90242 2011 ICP PROGRESS REPORT TO THE EXECUTIVE BOARD As of October 30, 2012 TABLE OF CONTENTS I. Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................................... 3 II. Governance Activities .................................................................................................................................................. 4 A. ICP Technical Advisory Group Meeting ................................................................................................................ 4 B. Regional Coordinators’ Meeting .............................................................................................................................. 6 C. Status of Preparation of the Report to the 44th Session of the United Nations Statistical Commission ........................................................................................................................................................................... 7 III. Update on the Implementation of the 2011 ICP ........................................................................................... 7 A. Data and Metadata Submission Status .................................................................................................................. 7 B. Timeline and Risk Assessment................................................................................................................................. 9 C. Regional Activities Highlights ................................................................................................................................. 11 D. Capacity Building Material ...................................................................................................................................... 13 E. Outreach Activities ...................................................................................................................................................... 14 IV. 2011 ICP Data Access Policy ............................................................................................................................... 14 V. Funding and Technical Assistance Support ...................................................................................................... 15 A. Funding Support to Regional Programs ............................................................................................................. 15 B. Technical assistance Support ................................................................................................................................. 15 2 I. INTRODUCTION The purpose of this progress report is to provide the Executive Board with a summary of the status of the 2011 Round of the International Comparison Program (ICP) at global and regional levels as well as major activities undertaken since the submission of the July 2012 Interim Progress Report. During the period between July 26, 2012 and October 30, 2012, the Global Office conducted the 7th meeting of the Regional Coordinators, the 7th meeting of the Technical Advisory Group, participated in regional capacity-building activities, prepared outreach material, and provided technical and financial assistance to regions. The Global office also continued its data validation process, having received additional provisional country data and metadata from regions. At the regional level, most of the participating countries have completed the 2011 main household consumption price survey, and as planned from the inception of the program, the rest are expected to complete their surveys before the end of 2012. Albeit timetable differences exist between the regions, all the Special Surveys –related to other GDP components - are scheduled to be completed by the second quarter of 2013. The Regional Coordinators continue to support countries in collecting data and metadata, and devote more time and effort to iterative validation activities through regional workshops, with assistance from the Global Office. While no burning issue is being reported herein, Board members may wish to urge the Regional and National Coordinating agencies at all levels to keep the momentum of finalizing the collection and validation of data and metadata and submitting them to the Global Office to ensure the quality and timeliness of the 2011 ICP. The body of this report comprises four parts: (i) Governance Activities; (ii) Update on the implementation of the 2011 ICP in terms of data collection, submission and validation, risk assessment, and preparation of capacity-building and outreach materials; (iii) Data access policy; and (iv) Funding and technical assistance support. Decision Items The Board is invited to make eight (8) decisions:  endorse the TAG recommendation on estimating global results for outlier countries but excluding them from the global linking process;  endorse the TAG recommendation on estimating global results for singleton and Pacific islands economies but excluding them from the global linking process;  endorse the TAG recommendation on deleting problem observations if they are not resolved by the validation process;  endorse the TAG recommendation about applying the weights of 3:1 to the important/not important prices;  endorse the TAG recommendation to revise the ICP 2005 results in line with the revisions of GDP estimates and provide relevant comparative analysis when the 2011 results are released;  endorse the draft report to the 44th UNSC;  decide that high level missions should be conducted to major economies/countries that exhibit unexplainable variations between 2005 and 2011; and 3  discuss and agree on access to Category 4 ICP data (National Average Price data at the product level for regional items not on the Global Core list for all countries, with appropriate sub-national disaggregation, measures of quality and supporting metadata). II. GOVERNANCE ACTIVITIES A. ICP TECHNICAL ADVISORY GROUP MEETING The 7th ICP Technical Advisory Group (TAG) meeting was held on September 17-18, 2012, at the World Bank in Washington DC. The meeting was attended by TAG members, Global Office staff and consultants, and Regional Coordinators as observers. The TAG made the following recommendations:  Estimation of PPPs for countries that are statistical outliers: Some countries are difficult to compare because their economic structures are either so different or because of data quality problems. The TAG recommended that countries that are identified as outliers based on statistical analysis should be included in the global results on the basis of their regional estimates but they should be excluded from the global aggregation process so that they have no effect on the inter-regional PPPs. Further research should be conducted to determine whether it will be possible to estimate a set of weights that could be applied to countries in the process of global aggregation. Proposed Decision 1. The Executive Board is invited to endorse the TAG recommendation whereby countries that are identified as outliers based on statistical analysis should be included in the global results on the basis of their regional estimates but they should be excluded from the global aggregation process so that they have no effect on the inter-regional PPPs.  Linking of special participation cases: Special participation cases include: (i) Iran and Georgia, which are not part of a regional comparison and are conducting bilateral exercises with Turkey and Armenia respectively; and (ii) the Pacific Islands, which are conducting an experimental exercise in 2012. The TAG recommended that Iran should be linked to the global comparison based on a bilateral bridge via Turkey for all GDP components. The TAG reaffirmed its previous recommendation that, while both Georgia and Iran will be included in the global comparison, they will not be included in the CAR global linking process so their PPPs will have no effect on the multilateral comparison PPPs for all other countries in the global comparison. The same method will apply to the Pacific Islands. Proposed Decision 2. The Executive Board is invited to endorse the TAG recommendation according to which though singleton countries and the Pacific Islands will be included in the global comparison, they will not be included in the global linking process so their PPPs will have no effect on the multilateral comparison PPPs for all other countries in the global comparison. 4  Review of preliminary data: The Household Consumption data and metadata submitted to date by the regions was thoroughly reviewed and processed by the Validation Expert Group (VEG) and the PPP Computation Task Force (CoTaF) and the findings thereof were discussed by the TAG. The summaries of indicators of variability within and between basic headings showed that more data validation is needed, especially in some of the regions and countries, before moving to the aggregation stage. The TAG also noted that countries submitted prices for a large number of products; thus many problem observations can be deleted if they are not resolved by the validation process. Proposed Decision 3. The Executive Board is invited to endorse the TAG recommendation that in the light of the large number of products priced by the countries, problem observations should be deleted if they are not resolved by the validation process.  Feasibility of linking methods: After reviewing the pricing of the core products that will be used to link the regions, the TAG concluded that the large number of countries pricing the core products will enable a robust estimation of linking factors.  Importance classification: The TAG reviewed the importance classification which is viewed as essential, especially for the set of global core items. The review showed inconsistencies in how the definition was applied. The TAG advised the regions that additional validation is needed and also pointed out that inconsistency within and across regions could seriously distort the resulting PPPs. Based on data seen to date; the TAG reaffirms the use of the importance classification for the computation of basic heading PPPs at the within-region level and also for the estimation of linking factors. The TAG confirmed that the weights of 3:1 be applied to the important/not important prices in the estimation of within region basic heading PPPs and also the between-region PPPs used to link the regions. In conjunction with the relevant Regional Coordinators, the Global Office will review the classification of products as “important/ less important” in cases for which there is a concern about possible misclassification. Proposed Decision 4. The Executive Board is invited to endorse the TAG recommendation about applying the weights of 3:1 to the important/not important prices in the estimation of within region basic heading PPPs and also the between-region PPPs used to link the regions.  Productivity adjustment for government services: The TAG agreed in previous sessions that PPPs for government services should be adjusted for productivity. The method proposed to the TAG is based on using a country’s capital/ labor ratio to estimate its labor productivity. The TAG concluded that productivity adjustments should be used for government services in the global aggregation. Regions are encouraged to make 5 productivity adjustments as well. The TAG recommended that the Global Office should compile the necessary capital stock data.  ICP 2005 revisions: Some countries have made significant revisions to the 2005 GDP suggesting that the real expenditures for 2005 need to be revised. The TAG agreed that the National Accounts, population, and exchange rate revisions should be reflected in 2005 results. The Global Office will prepare and circulate a note to explain how this can be best achieved given the time constraints. The results for 2011 will also differ from 2005 because of some methodological changes (core vs. ring linking; method of aggregation; productivity adjustments; dwelling rents; construction; and additional countries). Therefore, the global office will, to the extent possible, provide data users a comparative analysis of the impact of the different methods. The TAG recommended that the 2005 revisions and the results of the 2005 comparative analysis should be provided when the 2011 data are released. Proposed Decision 5. The Executive Board is invited to endorse the TAG recommendation that the ICP 2005 results should be revised in line with the revisions of GDP estimates in several countries in the world and provided together with the 2005-2011 comparative analysis when the 2011 results are released.  PPPs for non-benchmark years: As the use of PPPs increases, so does the need to have PPPs and real expenditures for non-benchmark years. These are provided by an extrapolation method and published in the World Development Indicators. The TAG agreed that there is an urgent need to improve the extrapolation process before the 2011 benchmark results are released. Several proposed methods were reviewed, including one which would entail updating Basic Heading PPPs and national accounts expenditure data each year and re-aggregating to the GDP. The Global Office will provide a test of this method for the next TAG meeting. The TAG noted that there are many data quality issues facing the Regional Coordinators and the Global Office, especially the impact of the core prices on the within-region comparisons and the estimation of linking factors. In addition, data for Special Surveys (housing, government, and gross fixed capital formation) is still undergoing collection and validation. The 8TH TAG is tentatively scheduled for May 6-7, 2013. The meeting will review validated data and metadata for Household Consumption and Special Surveys, and will examine the results of the tests of the proposed extrapolation method. B. REGIONAL COORDINATORS’ MEETING The 7th ICP Regional Coordinators’ meeting was held September 19-21, 2012 at the World Bank in Washington, DC. The main objective of this meeting was to ensure the timeliness and quality of the data for computing final PPPs and to agree on a timetable for the rest of the 2011 ICP. The participants were Regional Coordinators, Global Office staff and consultants, as well as VEG members as observers. 6 The meeting covered the following: (i) Regional and global status reports; (ii) Validation of preliminary data and metadata for price, National Accounts and importance indicators; (iii) Outstanding technical issues including the Computation of National Annual Averages and Operational Classifications; (iv) Releasing final results and drafting the final global report; and (v) Planning for 2012-2013. The meeting reached decisions on the following: (i) the overall timetable and the upcoming milestone submissions of regional data to the Global Office on December 2012 and March 2013; (ii) the revision of the 2005 benchmark PPP results and the need for a working note discussing the feasibility and implications of the revision process in light of several constraints (time, technical, resources, etc.); (iii) the further examination of importance and its use; (iv) the adoption of proposed operational classifications; and (v) the approach and tool for the computation of national annual averages. The 8th Regional Coordinators’ meeting is tentatively scheduled for May 8-10, 2013. C. STATUS OF PREPARATION OF THE REPORT TO THE 44TH SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS STATISTICAL COMMISSION The Global Office has prepared a draft report to the forty-forth session of the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC) scheduled in February-March 2013. The progress report provides comprehensive information on: (i) governance activities; (ii) country participation, risk assessment, and timetable; (iii) status of price and National Accounts activities; (iv) capacity-building activities; (v) outreach activities; (vi) data access policy; (vii) financial status; and (viii) some ideas on the future of the ICP. The draft report is circulated to the Executive Board members for their feedback and comments. The Global Office, on behalf of the Executive Board, will submit to the UNSC Secretariat the finalized report by the end of November 2012. Proposed Decision 6. The Executive Board is invited to endorse the draft report to the 44th UNSC, subject to the Global Office accommodating any comments the Board may provide. III. UPDATE ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE 2011 ICP A. DATA AND METADATA SUBMISSION STATUS MAIN SURVEY AND NATIONAL ACCOUNTS The status of submission of Household Consumption (HHC) national annual average prices and National Accounts latest available expenditure data to the Global Office as of September 15 is summarized in Table 1. Review of price data and metadata by the Global Office and the VEG is undergoing from various points of view including: (i) comparability of data; (ii) extent which Global Core prices represent/reflect regional price levels; (iii) density/scarcity of price data and its effect 7 on computing linking factors; (iv) quality of resulting linking factors; and (v) time consistency with 2005 data. National Accounts related data are being validated from intra-country and inter-country points of view and also temporally against previous years’ data. Table 1. Data Submission for Household Consumption Main Survey and National Accounts National Accounts HHC Main Price Survey Breakdown Participation National Annual Averages REGION (MORES and other formats) Africa 49 50 50 Asia-Pacific 23 20 23 CIS 9 8 9 Latin America 15 15 17 Western Asia 12 12 12 Caribbean islands* Expected end 2012 8 20 Pacific islands* Expected end 2012 - 21 Georgia Expected end 2012 1 1 Iran** 1 1 1 ICP Regions 109 115 154 OECD-EUROSTAT 47 46 47 (Dual Participation) -3 -3 -4 Grand Total 153 158 197 * The Caribbean and Pacific Islands are conducting surveys in 2012 and plan to submit data at the end of 2012. ** Iran submitted data for Q3 and Q4 2011, as well as Q1 2012. They will continue their survey throughout 2012 and submit data at the end of 2012. SPECIAL SURVEYS SUBMISSION SCHEDULE Special Surveys were implemented or are currently being implemented for comparison-resistant areas including Gross Fixed Capital Formation, Government services, Housing and Water Services, and Private Education. Data is to be submitted by the Regional Coordinators to the Global Office according to the timeline shown in Table 2 below. Table 2. Data Submission Schedule for the ICP Special Surveys Latin Western Eurostat- Singleton Surveys Africa Asia CIS Caribbean America Asia OECD Countries Water Q2’13 Aug‘12 - Dec’12 Feb’13 Dec’12 - - Machinery and Q2’13 Mar’13 Dec’12 Dec’12 Mar’13 Jan’13 Dec’12 Dec’12 Equipment Construction Q2’13 Mar’13 Dec’12 Mar’13 May’13 Jan’13 Oct’11 Dec’12 Housing Q2’13 Mar’13 Dec’12 Dec’12 Mar’13 Dec’12 Dec’12 Dec’12 Compensation Q2’13 Mar’13 Feb’13 Apr’13 May’13 Mar’13 Dec’12 Dec’12 Private Education Q2’13 Aug’12 - Mar’13 May’13 Mar’13 - - 8 B. TIMELINE AND RISK ASSESSMENT The 2011 Round of the ICP faces two types of risks: (i) Quality risks covering data quality and metadata quality and completeness; and (ii) Timeline risks. QUALITY RISKS Data Quality The data validation conducted by the Global Office, VEG, and CoTaF showed that the current Basic Heading data for Household Consumption require further editing before moving to the aggregation stage. One quality risk faced relates to the lack of proper data validation, which results in data for some countries exhibiting a large number of outliers. To assess whether these potential outliers are errors in the data, Regional Coordinators are taking steps to iron out the inconsistencies found in their data. They are organizing a series of regional/sub-regional workshops to address their data quality issues. To aid this validation process, the Global Office provides operational material and guidelines on validating price data, as well as technical support in data validation to regions where needed. Another quality risk observed is unexplainable variations between 2005 and 2011, where some countries exhibit systematic data problems including systematically higher/lower prices across all the basic headings. To resolve this issue, the Regional Coordinators and the Global Office are conducting missions to the countries in question to identify the source of problem and to find possible solutions. Proposed Decision 7. The Executive Board is invited to decide whether high level missions should be conducted jointly by the World Bank/Global Office and the Regional Coordinating Agency concerned to any major economy/country that exhibits unexplainable variations between 2005 and 2011 with a view to resolving the inconsistencies or confirming any underlying justifications. The quality of importance indicators is also being assessed. ICP 2011 requires countries to allocate importance indicators to items as a source for weights in the calculation of the CPD-weighted method. However, the criteria of allocation are still not unified between countries. To address this issue, the Global Office provided guidance for validation and discussed with the Regional Coordinators approaches to improve the quality of the indicators. Metadata completeness and quality Securing the quality and completeness of metadata is a crucial issue for this round of the ICP. The Global Office prepared a series of metadata questionnaires to ensure that the 2011 round would have better metadata than the 2005 round. 9 The Quality Assurance Framework Checklists were prepared to help collect the information required to evaluate and assess the quality of the ICP, based on the ICP Quality Assurance Framework. They are available in English, French, Spanish, and Arabic. The countries are expected to complete the checklists by June 2013, the Regional Coordinators by December 2013, and the Global Office by March 2014. On the National Accounts side, the Model Report on Expenditure Statistics (MORES), the National Accounts Quality Assurance Questionnaire, and the National Accounts Exhaustiveness Questionnaire provide a wealth of metadata on how the countries are splitting their GDP expenditures into 155 Basic Headings and the quality and exhaustiveness of their GDP expenditures estimates. On the price survey side, a Survey Framework Questionnaire was prepared in English, French, Spanish, and Arabic. This questionnaire is crucial as it provides information on the survey coverage across countries. Countries are expected to complete it and return it to the Global Office by December 2012. TIMELINE RISKS The 2011 ICP is being implemented according to the timetable set at the beginning of the program. Table 3 shows the timetable from Quarter 4 of 2012 until Quarter 4 of 2013, when the final results are expected to be released. As shown in the table, the schedule is very tight with only 14 months left to complete all the tasks for this ICP round. Thus, any schedule slippage in any region will have an adverse effect on the publication of global and regional PPPs. In some regions, the delay in implementing special surveys is a serious risk. The Global Office is working closely with the Regional Coordinators to ensure that all activities are taking place according to the timetable as agreed in the latest Regional Coordinators’ meeting. If some countries fail to conduct the Special Surveys in a timely manner, a possible contingency plan would be to include these countries in the Global results for the Household Consumption component only. Table 3: Timetable for Data Submission and Computation of PPPs 2012 2013 Activities Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 HHC Data Updates Submission √ Machinery and Equipment Data Preliminary √ Submission Construction Data Preliminary Submission √ Housing Data Preliminary Submission √ 2011 Semi-Final Price Data Submission √ 2011 NA Preliminary Data Submission √ Compensation Data Submission √ 2011 Final Price Data Submission √ Calculation of GDP Preliminary PPPs √ 2011 PPPs, Price and NA Final Data Submission √ Calculation of Final PPPs √ 10 C. REGIONAL ACTIVITIES HIGHLIGHTS AFRICA This fall, technical missions will be undertaken to some problematic countries to resolve some outstanding issues. Additionally, sub-regional data validation workshops will be held in each sub- region to review the final quarterly price data and calculate countries’ national annual average prices for Household consumption items. ASIA-PACIFIC A regional workshop of the ICP in Asia was held in Manila, Philippines July 6-10, 2012. The workshop validated household consumption survey prices as well as prices pertaining to the following special surveys: machinery and equipment, construction, housing, and government services. The issue of importance and representativity was discussed in terms of validating importance indicators against prices and other data submitted by the countries. The workshop also reviewed PPPs, weighted CPD, reference PPPs, and quality adjustments. Prior to the main meetings organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), the Global Office met with ADB staff to finalize materials for the meetings. Immediately following the workshop, a focused group discussion occurred in Manila, Philippines on July 11-12, 2012 amongst selected national experts, international consultants, and the Global Office to address issues on machinery and equipment and construction data that remained unresolved during the workshop. The Global Office and the ADB undertook joint missions to China on October 10-13, 2012, and Hong Kong on October 15-16, 2012. The missions primarily aimed to discuss with the relevant National Statistics Offices the status of the ICP activities and the average prices collected for the 2011 ICP. The Asia-Pacific ICP workshop on the non-household sector prices and National Accounts expenditure data took place on October 22-30, 2012 in Bangkok, Thailand. THE COMMONWEALTH OF INDEPENDENT STATES In the framework of the ICP advocacy activities in the CIS region, the CIS-STAT initiated the translation of the ICP Book into Russian. The translated ICP Book will be posted on the CIS-STAT website as well as on the ICP website. LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN An ICP regional workshop organized by the United Nations Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) was held in Aruba on August 28-31, 2012. The purpose of the workshop was to validate data collected by participating countries in the Caribbean for two quarters from October 2011 to March 2012. The workshop covered prices as well as National Accounts expenditure data and the preparations for the ICP specific surveys. 11 WESTERN ASIA A training workshop on National Accounts activities for the ICP was jointly organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) and the Global Office on July 17-18, 2012 in Amman, Jordan. In the workshop, step by step guidance for completing the MORES was provided for the delegates of 11 countries in the region. PACIFIC ISLANDS A second data validation workshop to discuss the data collected in the first three quarters of 2012 is scheduled for November 7-9, 2012 in Samoa. The main objectives of the workshop are to: (i) finalize data for the first two quarters; (ii) ensure that the validation for subsequent quarters proceeds smoothly and timely; and (iii) agree on the timetable. SINGLETON COUNTRIES Iran A fourth series of joint meetings between the Central Bank of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Turkish Statistical Institute and the Global Office was held in Ankara, Turkey from October 11-15, 2012. The purpose of the meetings was to discuss and agree on various technical aspects related to linking Iran to the 2011 ICP via Turkey. Georgia A joint meeting between the Georgia Statistical Office, the Armenia Statistical Office, and the Global Office consultants was held in Tbilisi, Georgia on October 15-19, 2012. The meeting: (i) discussed the progress in the implementation of the Georgia-Armenia bilateral ICP comparison; (ii) reviewed the validated national annual average prices collected in 2011 for consumer goods and services, equipment goods, construction projects and government services, as well as housing stock data, expenditures, population, and exchange rates; and (iii) decided on the next steps. EUROSTAT -OECD PPP PROGRAM The OECD Meeting on PPPs for Non-European Countries was held in Ottawa, Canada from September 12-14, 2012. Discussion related to the work being carried out by these countries in the context of the 2011 ICP. Issues included: (a) the analysis of the preliminary results for the 2011 Round for Actual Individual Household Consumption and remaining issues; (b) the review of special surveys; (c) the assessment of national accounts expenditure data; and (d) data access policy. The aim was to review the OECD current data access policy and to explore the possibilities to move towards a larger dissemination of data in line with the policy recommended by the ICP Executive Board without breaking the rules of confidentiality. 12 D. CAPACITY BUILDING MATERIAL ICP BOOK The ICP Book Measuring the Real Size of the World Economy brings together a presentation of the methodology available for international comparisons, the choices made for the 2005 ICP, the outcome of those choices, and steps to be taken to improve the quality of the data for the 2011 ICP. The purpose is to make these developments available to researchers, users of PPPs, and those involved in the implementation of the programs. The Book also provides a forward looking view of methodological developments that can improve future comparisons. The book was finalized and advance copies were printed. The full book is also available online. ICP OPERATIONAL GUIDE Twenty-four out of twenty-nine chapters of the ICP Operational Guide were finalized and posted on the ICP website at: http://go.worldbank.org/YIR7WSNL40. These chapters are currently in the process of editing. The remaining five chapters are underway. A complete edited electronic version will be available on the ICP website in April 2013. ICP SOFTWARE Version 4 of the ICP Kit was released on October 12, 2012 with new and improved features. In addition to performance enhancement in all modules, new features to facilitate data validation and processing were incorporated. The Global Office organized a special training on version 4 of ICP Kit software modules in Washington DC on September 24-25, 2012. The objective of the meeting was to provide training, support, and hands-on exercises to users in the regions using the ICP Kit for price data entry, data validation and reporting. Participants from ECLAC and ESCWA attended the workshop. During the sessions, participants were introduced to new features of the regional modules including Setup, Diagnostics, Data Processing, and Reporting. Improvements to country’s modules and the newly introduced Specific Surveys module were also discussed. Regions were briefed on how to convert survey questionnaires for Construction, Education, Housing, and Machinery and Equipment Goods into ICP Kit format. The Global Office will provide necessary guidance in order to ease the migration process from raw data to validation tables, including the computation of PPPs. 13 E. OUTREACH ACTIVITIES ICP QUARTERLY UPDATES The Global Office continues to produce Quarterly Updates, which can be found online on the ICP website. These updates aim to bring more awareness on the current and upcoming governance activities, regional workshops and meetings, operational materials and outreach activities. The latest issue for Quarter 3 of 2012 was produced and circulated including a special interview with Andrey Kosarev, CIS Regional Coordinator. IV. 2011 ICP DATA ACCESS POLICY The ICP Executive Board, in its meeting on October 25, 2011, discussed the proposed 2011 ICP Data Access and Archiving Policy. The Board endorsed the data access principles and agreed in the meeting to the proposed access to the following categories of ICP variables: 1- PPPs, Price Level Indexes (PLIs) and Expenditure data for all countries are published at the analytical level (i.e. Aggregates, Categories, Groups, and Classes), with supporting metadata. 2- PPPs, PLIs and Expenditure data at various levels of detail below the published level (i.e. Categories, Groups and Classes not included in 1 above, and Basic Headings) for all countries, with supporting metadata. 3- National Average Price data at the product level for items on the Global Core list for all countries, with appropriate sub-national disaggregation, measures of quality and supporting metadata. The Board also noted that it is in favor of providing access to ICP average prices of adequate quality and that do not reveal the confidentiality of individual providers. For Category 4 data -National Average Price data at the product level for regional items not on the Global Core list for all countries, with appropriate sub-national disaggregation, measures of quality and supporting metadata-, the Board requested OECD to communicate with its non-Eurostat countries and CIS-STAT to communicate with their member countries on the potential provision of Category 4 data. It also requested China to inform the Board and the Global Office on their position regarding access to Category 4 data. The Board also requested the Global Office to amend the 2011 ICP Data Access and Archiving Policy paper to address the comments received from Board members on principles and procedures during the October 2011 meeting. This was implemented and the revised paper was circulated to the Board in November 2011. 14 Proposed Decision 8. The Executive Board is invited to discuss and agree on access to Category 4 ICP data. V. FUNDING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SUPPORT A. FUNDING SUPPORT TO REGIONAL PROGRAMS The 2011 Round remains on budget. The overall budget at the global level is around 14.5 million USD. Excluding grants to regional programs, the global budget is around 11.5 million USD. The total budget for the 2011 ICP including the regional programs’ budget is estimated at around 37.0 million USD. In FY13, the Multi-Donor Trust Fund is providing three new grants to ESCWA, ECLAC, and CIS-STAT for completing the 2011 ICP in their regions and preparing and publishing final regional results. B. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE SUPPORT The Multi-Donor Trust fund is also funding technical assistance in the form of consultants and technical assistance missions to support regions and countries in LAC, Asia, Western Asia, CIS, and singleton countries. Consultants are also facilitating sessions in regional and sub-regional workshops. 15