faster, and more reliable data collection, ensuring policymakers and the public alike can access the statistics that matter most.