Measuring What Matters: Data Systems for Policy-Relevant Indicators - Tonga

To monitor country progress towards national goals, including international agreements such as SDGs, National Statistical Systems must often address a fundamental question: How can we ensure that urgent policy priorities are translated into sound, feasible, and timely indicators? 

In Tonga, a new structured and scalable approach is providing an answer, offering a blueprint for the Pacific region and beyond.

Moving Beyond Indicators Methodologies to Measurements

A collaboration of D4DInsights with Tonga and the Pacific Community (SPC), implemented under the PACSTAT project, recognized that producing high-quality data requires more than just collection; it requires a methodological foundation that builds on existing national data infrastructures to modernize processes that increase quality and timely data. 

The Tonga Statistics Department (TSD), supported by D4DInsights, worked to bridge the gap between national data system and the rigorous demands of indicator methodologies from global frameworks like the SDGs and regional frameworks like the Blue Pacific Strategy. The goal was to further develop national capacity through co-creation, developing tools that would remain sustainable long after the project concluded.

The role of D4DInsights. We supported TSD in:

1. Mapping the data journey and create a workflow 

2. Develop tools that turn data frameworks into measurements 

3. Build national capacity through co-creation, ensuring ownership and sustainability

Mapping the data journey and create a workflow 

The core of this transformation lies in a structured, modular approach that treats indicator’s production as a continuous workflow rather than a simple binary outcome of yes/no in terms of indicators availability. 

1. Laying the Foundation: Before a single data point is collected, the methodology focuses on three critical steps:

   1. Systematic Prioritization: Focusing specifically on indicators linked to national policies and global commitments.

   2. Characterizing Indicators: Analyzing each indicator's components and existing data before starting.

   3. Assessing Information Needs: Validating needs with policymakers to avoid the common pitfall of collecting unnecessary information.

2.  Executing the Plan: Once priorities are set, the focus shifts to efficient execution:

   1. Leveraging Diverse Sources: Combining traditional sources (surveys and censuses) with secondary administrative data and non-traditional sources.

   2. Collaborating with Custodians: Utilizing the expertise of custodian agencies for data processing and validation to maximize efficiency.

Tools that Turn Frameworks into Measurements

To embed this methodology into Tonga's day-to-day work, several practical, modular tools were co-created: 

• Checklist for Indicator Production: This tool reframes production as a progression from 0% to 100%, allowing for incremental tracking and better planning. 

• Administrative Data Inventory: Documenting sources at the variable level ensures that existing data infrastructures are fully utilized. 

• Quality Assessment Templates: These templates are grounded in international standards but specifically adapted to the Tongan context. 

Grounding the work in international standards—while explicitly adapting them to the realities of Tonga—allowed the country to align with global practices without importing models that do not fit national constraints.

Key lessons  Critical insights for development partners and other countries:

1. Methodology over Metrics: Investing in long-term national data systems yields a greater impact than focusing solely on short-term data production.

2. Characterization is Mandatory to Align Statistics with National Policy Priorities: Indicator characterization should always precede data collection.

3. The Balance of Innovation: New technologies (mobile data, geospatial data) must be balanced with a country's current feasibility and readiness.

4. Co-creation is Essential: Working directly with the national team ensures that tools are technically sound and usable within existing workflows.

By focusing on the national data infrastructure rather than isolated tools, Tonga is not just monitoring the present—it is building the capability to navigate the future.

Looking ahead: from Tonga to the region

While this assignment focused on Tonga, the approach and tools developed are intentionally transferable. They offer a practical pathway for other Pacific Island Countries—and SIDS more broadly—to strengthen indicators monitoring, improve coordination across institutions, and make better use of existing data infrastructures.