As the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) reach their end date in 2015, there is broad consensus that the development agenda which replaces them has to be universal. Whereas the MDGs applied to developing countries only, the post-2015 development agenda will apply to all countries.
To support the implementation and measurement of the post-2015 development goals, a “data revolution” has been called for that will enable governments and policymakers to better track development progress and give citizens the information they need to demand more from their governments and hold them to account.
Against this backdrop, The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD), The North-South Institute (NSI) and Southern Voice on Post-MDG International Development Goals (Southern Voice), have launched the “Post-2015 Data Test: Unpacking the Data Revolution at the Country Level”, an initiative that examines how the universal post-2015 development agenda can be applied and measured across a variety of country contexts.
Participating countries include: Bangladesh, Canada, Ghana, Peru, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Turkey.
Carried out by local think tanks in each country, the Post-2015 Data Test examines country priorities and challenges related to accessing data and measuring progress in seven potential post-2015 goal areas: Poverty; Employment and Inclusive Growth; Governance and Human Rights, Environmental Sustainability and Disaster Resilience; Energy and Infrastructure; Education; and Global Partnership for Sustainable Development.
Apart from road-testing the post-2015 framework and identifying data challenges for its implementation and measurement, the Post-2015 Data Test seeks to encourage, capture and promote analytical inputs from the global South in post-2015 deliberations to ensure that the post-2015 development agenda truly reflects universal priorities.