The Ministry of Planning and Development, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, recently signed an agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) granting the Ministry access to US$330,000 for the creation of a national socio-economic database, and the development of institutional capacity within the Ministry for more effective monitoring and evaluation of socio-economic conditions.   

This project is a critical component of the Ministry’s thrust to develop a comprehensive and co-ordinated national statistics system that delivers high quality, user-oriented, relevant and timely data. 

The national socio-economic database will provide policy makers, planners, researchers and the population in general, with data to facilitate evidence-based policy setting and planning, as well as continuous assessment of living conditions in the country.  In addition, it will improve the country’s capacity to develop reliable gender and geographically disaggregated data.   

Importantly, this database will be used by the Ministry to monitor and measure progress in the achievement of key milestones and targets established for Vision 2020 and as stipulated by international agreements, including the Millennium Declaration. 

The project has three (3) critical components:

1)      Creation and population of a repository for socio-economic data for the tracking of critical national indicators and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs);

2)      Development of a quality of life index in the context of the goals of Vision 2020, and

3)      Enhancement of the capacity of staff in the Ministry of Planning and Development. 

The project which is expected to be implemented over a period of two (2) years will be executed by the Central Statistical Office, Ministry of Planning and Development.