Document of The World Bank FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Report No: PAD2031 INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION PROJECT APPRAISAL DOCUMENT ON A PROPOSED GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF SDR 1.9 MILLION (US$2.5 MILLION EQUIVALENT) TO THE UNION OF COMOROS FOR THE COMOROS STATISTICS PROJECT December 15, 2016 Poverty and Equity Global Practice Africa Region This document has a restricted distribution and may be used by recipients only in the performance of their official duties. Its contents may not otherwise be disclosed without World Bank authorization. CURRENCY EQUIVALENTS (Exchange Rate Effective October 31, 2016) Currency Unit = KMF US$1= KMF 449 US$1= SDR 0.7278815 FISCAL YEAR January 1 - December 31 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS AFD Agence Française de Développement –French Agency for Development AfDB African Development Bank AFRISTAT L'Observatoire économique et statistique d'Afrique subsaharienne - The Economic and Statistical Observatory of Sub-Saharan Africa CAPI Computer Assisted Personal Interview CPI Consumer Price Index CPS Country Partnership Strategy DPs Development Partners EA Enumeration Areas EESIC Enquête sur l’Emploi, le Secteur Informel et la Consommation des Ménages aux Comores - Survey on Employment, the Informal Sector and Household Consumption in the Comoros EIM Enquête Intégrale auprès des Ménages - Integral Household Survey ENSEA National School of Statistics and Applied Economics FM Financial Management GAVI Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization GDP Gross Domestic Product HIPC Highly-Indebted Poor Countries Initiative ICT Information & Communication Technology IDA International Development Association IMF International Monetary Fund INSEED National Institute of Statistics, Economic and Demographic Studies IT Information Technology LSMS Living Standard Measurement Survey M&E Monitoring and Evaluation MDAs Ministries, Departments and Agencies NA National Accounts NSDS National Strategy for the Development of Statistics NSS National Statistical System PDA Personal Digital Assistants PDO Project Development Objective PES Post Enumeration Survey PFM Public Financial Management PSC Project Steering Committee RGPH Population and Housing Census SCA2D Strategy for Accelerating Growth and Sustainable Development SCRP Stratégie pour la Croissance et la Réduction de la Pauvreté- Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy Paper SDG Sustainable Development Goal SNA System of National Account SSA Sub-Saharan African TFSCB Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building UNFPA United Nations Population Fund UNICEF United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund WAEMU West African Economic and Monetary Union WB The World Bank Regional Vice President: Makhtar Diop Country Director: Mark R. Lundell Senior Global Practice Director: Carlos Silva-Jauregui Practice Manager: Pablo Fajnzylber Task Team Leader(s): Nadia Belhaj Hassine Belghith, Djibril Ndoye The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) BASIC INFORMATION Is this a regionally tagged project? Country (ies) Lending Instrument No Investment Project Financing [ ] Situations of Urgent Need or Assistance/or Capacity Constraints [ ] Financial Intermediaries [ ] Series of Projects Approval Date Closing Date Environmental Assessment Category 09-Jan-2017 30-Jun-2020 C - Not Required Bank/IFC Collaboration No Proposed Development Objective(s) The project development objective is to strengthen the capacity of the National Statistical Office (INSEED) to improve the production and dissemination of statistics. Components Component Name Cost (USD Million) Implementation, Analysis and Dissemination of the 2016 Population and Housing Census 1.20 Implementation of the 2018-2019 Household Poverty and Living Standards Survey 0.55 Strengthening of Human and Infrastructure Capacity 0.55 Project Management 0.20 Organizations Borrower : Ministry of Finance and Budget Page 1 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) Implementing Agency : National Institute of Statistics and Economic and Demographic Studies (INSEED) PROJECT FINANCING DATA (IN USD MILLION) [ ] Counterpart [ ] IBRD [ ] IDA Credit [ ✔ ] IDA Grant [ ] Trust [✔] Funding Funds Parallel [ ] Crisis Response [ ] Crisis Response Financing Window Window [ ] Regional Projects [ ] Regional Projects Window Window Total Project Cost: Total Financing: Financing Gap: 3.50 3.50 0.00 Of Which Bank Financing (IBRD/IDA): 2.50 Financing (in USD Million) Financing Source Amount African Development Bank 0.43 FRANCE: French Agency for Development 0.10 IDA-D1590 2.50 UN Fund for Population Activities 0.47 Total 3.50 Expected Disbursements (in USD Million) Fiscal Year 2017 2018 2019 2020 Annual 0.40 1.00 0.70 0.40 Cumulative 0.40 1.40 2.09 2.49 Page 2 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) INSTITUTIONAL DATA Practice Area (Lead) Poverty and Equity Contributing Practice Areas Climate Change and Disaster Screening This operation has been screened for short and long-term climate change and disaster risks Gender Tag Does the project plan to undertake any of the following? a. Analysis to identify Project-relevant gaps between males and females, especially in light of country gaps identified through SCD and CPF No b. Specific action(s) to address the gender gaps identified in (a) and/or to improve women or men's empowerment No c. Include Indicators in results framework to monitor outcomes from actions identified in (b) No SYSTEMATIC OPERATIONS RISK- RATING TOOL (SORT) Risk Category Rating 1. Political and Governance  Moderate 2. Macroeconomic  Moderate 3. Sector Strategies and Policies  Moderate 4. Technical Design of Project or Program  Substantial 5. Institutional Capacity for Implementation and Sustainability  Substantial 6. Fiduciary  Substantial 7. Environment and Social  Low 8. Stakeholders  Moderate Page 3 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) 9. Other  Moderate 10. Overall  Substantial COMPLIANCE Policy Does the project depart from the CPF in content or in other significant respects? [ ] Yes [✔] No Does the project require any waivers of Bank policies? [ ] Yes [✔] No Safeguard Policies Triggered by the Project Yes No Environmental Assessment OP/BP 4.01 ✔ Natural Habitats OP/BP 4.04 ✔ Forests OP/BP 4.36 ✔ Pest Management OP 4.09 ✔ Physical Cultural Resources OP/BP 4.11 ✔ Indigenous Peoples OP/BP 4.10 ✔ Involuntary Resettlement OP/BP 4.12 ✔ Safety of Dams OP/BP 4.37 ✔ Projects on International Waterways OP/BP 7.50 ✔ Projects in Disputed Areas OP/BP 7.60 ✔ Legal Covenants Conditions Type Description Effectiveness The Subsidiary Agreement has been executed on behalf of the Recipient and INSEED (Financing Agreement: Article V.5.01.a) . Type Description Page 4 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) Effectiveness The coordination team within INSEED referred to in Section I.A.1 of Schedule 2 to the Financing Agreement has been established in form and substance satisfactory to the Association (Financing Agreement: Article V.5.01.b). PROJECT TEAM Bank Staff Name Role Specialization Unit Nadia Belhaj Hassine Team Leader(ADM GPV01 Belghith Responsible) Djibril Ndoye Team Leader GPV07 Sylvain Auguste Procurement Specialist(ADM GGO07 Rambeloson Responsible) Financial Management Enagnon Ernest Eric Adda GGO31 Specialist Abdoullahi Beidou Team Member GPV01 Aissatou Diallo Team Member WFALN Aly Sanoh Team Member GPV07 Eunice Akpene Barnes Team Member WFALA Mariana Margarita Montiel Counsel LEGAM Martin Pedro Buchara Team Member GPV01 Michel De Marigny Team Member WFALA Nathalie S. Munzberg Safeguards Advisor OPSPF Paul-Jean Feno Safeguards Specialist GEN07 Prospere R. Backiny-Yetna Team Member GPV07 Senait Kassa Yifru Team Member GPV01 Extended Team Name Title Organization Location Page 5 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) COMOROS COMOROS STATISTICS PROJECT TABLE OF CONTENTS I. STRATEGIC CONTEXT ...................................................................................................... 8 A. Country Context .................................................................................................................. 8 B. Sectoral and Institutional Context ...................................................................................... 9 C. Higher Level Objectives to which the Project Contributes ............................................... 11 II. PROJECT DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES ............................................................................ 12 A. PDO.................................................................................................................................... 11 B. Project Beneficiaries .......................................................................................................... 12 C. PDO-Level Results Indicators............................................................................................. 12 III. PROJECT DESCRIPTION.................................................................................................. 13 A. Project Components.......................................................................................................... 13 B. Project Cost and Financing ................................................................................................ 16 C. Lessons Learned and Reflected in the Project Design ...................................................... 17 IV. IMPLEMENTATION........................................................................................................ 17 A. Institutional and Implementation Arrangements ............................................................. 17 B. Results Monitoring and Evaluation ................................................................................... 18 C. Sustainability ..................................................................................................................... 18 D. Role of Partners................................................................................................................. 19 V. KEY RISKS ..................................................................................................................... 20 A. Overall Risk Rating and Explanation of Key Risks.............................................................. 20 VI. APPRAISAL SUMMARY .................................................................................................. 21 A. Economic and Financial (if applicable) Analysis ................................................................ 21 B. Technical............................................................................................................................ 21 C. Financial Management ...................................................................................................... 22 D. Procurement ..................................................................................................................... 22 E. Social (including Safeguards) ............................................................................................. 23 F. Environment (including Safeguards) ................................................................................. 23 G. Other Safeguard Policies ................................................................................................... 23 Page 6 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) H. World Bank Grievance Redress ......................................................................................... 23 VII. RESULTS FRAMEWORK AND MONITORING .................................................................... 25 ANNEX 1: DETAILED PROJECT DESCRIPTION ......................................................................... 32 ANNEX 2: IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS .................................................................... 38 ANNEX 3: IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT PLAN ...................................................................... 51 Page 7 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) I. STRATEGIC CONTEXT A. Country Context 1. Comoros is a low-income and fragile three-island State with limited resources and connection with the rest of the world. The Union of the Comoros is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean composed of three islands: Njazidja (Grande Comore), Ndzuwani (Anjouan) and Mwali (Mohéli). These islands are united under an overarching federation with a Union presidency that rotates between the three islands every four years. The country gained independence from France in 1974, with only Mayotte –the fourth island of the archipelago– remaining as an overseas French department. Comoros is the third-smallest African country with an approximate area of 1,660 km2 and a total population estimated at around 770,000 in 2014. Since independence, the country has experienced recurrent political crises and conflict among the islands. However, constitutional reforms adopted in 2009 resulted in greater political and institutional stability, which transformed the relations among the islands and improved development prospects. The amendments to the constitution adjusted the islands’ autonomy, transformed the islands’ presidents into governors, and reaffirmed the unity of the state and the role of the federal government. Following the 2010 presidential elections, the Government initiated a series of economic and structural reforms that triggered Comoros’ eligibility for debt relief under the Highly-Indebted Poor Countries Initiative (HIPC). The country completed most of the reforms by December 2012 and consequently benefited from substantial debt reduction. This led to increased support from development partners to further accelerate reforms, growth, and poverty reduction. 2. An undiversified economy, dominated by agriculture and large informality, with heavy dependence on remittances from overseas migrants. A narrow resource base, a small domestic market, and weak international connectivity prevent Comoros from diversifying its economy. The economy is mostly based on agriculture, which accounts for 49 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and for over 70 percent of the working population’s employment. Despite a strong emphasis on staple production, the country continues to be highly dependent on food imports. Meanwhile the services sector is gaining importance. However, key areas within this sector, such as tourism, lack dynamism and suffer from high costs and low quality, offering limited job creation opportunities. Employment is dominated by informality: around 80 percent of the active labor force is employed in informal sector enterprises operating mainly in agricultural and retail commerce with unqualified labor. Also, the economy is highly dependent on remittances, mainly from the diaspora living in France. Remittances contribute to around one fourth of the GDP, which ranks Comoros as the second largest recipient of remittances as a percentage of GDP in Africa, after Eritrea. While remittances contribute to supporting the well-being of the local population and make them less vulnerable, they seem to create disincentives with regard to work and production. 3. The economic situation is deteriorating while poverty remains widespread and concerning. The Comorian economy has shown some signs of recovery after years of political instability, achieving an eight-year peak of 3.5 percent in 2013, in terms of economic growth. However, recent economic developments suggest a deteriorating economic situation as growth plummets and the Comorian franc depreciates. Severe shortages in electricity supply and sluggish progress in the implementation of structural reforms have affected all sectors of the economy, causing growth to slow down to 1 percent in 2015. Remittances from the diaspora support Comoros’ external position, but the fiscal picture Page 8 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) remains fragile. The most recent poverty data show that around 40 percent of the population lived below the poverty line in 2014, with poverty being particularly pervasive in rural areas and Mwali. Inequality is also relatively high, with a Gini coefficient estimated at around 45. The previous poverty figures date back to 2004, when the poverty rate was estimated at 44.8 percent. However, 2014 and 2004 household surveys are not comparable and thus, special attention and caution should be taken when interpreting poverty trends and poverty reduction in the country. To address the comparability issues, the Comoros statistics agency, with support from the World Bank, is currently preparing new poverty estimates for 2004. 4. The poverty reduction and shared prosperity objectives face many important challenges ahead that are constrained by statistical data availability. Weak statistical capacity and data deficiencies have led to notable failures in the implementation of both the Poverty Reduction and Growth Strategy Paper (SCRP) for 2010-2014, and the National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS) for 2008-2014. Only 32 percent of the activities were completed and 17 percent were partially achieved. The Government has adopted a new strategy for Accelerating Growth and Sustainable Development (SCA2D) for the period 2015-2019. This new strategy lays out the foundation of the Government’s vision of Comoros as an emerging country by 2040, respectful of human rights, and supportive of gender equality and the rule of law. The SCA2D focuses on four major areas: (a) the acceleration, diversification, and sustainability of economic growth; (b) the development of infrastructure to support growth; (c) an improved access to basic social services and an increased resilience of households; and (d) the strengthening of governance, institutional, and human resilience. The NSDS for the period 2015-2019 is aligned with the SCA2D. 5. The implementation and monitoring and evaluation of the new strategy for growth and poverty reduction call for timely and higher quality statistics. While Comoros has made some progress in the availability of household survey data and social welfare indicators, timely and accurate statistical information on population characteristics, national accounts, price indicators and other key data for policymaking is often lacking or outdated. Therefore, this project lays out a series of activities aimed at strengthening the statistical system in Comoros in order to better supply relevant information and data to crucial areas with regard to economic growth, poverty reduction, and shared prosperity. B. Sectoral and Institutional Context 6. Uncoordinated and fragmented National Statistical System (NSS). Until 2011, the National Directorate of Statistics, under the authority of the General Planning Commission, had the primary responsibility for compiling national accounts and price statistics, as well as conducting large scale surveys, including household surveys and population censuses. Government. Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), and line Ministries are responsible for collecting and storing administrative data. The evaluation of the NSDS 2008-14 and SCRP 2010-14 revealed important deficiencies in their implementation resulting from: (a) the absence of a coordinated and integrated NSS and the lack of institutional visibility; (b) the absence of dialogue between data users and producers; (c) the inadequate funding of statistical work and the heavy reliance on support of Development Partners’ (DPs) with limited resources to ensure sustainable improvements in quality and capacity; and (d) the absence of an adequate system to monitor the results as well as the policies or plans for dissemination. Those deficiencies are compounded by the poor condition of statistical infrastructure and facilities as well as Page 9 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) poor working conditions. The evaluation points out that the NSDS has not been able to achieve an effective monitoring of the SCRP. 7. The country has undertaken reforms to improve the statistics system, including efforts to strengthen the institutional and legal framework as well as to improve data collection and processing . The 2011 Statistical Law established the National Council of Statistics with the mandate to coordinate all stakeholders involved in the production of statistics. The law also changed the status of the National Directorate of Statistics into an autonomous and independent National Institute of Statistics and Economic and Demographic Studies (INSEED) that operates under the tutelage of the Ministry of Finance. The design of the organizational structure of the INSEED has been completed with the support of a World Bank Trust Fund for Statistical Capacity Building (TFSCB) and technical assistance from the Partnership in Statistics for Development in the 21st Century (Paris21). Following the publication of a series of laws and decrees in 2014 and 2015, the Government approved the organizational structure of INSEED and appointed its Director General in September 2015. Moreover, a statistical school has been established within the University of Comoros with the support of the World Bank TFSCB and technical assistance from the National School of Statistics and Applied Economics of Abidjan. The school operates in close coordination with INSEED to facilitate the hiring of successful students by INSEED and therefore helps address some of the technical skills’ constraints. The reforms have provided INSEED with more autonomy and professionalism in its coordinating role of national statistics, but important challenges exist to improve the statistical system in a meaningful way. 8. A number of activities in the area of statistics have been undertaken recently with support from DPs, but data quality and frequency are rather limited. Two Household Surveys, Enquête Intégrale auprès des Ménages (EIM) 2004 and Enquête sur l’Emploi, le Secteur Informel et la Consommation des Ménages aux Comores ( EESIC) 2014, have been conducted over the last ten years and three population and housing censuses have been completed since 1980. Additional activities include Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (EDCS-MICS II) for 2012 and the initiation of the process to update the current system of economic accounts, including National Accounts (NA), balance sheets, and Consumer Price Indicators (CPI) among others. Despite these accomplishments, the production of timely and reliable statistics remains limited. The current available national accounts are based on the 1968 System of National Accounts (SNA) and the consumer price index only covers the capital city of Moroni. The national accounts do not properly capture the large informal segment of the economy while GDP estimates are based on rough assumptions and extrapolations, in particular with regards to the measurement of national account aggregates in volume terms. CPI measures are inaccurate and the inflation rate does not reflect on-the-ground reality in the different islands. The lack of quality and timely economic data not only affects the accuracy of economic performance assessments, but also compromises policy planning. This is further hampered by the lack of updated and comparable population and poverty statistics, which adversely affects the targeting of social programs. 9. Well-designed and implemented activities under the NSDS 2015-19 can help to significantly improve the statistical system. INSEED set up the NSDS for 2015-19 with the financial and technical support of the World Bank TFSCB and the technical assistance of Paris 21. The NSDS covers eight axes and includes over fifty activities with a special focus on strengthening statistical capacity. It mainly aims to: Page 10 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) Strengthen INSEED’s capacity for the production of quality and timely statistics in line with international best practices and improve INSEED’s ability for technical and operational coordination of the NSS; Build capacity inside the NSS, ensure continuous training and retraining of staff, promote access and use of data, and foster the culture of statistics; Strengthen main statistical systems, improve the quality and consistency of economic and administrative statistics, and ensure the long-term sustainability of the NSS by securing funding for priority data; and Develop and implement an integrated statistical program of surveys and censuses to meet the statistical information needs required to monitor and evaluate development policies and strategies. The NSDS is in line with the current demand for data that are necessary to properly inform Government policy priorities. It is also aligned with the SCA2D, which aims, among other things, to strengthen institutional and human capacities and to improve the country’s M&E system. The NSDS also provides a framework to better align and coordinate DPs’ support for statistics and to develop statistical capacity in a sustainable manner. C. Higher Level Objectives to which the Project Contributes 10. The proposed project is directly aligned with the Country Partnership Strategy (CPS). The CPS for 2014-2017 (Document No. 82054-KM, discussed by the Board of Executive Directors on May 6, 2014) emphasizes the importance of strengthening Statistical Capacity in Comoros for evidence-based diagnosis and policymaking. The CPS aims to support the Government’s objectives of strengthening governance and promoting private sector-led growth and job creation. The CPS structures the World Bank’s support around two main pillars: (1) Increased Public Sector Capacity, and (2) Shared Growth and Increased Employment. The CPS acknowledges that weak statistical capacity and lack of timely and accurate statistical information hamper the policymaking process, as well as the monitoring of progress towards development and poverty reduction. The CPS dedicates a special focus on building Government’s statistical capacity and improving the quality, consistency, and frequency of statistics. Under the CPS, the Bank’s support in this area is organized around four themes: (a) support for the implementation of the NSDS, (b) dissemination and access to data; (c) support for the production of data; and (d) statistics training. This project will support these four themes and strengthen national capacity for statistical development. This will be achieved through supporting INSEED in collecting, processing and disseminating timely and quality census and household survey data, the improvement of the quality and consistency of economic statistics, and the contribution to development of the human and infrastructure capacities. 11. The proposed project also supports the World Bank’s twin goals of ending extreme poverty and boosting shared prosperity, as well as facilitates the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) agenda setting. The development of national statistical capacity and data quality in Comoros is in line with the focus placed on measurable results within the World Bank’s objectives of ending extreme poverty by 2030 and promoting shared prosperity. It will also contribute to improving the availability and reliability of important statistics in order to facilitate the SDG agenda. Page 11 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) II. PROJECT DEVELOPMENT OBJECTIVES A. PDO The project development objective is to strengthen the capacity of the National Statistical Office (INSEED) to improve the production and dissemination of statistics. B. Project Beneficiaries 12. The main direct beneficiaries of the project are the National Statistical Office, and the Ministry of Finance and Budget. They will benefit from financial support for statistical operations, investments in skills and equipment, and training and technical assistance with the aim of building capacity to produce and disseminate reliable and timely statistics. 13. The indirect beneficiaries will be users of statistics in Comoros. These include, but are not limited to: (a) key Government MDAs and line ministries, (b) researchers and academia, including the school of statistics; (c) civil society organizations and media; and (d) Development Partners (DPs). C. PDO-Level Results Indicators 14. Achievement of the overall development objective will be assessed through a measure of the availability and timeliness of statistical products. Progress towards the PDO will be monitored through the following indicators: 1) Population Census and Household Poverty and Living Standard Survey implemented; 2) Proportion of statistical outputs supported by the project that are disseminated according to the statistical release calendar. 15. At the intermediate level, progress and accomplishments will be measured in both data production and dissemination performance as well as skills development. Intermediate indicators will include: a) Number of micro-datasets available in the INSEED micro-data library; b) Number of statistical reports available utilizing data from project-funded data production activities; c) Proportion of project-funded survey reports with key gender statistics made publicly available; d) Publication of methodology for NA, CPI and GDP update; e) Number of beneficiaries within and outside INSEED benefitting from project-provided trainings; f) Proportion of beneficiaries of project-provided trainings who have achieved improvements in statistical skills and knowledge; and Page 12 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) g) Focus groups to provide feedback on the quality, relevance and timeliness of statistics held. III. PROJECT DESCRIPTION A. Project Components 16. The proposed project activities cover four main components: 1) Component 1: Implementation, Analysis and Dissemination of the 2016 Population and Housing Census (US$1.77 million, of which IDA US$1.20 million equivalent) 17. The Government of Comoros has started the preparation of the fourth population and housing census (RGPH) 2016.1 INSEED, with the support of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), started in 2015 the preparatory work for the fourth RGPH in order to update the socio-economic and socio- demographic statistics of the country. The census is also designed to collect basic information on agricultural activity in order to produce the sample frame for the agricultural census and surveys. The cartography work has been completed in November 2016 and the pilot census is planned to start at the end of December 2016. These activities are supported by the Development Partners, including UNFPA, United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF), Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI), and the Agence Française de Development (AFD). 18. This project intends to complement the ongoing support from the other donors. It will fund all the activities after the pilot census, namely (i) the population enumeration phase; (ii) the post- enumeration survey; and (iii) data process, analysis and dissemination. In addition, the project will support the digitization of the enumeration areas produced during the cartography phase. 19. Sub-component 1.1- Population enumeration: The enumeration phase of the census will gather information about the general population, including data on socio-economic, demographic, and housing characteristics, as well as data that allow analysis on gender gaps. In addition, it will collect basic information on agricultural activity in order to produce the sample frame for the agricultural census and surveys. This phase requires the mobilization of important human, financial, and material resources in a relatively short period. The enumeration phase is planned to start in August 2017 and will last two weeks. The period between the completion of the cartography and the enumeration is longer than originally planned. This is due to both the additional time required to process the pilot survey results, and (more importantly) the absence of training spaces for the enumerators, which will require the use of school classrooms and therefore scheduling of trainings during school holidays. This would not affect the cartography results since, over such a short period, there are no major spatial changes (such as internal migration or fast urbanization) that might induce important changes in the delimitation of enumeration areas. Activities to be funded under this sub-component include mainly the training of enumerators and data collection. Data will be collected using the paper method as the potential use of ICT tools, such as Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), has been discarded given the high cost and absence of adequate infrastructure (including wireless connectivity and electricity supply). 1 The Census will spread across 2017. Page 13 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) 20. Sub-component 1.2- Post-enumeration survey: The main purpose of the Post Enumeration Survey (PES) is to assess the coverage of the general census, particularly with regard to the territorial and demographic completeness. It also aims to verify the quality, especially in terms of distribution, of the information recorded on certain key demographic variables such as situation of residence, gender, relationship with the household head, age, and so forth. The PES is a complete re‐enumeration of a representative sample of the census followed by matching each individual enumerated in the PES with information from the census enumeration. The PES will be conducted on a random sample of 10 percent of total enumeration and is planned to start in November 2017 and last until June 2018. The project will provide technical and financial support to the entire process, including sampling, training, data collection, matching, data treatment, and analysis. 21. Sub-component 1.3- Data processing, analysis and dissemination: This sub component covers particularly data entry, data cleaning and the tabulation and analysis of the final results. To that end, it is important to set up a comprehensive plan. INSEED intends to achieve significant progress during the 2016 RGPH data analysis and dissemination in comparison with what has been implemented during the previous censuses. In this regard, the project will support the data processing aspect and will contribute to achieve the main deliverables, including (i) the updated sample frame; (ii) the census national report; (iii) the census regional and thematic reports; and (iv) the census localities directory. 22. The project will also support the digitalization of primary sample units’ maps. This will help to improve considerably the quality of the census sample frame database and will facilitate the use of technologically advanced methods for data collection in future surveys and censuses. 2) Component 2: Implementation of the 2018-2019 Household Poverty and Living Standards Survey (US$0.89 million, of which IDA US$0.55 million equivalent) 23. The 2018-2019 poverty and living standard survey will be designed to set up a cycle of high quality household surveys that ensure comparability over time. INSEED intends to conduct a 1-2-3 survey in 2018-19, with phases 1 and 2 (on employment and informal sector) to be funded by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and phase 3 (a household poverty and living standard survey) to be supported by this project. The objective of this last phase is to collect quality data on household consumption and living standards and produce accurate and reliable poverty statistics. The survey will be based on the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU) framework, developed by the World Bank to harmonize household surveys and improve the quality and comparability of poverty and living condition indicators. 24. This project component will cover three main activities: (i) preparation and design of the survey; (ii) implementation and data collection; and (iii) analysis and dissemination of results. 25. Sub-component 2.1- Survey preparation and design: The WAEMU project framework will guide the preparation of the questionnaire and sample design, but adjustments will be made to ensure comparability with the previous survey and to capture information that is specific to Comoros and that is important for policy making. Adjustments will also be made to avoid overlaps between phases 1 and 3 on employment data. This framework, which is based on Living Standard Measurement Survey (LSMS), includes many improvements in the methodology of collecting data on household consumption, such as: (i) the development of specific modules for a more accurate measurement of food consumption, including own-produced food and meals taken outside; (ii) a complementary survey conducted on markets to address the issue of local units; and (iii) the individualization of health and education Page 14 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) expenditure. Other aspects related to the methods of consumption data capture (diary versus recall, length of reference period and so on) will be examined based on their cost implications and effects on comparability. The questionnaire will collect data on key gender characteristics, including education, health, and access to basic services and assets. Moreover, the questionnaire will include specific modules on remittances and on agriculture. The first one will capture the size of transfers from the diaspora and their impact on household living standards as well as on the economy as a whole. The second one will focus on collecting important data on agriculture and fisheries to improve the understanding of the links between agriculture and fisheries, socioeconomic status, and non-farm income activities, given the importance of these sectors in the Comorian economy and for the livelihood of the poor. The project will also provide support to build a new sample frame based on the 2016 census. 26. Sub-component 2.2- Survey implementation and data collection: The activities will include the preparation of the training materials and documents for the trainers and interviewers, the support of the training of trainers and enumerators, the preparation of the fieldwork calendar and the quality control during the fieldwork, and the collection of data on household consumption, living conditions and socio-demographic characteristics. The survey will be implemented using Computer Assisted Personal Interview (CAPI) and will draw on guidelines developed by and lessons learned from the World Bank’s LSMS CAPI projects. The existing digitalized primary sample units map developed in the 2016 census will facilitate the identification of the Enumeration Area (EA) samples. In addition, depending on the sample design, the whole country will be covered concurrently during the entire survey period, which is spread over twelve months and divided into four parts representing seasonal/quarterly variation. 27. Sub-component 2.3- Data processing and dissemination. This sub-component comprises three sets of activities. First, support INSEED in cleaning and compiling survey data. The activities will include the preparation of a standard approach for data cleaning and quality assurance and the production of a fully documented and replicable procedure for data verification, error checking and correction, and so forth. Second, assist INSEED in the poverty (among other key statistics) estimation methodology, including the estimation of consumption aggregates, price indicators, poverty line, and so forth. There will be a special focus on addressing comparability issues that may arise from the changes in the survey design. Third, assist INSEED in the analysis of survey data, the preparation of the survey reports, and the dissemination of survey results. A special attention will be devoted to producing gender-specific statistics. 3) Component 3: Strengthening of Human and Infrastructure Capacity (US$0.64 million, of which IDA US$0.55 million equivalent) 28. This component will focus on building human capacity, particularly in processing National Accounts (NA) and price statistics, and upgrading the infrastructure in terms of IT equipment and software. Comoros economic statistics, particularly statistics on NA and consumer price indices, suffer from coverage and accuracy problems. INSEED also lacks technical skills to process and update these statistics. This project component aims to address the stated problems and will cover two main activities: (i) technical assistance to strengthen human capacity, particularly in processing NA and price statistics, and (ii) acquisition of equipment. 29. Sub-component 3.1- Technical assistance: The primary focus will be to build capacity in a sustainable manner for processing and updating NA and price statistics. Comoros lags behind compared Page 15 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) to international standards in terms of methodology, timeliness and dissemination of economic statistics, especially the NA and CPI. The NA are still based on the outdated system of 1968 while the geographical coverage of the CPI is very limited. Since 2011, with the support of AfDB, AFRISTAT and the World Bank’s TFSCB, the Comorian Government has started a process to update the NA and align it with international standards. This has helped to produce the 2007 and 2008 accounts based on the 1993 SNA and using 2007 as the base year, as well as to collect source data until 2013. AfDB is currently supporting the data collection for 2014-2017. It is also providing technical assistance through three short-term missions in order to process and produce NA statistics for 2010 to 2014 based on the 1993 SNA. Moreover, AfDB supports the collection of consumer price data in the different islands and the production of nationally representative CPI until 2017. These efforts need to be complemented by longer-term technical assistance in order to strengthen sustainably national capacity aimed at processing and updating economic statistics and producing better quality and timely NA and CPI. The project will support this technical assistance and trainings for the design and documentation of the methodology used to update the NA, CPI and GDP. The project will also support trainings on household survey data processing, poverty indicators measurement and analysis, compilation of gender statistics and reports writing. 30. Sub-component 3.2- Acquisition of equipment: This component will focus on the improvement of IT equipment (computers, printers, software, and so on). Given the problems of electricity supply, it will also contribute to facilitate connection to solar panels to ensure continuous power supply. 4) Component 4: Project Management (US$0.2 million, of which IDA US$0.2 million equivalent) 31. This component will support the activities related to the coordination, and M&E, especially the production of project reports (progress and completion), follow-up of the project’s results framework, and preparation of the final audit report. The project will be managed by a coordination team comprising core INSEED staff under the overall responsibility of the Director General. The coordination team will be strengthened with a number of short-and extended-term consultants/specialists. The coordination team, including INSEED staff and consultants, will benefit from technical assistance from World Bank specialists and will receive trainings on fiduciary practices and procurement procedures to ensure compliance with the procurement, disbursement, and financial management (FM) policies and procedures. B. Project Cost and Financing 32. The estimated cost of the entire statistical activities, directly and indirectly related to the project components, is US$3.5 million. Currently, the financing structure is as follows: US$2.5 million equivalent from IDA grant and US$1 million through parallel funding from DPs, including the UNFPA, AfDB, AFD, UNICEF and GAVI, and potentially from the Government. The following table details the costs of the different components of the whole program, including the costs directly related to project activities as described in this document and those financed through parallel funding: Table 1. Project Cost and Financing PROJECT COMPONENTS TOTAL PROJECT IDA FINANCING PARALLEL COST (US$) (US$) FUNDING (US$) Page 16 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) Component 1: Implementation, Analysis and Dissemination of the 1,770,000 1,200,000 570,000 2016 Population and Housing Census Component 2: Implementation of the 2018-2019 Household 890,000 550,000 340,000 Poverty and Living Standards Survey Component 3: Strengthening of Human and Infrastructure 640,000 550,000 90,000 Capacity 200,000 200,000 Component 4: Project Management Total 3,500,000 2,500,000 1,000,000 C. Lessons Learned and Reflected in the Project Design 33. The previous experience in implementing the TFSCB and the preparation of this project revealed that, despite the limited resources and poor working conditions, there is strong willingness and commitment from the statistical institute to improve the production and quality of statistics. The INSEED team is young and relatively inexperienced, but highly motivated to strengthen their capacity and attain the project’s goal. Working closely with the recipient team and enhancing their motivation to achieve the objectives, together with good coordination with the Government and DPs, will be key for the successful implementation of the project’s activities. IV. IMPLEMENTATION A. Institutional and Implementation Arrangements 34. The Ministry of Finance and Budget is the recipient entity and INSEED the implementing agency. The Ministry of Finance and Budget, through INSEED, will be the main executing and principal lead agency for the project, and will be responsible for its overall coordination, management and implementation. A coordination team will be established at INSEED and will be responsible for the coordination of day-to-day project activities, management of reporting and auditing activities, including the preparation of procurement plans and budgets, annual work plans and annual reports, and ensuring timely submission of required reports. It will also be responsible for the compliance with the procurement, disbursement and financial management policies and procedures – following both Government of Comoros and World Bank rules. The coordination team will be headed by one of INSEED’s senior technicians who will act as the project coordinator. He will be assisted by a financial management specialist and a procurement officer from INSEED as well as a financial accountant to be appointed full time and funded by the project. Short-term consultants in procurement, IT, and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) will provide additional support to the coordination team. The short term consultants will be funded by the project. The project coordinator will report directly to the Director General of INSEED who will in turn coordinate with the Project Steering Committee (PSC) and the INSEED Board for overall management of NSS. 35. INSEED has gained experience and capacity in managing World Bank projects and was recently the implementing agency for the TFSCB. However, support remains needed to strengthen the staff Page 17 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) qualifications in project management, particularly regarding procurement and financial management procedures. The World Bank will provide intensive implementation support to guide INSEED. In addition, the project will support capacity building of the coordination team in terms of fiduciary management through training activities. B. Results Monitoring and Evaluation 36. A results framework will support M&E of progress. A core set of PDO level indicators and intermediate indicators with baselines and targets have been agreed on. The Results Framework and detailed explanation of indicators are specified in Section VII. C. Sustainability 37. Budgetary support and persistent demand for data will be required to ensure sustainability of the investment. The project aims to build statistical infrastructure and human resource capacity that will last after project completion. However, the sustainable improvement in statistical production and dissemination will depend critically on the Government’s sustained commitment to strengthen the NSS, including the provision of budgetary support beyond the project implementation period. The Government confirmed its continued support to the development of national statistics and agreed to provide annual budgetary allocations to INSEED. 38. The authorities have demonstrated their commitment to support statistics development. They established INSEED as an autonomous public office with the mandate to produce and disseminate official statistics and to act as a co-coordinating agency within the NSS. Data demand from the Government, DPs, civil society, and other stakeholders in order to monitor the implementation and impact of SCA2D is likely to be sustained over the medium term. Such demand is expected to translate into sustained budgetary support from the Government and DPs. D. Role of Partners 39. The project will take advantage of the partnership with other DPs intervening in some components. The UNFPA with UNICEF, AFD and GAVI are currently supporting the preparatory activities for the implementation of the population census. UNFPA has provided financial assistance close to US$200,000 for the preparation of the census, cartography work and pilot survey. It is also financing the census management unit and the technical coordinator. This support is supplemented by financial assistance from AFD of about US$100,000, and from UNICEF and GAVI of about US$15,000. The UNFPA will allocate additional funding by 2017, but the amount has not been announced yet. It is also assisting INSEED for additional fundraising. The Ministry of Finance and Budget provided in-kind support (cars) to the cartography work. The Government indicated that it might provide additional support in 2017 for an amount of US$250,000. 40. AfDB will contribute to support the household survey and the update of National Accounts and price statistics. The AfDB is supporting the update of NA and CPI until 2017. It is providing technical Page 18 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) assistance on NA and CPI data processing, through short-term missions, for about US$90,000. It will also provide about US$340,000 for the implementation of the employment and informal sector surveys, which are part of the 1-2-3 household survey. The financial contributions of DPs and potentially the Government will be provided through parallel channels. Details on the costs of the different activities of the whole program and contribution of the DPs are in the table below. Table 2. Detailed Project Cost and Financing Activities Total estimated DPs and Government Project Cost Contribution Contribution (Thousand (Thousand US$) (Thousand US$) US$) Component 1: Implementation, Analysis and Dissemination of the 2016 Population and Housing Census Cartography (including sensitization) 220 220 - -UNFPA, around 60% - WB TFSCB contributed around 15% - UNICEF, AFD and GAVI, 25% Pilot Census 65 65 -UNFPA 100% Enumeration 900 900 Post-enumeration 75 75 Data processing and reports preparation 137 137 Coordination 285 285 -UNFPA 50% - Government 50% Digitalization 88 88 Total estimated cost of component 1 1,770 570 1,200 Component 2: Implementation of the 2018-2019 Household Poverty and Living Standards Survey Phase 1: Employment survey 200 200 -AfDB 100% Phase 2: Informal sector Survey 140 140 -AfDB 100% Phase 3: Household Poverty and Living Standard 550 550 Survey Total estimated cost of component 2 890 340 550 Component 3: Strengthening of Human and Infrastructure Capacity Technical assistance (TA) to update NA, including medium 220 70 150 term (4 months) TA for sustainable capacity building -AfDB TA to update CPI 40 20 20 -AfDB Trainings on poverty measurement and reports writing 70 70 Trainings on the analysis of socio-economic and socio- 60 60 demographic statistics, including gender statistics Equipment (computers, PDA, Software and so on) 250 250 Total estimated cost of component 3 640 90 550 Component 4: Project Management Total estimated cost of component 4 200 200 Total Project Cost 3,500 1,000 2,500 V. KEY RISKS Page 19 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) A. Overall Risk Rating and Explanation of Key Risks 41. The overall project risk is rated Substantial. The main risks are related to INSEED’s implementation capacity, project design and fiduciary. There are also risks related to potential funding gaps. Overall, the risks identified are manageable once mitigation measures are taken into account. 42. Substantial risk is linked to Institutional Capacity for Implementation and Sustainability. INSEED has limited human and logistics capacity. A large number of staff members are new and young, lacking experience and skills in managing large statistical operations. The lack of capacity in the current statistical system is likely to persist in the short term due to INSEED’s inability to attract qualified staff on a competitive basis. The project mitigates this risk by emphasizing learning by doing through the statistical operations. Each project component includes training and technical assistance activities to enable technical and administrative staff to improve their technical skills and strengthen their capacity in managing statistical projects. The risk will be further mitigated by the establishment of a project coordination team including experienced financial management and procurement specialists. In addition, the World Bank will ensure close monitoring of the implementation of the project’s activities and will provide technical assistance and trainings when needed. Additional technical and/or financial support from DPs, including UNFPA and AfDB, will help mitigate the risks. The ability of INSEED to attract and retain qualitied staff can be strengthened by further consolidating the collaboration with the National School of Statistics as well as through the operationalization of the organization structure, remuneration of personel, and scheme of service. 43. Project design risk is also Substantial. The proposed project builds on past and ongoing activities that have been partly financed by the World Bank and by other partners. There is a non- negligible risk related to INSEED’s ability to coordinate effectively across multiple partners and activities in order to avoid implementation delays. The project’s support to the census is expected to start at the enumeration phase, after the completion of the pilot data collection and its processing, but potential delays in these activities would ultimately delay the census enumeration. This risk will be mitigated by planning and coordinating with other partners and providing technical assistance to INSEED. 44. Fiduciary risk is Substantial. The procurement capacity assessment for INSEED shows that the agency has the basic capacity to carry out procurement activities related to the proposed project. INSEED gained experience in executing the World Bank TFSCB. The evaluation of INSEED procurement capacity during the appraisal shows that the institution has an established manual of procurement procedures, has an adequate system to keep procurement records, and follows procedures that allow foreign bidders to participate competitively. With the assistance of the World Bank, INSEED can recruit and train a qualified person to process procurement. The procurement risk is rated Substantial. As for financial management, the country level risk is rated High due to a weak Public Financial Management (PFM) system and lack of transparency and accountability in the use of public funds. The overall control risk is Moderate and the overall FM risk is Moderate. These fiduciary risks will be mitigated through the appointment of a project FM specialist and the recruitment of a full-time accountant. The aforementioned risks will also be addressed by providing outsourced support to procurement practices and financial specialists through World Bank trainings. 45. There are other risks related to a potential funding gap. There is a potential funding gap for the RGPH if the cost of the enumeration phase proves to be higher than currently estimated or if the funds promised by the Government or DPs are not made available. The UNFPA and UNICEF plan to Page 20 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) provide additional financial support to the census starting 2017 to fill the potential financing gap. Also, the UNFPA with the World Bank will continue to support INSEED in its fund raising efforts which will allow further mitigation of the risk. VI. APPRAISAL SUMMARY A. Economic and Financial (if applicable) Analysis 46. The project aims to strengthen the capacity of the country’s national statistics system through three specific statistical operations. Completion of the census will contribute considerably to improve the quality of development programs in different sectors such as education and health that use demographic statistics to target beneficiaries. The poverty and living standard survey will be a key source of information for policy planning to address poverty. The improvements in the national accounts and price data will be determinant in strengthening the allocation of the Government’s budget. Overall, these activities will lead to a more informed assessment of the socio-economic situation in the country, will provide an effective monitoring and evaluation of past development policies, and will open space for informed and evidence-based policy making. 47. The cost of the population census is estimated at about US$13 per household (about US$2.1 per capita) and is within the range of other SSA countries, while the cost of the household survey is estimated at around US$290 per household, which can be considered lower than in some other SSA countries (for example, Tanzania and South Sudan). The overall cost of the project is estimated at US$3.5 million. While there is no tool that would allow quantifying the aforementioned benefits of the project accurately, the public good nature of national statistics and monitoring results for accountability and transparency provides a strong rationale for public involvement. B. Technical 48. The technical design of the project is derived from the needs identified and international best practices. The technical design of the project is based on needs outlined in the NSDS and confirmed during consultations with the management of INSEED and the Government. The design of the project is in line with international best practices on census, poverty and living standard survey as well as on prices and national account data improvement. The overall project design is similar to that of many other Statistical Capacity Building (StatCap) projects financed by the World Bank since 2004. C. Financial Management 49. The INSEED’s FM staff will handle the financial management. INSEED will appoint a Financial Management Specialist and hire one Accountant dedicated solely to all FM transactions. This financial management team will ensure that all transactions are duly recorded, reliably reported and assets safeguarded. Financial Management arrangements will be based on (i) the existing FM procedures; and (ii) the recruitment of the project FM. The institution will update and use the manual of procedures Page 21 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) adopted during the implementation of TFSCB. INSEED will draft yearly work programs supported by an annual budget and procurement plan. The budget implementation progress will be tracked via quarterly budget monitoring reports. INSEED will also produce quarterly Interim Financial Reports (IFRs) following the World Bank’s format. In addition, a private firm will audit the annual financial statements of the project according to the Terms of References (ToRs) agreed with the World Bank. D. Procurement 50. Procurement will be carried out in accordance with the World Bank’s practices and guidelines. The following procurement, consultant and anti-corruption guidelines will apply to this project: a) “Guidelines on Preventing and Combating Fraud and Corruption in Projects Financed by IBRD Loans and IDA Credits and Grants”, dated October 15, 2006 and revised in January 2011 (“Anti- Corruption Guidelines”); b) “Guidelines: Procurement of Goods, Works and Non-consulting Services under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits and Grants by World Bank Borrowers”, dated January 2011 (revised July 2014) (“Procurement Guidelines”); and c) “Guidelines: Selection and Employment of Consultants under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits and Grants by World Bank Borrowers” dated January 2011 (revised July 2014) (“Consultant Guidelines”). 51. The overall implementation of the proposed project will be under INSEED. In this regard, INSEED will have the overall responsibility for procurement activities for the entire Project. A procurement officer will be appointed by INSEED for the management of procurement operations during project implementation and will be assisted by a consultant in procurement and supply management. A Procurement Capacity Assessment of INSEED, including training needs and arrangements, was carried out during the project’s appraisal. The assessment found that INSEED has some experience in procurement of goods and small value consultancy services, but lacks experience in the World Bank’s procurement procedures and processes. The overall project risk for procurement is rated Substantial and the residual risk is Substantial. Weaknesses in procurement capacity and lack of experience in World Bank processes will be offset through technical support from World Bank staff as necessary. The INSEED procurement team will be backstopped by close supervision through the implementation support missions. 52. An initial simplified Procurement Plan has been developed by INSEED, covering the main procurement activities expected under the project components until June 2019. Once the project becomes effective, the procurement plan will be published on the website of the Ministry of Finance and Budget as well as on the World Bank’s external website. The Procurement Plan will be updated in agreement with the World Bank at least annually or as required in order to reflect the actual project implementation needs and improvements in institutional capacity. The prior review thresholds set out in the Procurement Plan will be reviewed from time to time and revised as needed during project implementation. E. Social (including Safeguards) 53. There are no social safeguards policies triggered for this project, as it does not involve land acquisition or civil works activities leading to economic or physical displacement. The project will collect Page 22 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) data on key gender characteristics to inform policies to promote gender equality. In addition to INSEED, the NSS also consists of several producers of official statistics, including the Central Bank and MDAs; and of a host of data users, including the Planning Commission, academia, DPs and decision makers in the government. The success of the statistical service depends on the use of data in decision making in the Comoros. Evidence based decision-making is expanding in the country, but will become more prominent as more and better data become available. The project will aim to work with key facilitators to increase the demand and use of data. These include academics. Close collaboration with universities has been planned not only to enable the hiring of graduate students by INSEED, but also to support university researchers in accessing and analyzing socioeconomic data and to provide feedback to INSEED on the quality, relevance and timeliness of statistics. The fieldwork will involve relevant government agencies and local authorities. Should there be a need to obtain data from individual households, the project will include substantive consultations with communities and civil society to ensure they are informed about the purposes of the data gathering. F. Environment (including Safeguards) 54. No safeguard policies are triggered for this project. Project benefits will be nationwide. The project focuses on statistical works. No environmental and social risks and impacts are foreseen and it is thus rated ‘C’. Indirectly, the project could have a positive impact on the environment through support for generation of environment statistics that could be used to improve the country’s environmental management. G. Other Safeguard Policies 55. No other safeguards policies are triggered for this project H. World Bank Grievance Redress Communities and individuals who believe that they are adversely affected by a World Bank (WB) supported project may submit complaints to existing project-level grievance redress mechanisms or the WB’s Grievance Redress Service (GRS). The GRS ensures that complaints received are promptly reviewed in order to address project-related concerns. Project affected communities and individuals may submit their complaint to the WB’s independent Inspection Panel which determines whether harm occurred, or could occur, as a result of WB non-compliance with its policies and procedures. Complaints may be submitted at any time after concerns have been brought directly to the World Bank's attention, and Bank Management has been given an opportunity to respond. For information on how to submit complaints to the World Bank’s corporate Grievance Redress Service (GRS), please visit http://www.worldbank.org/en/projects-operations/products-and-services/grievance-redress-service. For information on how to submit complaints to the World Bank Inspection Panel, please visit www.inspectionpanel.org. Page 23 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) VII. RESULTS FRAMEWORK AND MONITORING Results Framework COUNTRY : Comoros Comoros Statistics Project Project Development Objectives The project development objective is to strengthen the capacity of the National Statistical Office (INSEED) to improve the production and dissemination of statistics. Project Development Objective Indicators Unit of Data Source / Responsibility for Indicator Name Core Baseline End Target Frequency Measure Methodology Data Collection Name: Population census Text No Census & Annually Reports on survey and Project coordinator Survey census methodologies. WB and Director and household poverty & implement statistical missions reports. General (DG). ed living standard survey implemented Description: The objective is to have the fourth population census (RGPH) and the Household Poverty & Living Standards survey implemented before the end of the project, including the completion of data collection, data processing and dissemination of key statistical information from the census and the survey. Name: Proportion of Percentage 0.00 70.00 Annually WB missions reports Project Coordinator and DG statistical outputs supported Page 24 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) Unit of Data Source / Responsibility for Indicator Name Core Baseline End Target Frequency Measure Methodology Data Collection by the project that are disseminated according to the statistical release calendar Description: The objective is to support INSEED in the preparation and use of a statistical release calendar and measure their performance against this calendar. The first year of the project a release calendar will be prepared and discussed with the team. Intermediate Results Indicators Unit of Data Source / Responsibility for Indicator Name Core Baseline End Target Frequency Measure Methodology Data Collection Name: Number of micro- Number 2.00 4.00 Annually Statistical release calendar Project coordinator datasets available in INSEED and DG micro-data library Description: Number of anonymized micro-datasets, including HH surveys and census, publicly available in INSEED micro-data library. Two HH surveys are already made publicly available. Name: Number of statistical Number 0.00 3.00 Annually Annual Work Programs Project coordinator reports available utilizing and Statistical Release and DG data from project-funded Page 25 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) Unit of Data Source / Responsibility for Indicator Name Core Baseline End Target Frequency Measure Methodology Data Collection data production activities calendar Description: Census and household survey reports (funded by the project) produced and disseminated. Name: Proportion of Percentage 0.00 100.00 Annually Annual Work Programs Project coordinator project-funded survey and Statistical Release and DG reports with key gender calendar. statistics made publicly available Description: Proportion of publicly published reports using project-funded data and including key gender statistics on education, health, occupation status, and access to basic services. Name: Publication of Text No Yes Annually WB, IMF and Afristat Project coordinator methodology for NA, CPI statistical missions reports. and DG and GDP update INSEED/MDAs workshop minutes. Description: Preparation of a manual documenting the methodology for updating, NA, CPI and GPD using internationally agreed standard concepts and definitions. Name: Number of Number 0.00 60.00 Annually Training program and Project coordinator beneficiaries within and annual work programs. and DG. outside INSEED benefitting from project-provided trainings Page 26 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) Unit of Data Source / Responsibility for Indicator Name Core Baseline End Target Frequency Measure Methodology Data Collection Description: Preparation of a training program based on assessment of INSEED, line ministries and school of statistics needs, and evaluation of performance against this program. Name: Proportion of Percentage 0.00 70.00 Training calendar Evaluation tests designed Experts providing beneficiaries of project- by the trainers in the training, project provided trainings who have collaboration with WB coordinator and DG. achieved improvements in team and administered to statistical skills and all training participants knowledge before and after each training. Description: The indicator will measure the proportion of training participants who achieved a higher score in the evaluation test administered after the training compared to the test administered before the training. Name: Focus groups to Yes/No N Y provide feedback on the quality, relevance and timeliness of statistics held. Description: Enable data users and citizen engagement through focus group discussions. At least two focus group discussions will be held with data users, communities, and civil society to enhance data users participation and civil engagement across the project life cycle. Page 27 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) Target Values Project Development Objective Indicators FY Indicator Name Baseline YR1 YR2 YR3 YR4 End Target Implementation Finalization of Completion of of the census the census Full RGPH and enumeration and enumeration and implementation Population census and household poverty & implementation Census & Survey No preparation of implementation of RGPH and HH living standard survey implemented of the Household implemented post- of post- Poverty & Living Poverty & Living enumeration enumeration Standard survey Standard survey. survey. survey Proportion of statistical outputs supported by the project that are disseminated according to 0.00 0.00 40.00 60.00 70.00 70.00 the statistical release calendar Intermediate Results Indicators FY Indicator Name Baseline YR1 YR2 YR3 YR4 End Target Number of micro-datasets available in INSEED 2.00 2.00 2.00 3.00 4.00 4.00 micro-data library Number of statistical reports available utilizing data from project-funded data production 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.00 3.00 3.00 activities Proportion of project-funded survey reports with key gender statistics made publicly 0.00 0.00 20.00 60.00 100.00 100.00 available Page 28 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) Indicator Name Baseline YR1 YR2 YR3 YR4 End Target Technical Complete draft Assistance First draft of the document on contract with Publication of methodology for NA, CPI and methodology for updating NA and Final report No National Yes GDP update updating NA GDP based on available. Accounts and CPI prepared. SNA93, and CPI consultants prepared. signed Number of beneficiaries within and outside INSEED benefitting from project-provided 0.00 10.00 30.00 40.00 60.00 60.00 trainings Proportion of beneficiaries of project-provided trainings who have achieved improvements in 0.00 20.00 40.00 60.00 70.00 70.00 statistical skills and knowledge Focus groups to provide feedback on the quality, relevance and timeliness of statistics N N N Y Y Y held. Page 29 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) ANNEX 1: DETAILED PROJECT DESCRIPTION COUNTRY : Comoros Comoros Statistics Project 1. The proposed project activities cover four main components: (i) Implementation and processing of the fourth Population and Housing Census (RGPH) for 2016; (ii) Preparation and implementation of the Household Poverty and living standard survey for 2018-19; (iii) Strengthening human and infrastructure capacity, and (iv) Project management. The following exposition focuses on the main activities for each component based on the motivation given in the main text. 1) Component 1: Implementation, Analysis and Dissemination of the 2016 Population and Housing Census (US$1.77 million, of which IDA US$1.20 million equivalent) 2. This project component includes three main activities: (i) Population enumeration, (ii) Post-enumeration survey, (iii) Data processing, analysis and dissemination. 3. The Government of Comoros has started the preparation of the fourth population and housing census (RGPH) 2016. Since its independence, Comoros has conducted three population censuses, carried out respectively in September 1980, September 1991, and September 2003. It has now been nearly thirteen years since the last census was conducted, whereas best international practices recommend to conduct a population census at least once every ten years. In this regard, INSEED, with the support of UNFPA, started in 2015 the preparatory work for the fourth RGPH to update the socio-economic and socio-demographic statistics of the country. It is also envisioned to collect basic information on agricultural activity and to produce the sample frame for the agricultural census and surveys. 4. The population census consists of several phases that include the cartography, pilot census, enumeration, the post enumeration survey and data processing and analysis. Figure 1.1 shows the sequence and different phases of the population census. FIGURE 1.1: POPULATION AND HOUSING CENSUS PHASES Data Preparation: Census Post processing Pilot census: Methodology, cartography: Enumeration and analysis: test the Timeline, GIS Enumeration: Survey: cleaning, integrated Budget, preparation, data Complete re- tabulation, chain from Institutional mapping, collection. enumeration of a analytical collection to Arrangements and quality representative reports and reporting. , staffing. control. EAs sample. dissemination . 5. The cartography work has been completed in November 2016 and the pilot census is planned to Page 30 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) start at the end of December 2016. These activities are supported by the DPs, including UNFPA, UNICEF, GAVI, and AFD. This project intends to complement the ongoing support from the other donors. It will especially fund all the activities after the pilot census, namely (i) the population enumeration phase; (ii) the post-enumeration survey; and (iii) data process, analysis and dissemination. In addition, the project will support the digitization of the EAs produced during the cartography phase.  Sub-component 1.1- Population enumeration: The enumeration phase of the census will collect socio-economic and demographic information on the entire household and individuals as well as on their housing conditions. It will also collect data that allow analysis on gender gaps. In addition, it will gather basic information on agricultural activity to produce the sample frame for the agricultural census and surveys. This phase requires the mobilization of important human, financial and material resources in a relatively short period of time. The enumeration phase is planned to start in August 2017 and will last two weeks. The period between the completion of the cartography and the enumeration phase is longer than originally planned. This is due to both the additional time required to process the pilot survey results, and (more importantly) the absence of training spaces for the enumerators, which will require the use of school classrooms and therefore scheduling of trainings during school holidays. This would not affect the cartography results since, over such a short period, there are no major spatial changes (such as internal migration or fast urbanization) that might induce important changes in the delimitation of enumeration areas. Activities to be funded under this sub-component include mainly the training of enumerators and data collection. Data will be collected using the paper method as the potential use of ICT tools, such as PDAs, has been discarded given the high cost and absence of adequate infrastructure (including wireless connectivity and electricity supply). The project will mainly cover training of field temporary staff in charge of collecting data and field costs (field staff payment, car rental, fuel, and so on).  Sub-component 1.2- Post-enumeration survey: The main purpose of the Post Enumeration Survey (PES) is to assess the coverage of the general census, particularly with regard to the territorial and demographic completeness. It also aims to verify the quality, especially in terms of distribution, of the information recorded on certain key demographic variables such as situation of residence, gender, relationship with the head of household, age, and so forth. The PES is a complete re‐enumeration of a representative sample of the census followed by matching each individual enumerated in the PES with information from the census enumeration. The PES will be conducted on a random sample of 10 percent of total enumeration and is planned to start in November 2017 and last until June 2018. The project will provide technical and financial support to the entire process, including sampling, training, data collection, matching, data treatment and analysis.  Sub-component 1.3- Data processing, analysis and dissemination: This sub component covers particularly data entry, data cleaning and the tabulation and analysis of the final results. To that end, it is important to set up a comprehensive plan. INSEED intends to achieve significant progress during the 2016 RGPH data analysis and dissemination in comparison with what has been implemented during the previous censuses. In this regard, the project will support the data processing aspect and will contribute to achieve the main deliverables, including (i) the updated Page 31 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) sample frame; (ii) the census national report; (iii) the census regional and thematic reports; and (iv) the census localities directory. The project will also support the preparation of the sample frame for agricultural censuses and surveys. 6. In addition, the project will support the digitalization of primary sample units’ maps. The cartography activities have not yet integrated scanning activities. INSEED expressed the need to improve the methodological approach by digitalizing and geolocalizing all primary samples. This will help to improve considerably the quality of the census sample frame database. Moreover, the inclusion of the map scanning activities will facilitate the use of technologically advanced methods for data collection such as CAPI in the next surveys and censuses. In terms of needs, the scanning map activities will necessitate to: (i) acquire high resolution images (aerial photographs, Google Earth image captures); (ii) acquire additional IT equipment (e.g., scanner, plotters, software, consumables, GPS); (iii) hire consultants in geomatics; and (iv) collect vector data from specialized sectoral services. 2) Component 2: Implementation of the 2018-2019 Household Poverty and Living Standards Survey (US$0.89 million, of which IDA US$0.55 million equivalent) 7. This project component will cover three main activities: (i) Survey preparation and design, (ii) Survey implementation and data collection, (iii) Data processing and dissemination. 8. The 2018-2019 poverty and living standard survey will be designed to set up a cycle of high quality household surveys that ensure comparability over time. Two household surveys have been conducted during the last decade, EIM 2004 and EESIC 2014, which are currently used for the preparation of the poverty assessment. EESIC is a 1-2-3 survey type including three phases, the first of which is an employment survey, the second phase is a survey on the informal sector, and the third phase is a survey on households consumption, living conditions and poverty. INSEED intends to conduct another 1-2-3 survey in 2018-19, with phases 1 and 2 to be funded by AfDB and phase 3 to be supported by this project. The objective of this last phase is to collect quality data on household consumption and living standards and produce accurate and reliable poverty statistics. AfDB funds are made available to INSEED for the implementation of phases 1 and 2, but this will await the availability of the new household sample frame based on the 2016 census. Both phase 1 and 3 will use the same sample frame to avoid discrepancies in employment results. 9. The poverty assessment, currently under preparation by the World Bank, has revealed important shortcomings in household consumption data that are related to the quality and comparability over time and are due to important changes in the surveys design and methodology. This situation is not specific to Comoros and has been frequently observed in many African, particularly the WAEMU, countries. Recently, the World Bank suggested a new framework for the World Bank-WAEMU projects through the harmonization of household surveys in order to improve the quality and comparability of poverty and living condition indicators. This framework will be used as a basis in the preparation and design of the third phase on poverty and living standards of the 2018-19 survey. Page 32 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437)  Sub-component 2.1- Survey preparation and design: The WAEMU project framework will guide the preparation of the questionnaire and sample design, but adjustments will be made to ensure comparability with the previous survey and to capture information that is specific to Comoros and that is important for policy making. Adjustments will also be made to avoid overlaps between phases 1 and 3 on employment data. This framework, which is based on Living Standard Measurement Survey (LSMS), has made many improvements in the methodology of collecting data on household consumption. These improvements include: (i) the development of specific modules for a more accurate measurement of food consumption, including own-produced food and meals taken outside; (ii) a complementary survey conducted on markets to address the issue of local units; and (iii) the individualization of health and education expenditure. Other aspects related to the methods of consumption data capture (diary versus recall, length of reference period and so on) will be examined based on their cost implications and effects on comparability. The questionnaire will collect data on key gender characteristics, including education, health, and access to basic services and assets. Moreover, the questionnaire will include specific modules on remittances and on agriculture. The first one will capture the size of transfers from the diaspora and their impact on household living standards as well as on the economy as a whole. The second one will focus on collecting important data on agriculture and fisheries to improve the understanding of the links between agriculture and fisheries, socioeconomic status, and non-farm income activities, given the importance of these sectors in the Comorian economy and for the livelihood of the poor. The project will also provide support to build a new sample frame based on the 2016 census. A two- stage probability proportional to size (PPS) stratified random sampling will be adopted. For the first stage selection, the 2016 Census EA list will be used as the frame. EAs will be proportionally randomized to their size in each stratum. In the second stage, a number of households will be randomly drawn in each EA.  Sub-component 2.2- Survey implementation and data collection: The activities will include the preparation of the training materials and documents for the trainers and interviewers, the support of the training of trainers and enumerators, the preparation of the fieldwork calendar and the quality control during the fieldwork, and the collection of data on household consumption, living conditions and socio-demographic characteristics. The survey will be implemented using CAPI. INSEED will receive support from the LSMS team on the different instruments and options for CAPI surveys. Recommendations and advice will also be provided to INSEED on possible limitations of CAPI methods, based on the lessons learned from other countries (for example South Sudan and Somalia). Among the main limitations, INSEED will have to consider the problems of power supply, availability of mobile phone network, and the risks of data loss and necessity of backup systems. The implementation of the survey requires a skilled programming team and high level training of the survey team, which would entail an important amount of time for the preparation of the survey (but which can be saved through faster data capture and cleaning). The existing digitalized primary sample units map developed in the 2016 census will facilitate the identification of the EA samples. In addition, depending on the sample design, the whole country will be covered concurrently during the entire survey period, which is spread over twelve months and divided into four parts representing seasonal/ quarterly Page 33 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) variation. The survey will attempt to collect data on local retail prices for essential goods and services to address the problem of non-standard units that affects the accuracy of the estimation of basic needs poverty lines in Comoros as well as many other SSA countries.  Sub-component 2.3- Data processing and dissemination. This sub-component comprises three sets of activities. First, support INSEED in cleaning and compiling survey data. The activities will include the preparation of a standard approach for data cleaning and quality assurance and the production of a fully documented and replicable procedure for data verification, error checking and correction, and so on. Second, assist INSEED in the poverty (among other key statistics) estimation methodology, including the estimation of consumption aggregates, price indicators, poverty line, and so on. There will be a special focus on addressing comparability issues that may arise from the changes in the survey design. Third, assist INSEED in the analysis of survey data, the preparation of the survey report, and the dissemination of survey results. A special attention will be given to producing gender-specific statistics. 3) Component 3: Strengthening of Human and Infrastructure Capacity (US$0.64 million, of which IDA US$0.55 million equivalent) 10. The main activities include the following: (i) Technical Assistance, (ii) Acquisition of equipment. 11. This component will focus on building human capacity, particularly in processing NA and price statistics, and upgrading the infrastructure in terms of IT equipment and software. Comoros economic statistics, particularly statistics on NA and consumer price indices, suffer from coverage and accuracy problems. INSEED also lacks technical skills to process and update these statistics. This project component aims to address the stated problems and will cover two main activities: (i) technical assistance to strengthen human capacity, particularly in processing NA and price statistics; and (ii) acquisition of equipment.  Sub-component 3.1- Technical assistance: The primary focus will be to build capacity in a sustainable manner for processing and updating NA and price statistics. Comoros lags behind compared to international standards in terms of methodology, timeliness and dissemination of economic statistics, especially the NA and Consumer Price Index (CPI). The NA are still based on the outdated system of 1968 while the geographical coverage of the CPI is very limited. Since 2011, with the support of AfDB, AFRISTAT and the World Bank’s TFSCB, the Comorian Government has started a process to update the NA and align it with international standards. This has helped to produce the 2007 and 2008 accounts based on the 1993 SNA and using 2007 as the base year, as well as to collect source data until 2013. AfDB is currently supporting the data collection for 2014-2017 and is providing technical assistance through three short-term missions in order to process and produce NA statistics based on the 1993 SNA for 2010 to 2014. Moreover, AfDB supports the collection of consumer price data in the different islands and the production of nationally representative CPI until 2017. These efforts need to be complemented by longer-term technical assistance in order to sustainably strengthen national capacity aimed at processing and updating economic statistics and producing better quality and timely NA and Page 34 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) CPI. The project will support this technical assistance and trainings for the design and documentation of the methodology used to update the NA, CPI and GDP. The project will also support trainings on household survey data processing, poverty indicators measurement and analysis, compilation of gender statistics and reports writing.  Sub-component 3.2- Acquisition of equipment: This component will focus on the improvement of IT equipment (computers, printers, software, and so on). Given the problems of electricity supply, it will also contribute to facilitate connection to solar panels to ensure continuous power supply. 4) Component 4: Project management (US$0.2 million, of which IDA US$0.2 million equivalent) 12. The main activities include: (i) Project management, (ii) FM and procurement management, (iii) Monitoring and Evaluation. 13. More specifically, this component will support the activities related to the coordination and M&E evaluation, especially the production of project reports (progress and completion), follow-up of the project’s results framework, and preparation of the final audit report. The project will be managed by a coordination team comprising core INSEED staff under the overall responsibility of the Director General. The coordination team will be strengthened with a number of short-and extended-term consultants/specialists. The coordination team, including INSEED staff and consultants, will benefit from technical assistance from the World Bank specialists and will receive trainings on fiduciary practices and procurement procedures to ensure compliance with the procurement, disbursement, and FM policies and procedures. Page 35 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) ANNEX 2: IMPLEMENTATION ARRANGEMENTS COUNTRY : Comoros Comoros Statistics Project Project Institutional and Implementation Arrangements 1. The Ministry of Finance and Budget is the recipient entity and INSEED the implementing agency. The Ministry of Finance and Budget, through INSEED, will be the main beneficiary and principal lead agency for the project. INSEED is the lead agency in the development of the NSDS and is in charge of its overall management and coordination with partners and stakeholders during the implementation. The main activities of the project have been designed based on the NSDS and will therefore be implemented by INSEED, since it is the provider of official statistics in Comoros. A coordination team will be established at INSEED and will be responsible for coordinating day-to-day project activities; managing reporting and auditing activities, including the preparation of procurement plans and budgets, annual work plans, and annual reports; and ensuring timely submission of required reports. It will also be responsible for compliance with the procurement, disbursement, and FM policies and procedures— following the rules of both the Government of Comoros and the World Bank. The coordination team will be headed by one of INSEED’s senior technicians who will act as the project coordinator. He will be assisted by an FM specialist and a procurement officer from the INSEED staff. The project coordinator and the specialists in procurement and FM will be appointed by the Director General and should meet the minimum qualifications agreed with the World Bank. The coordination team will also include a financial accountant to be appointed full time and funded by the project. The accountant will be selected on a competitive basis and based on terms of references and qualifying criteria agreed with the World Bank. Short-term consultants in procurement, IT, and M&E will provide additional support to the coordination team. The short term consultants will be funded by the project. The project coordinator will be responsible for leading the coordination team and will report directly to the Director General of INSEED who will in turn coordinate with the INSEED Board for overall management of NSS. 2. A Project Steering Committee (PSC) will be established to oversee the implementation of the project and monitor the progress of the activities. The PSC will be co-chaired by the Director General of INSEED and the World Bank’s Task Team Leader. Members of the PSC will comprise the project coordinator, representatives of official statistics producers of the Government of Comoros, and Development Partners that support the key activities of the NSDS. Based on the needs, the PSC will be extended to include members from the Ministry of Finance and Planning Commission. The PSC will meet twice a year to evaluate the progress of the project and to approve the annual work plan and annual report. 3. INSEED has gained experience and capacity in managing World Bank projects, but additional support remains needed. INSEED has acquired experience in WB project management through the implementation of the TFSCB. However the management of the flow of funds from the WB to the project’s activities and the reverse flow of financial and progress reports are both likely to pose special challenges, particularly during the beginning of the implementation of such a project that is much larger compared to the TFSCB. Therefore, a focused effort will be made to strengthen the capacity of the coordination team (and INSEED staff) in projects management and reporting, particularly in Page 36 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) procurement and financial management procedures. This will be done through technical assistance and intensive trainings by WB specialists. Additional trainings in fiduciary management will be funded by the project as needed. Financial Management 4. A Financial Management Assessment (FMA) for the proposed project was conducted in accordance with OP/BP 10.00, Investment Project Financing (IPF), and in line with the World Bank specific guidelines. The objective of this assessment was to determine whether the proposed implementing agency, INSEED, has acceptable FM arrangements for the implementation of the Comoros Statistics Project. The arrangements are considered acceptable if the entity’s planning, budgeting, accounting, internal controls, funds flow, financial reporting, and auditing arrangements: (a) are capable of correctly and completely recording all transactions and balances relating to the project; (b) facilitate the preparation of regular, timely, and reliable financial statements; (c) safeguard the project’s assets; and (d) are subject to auditing arrangements acceptable to the Bank. 5. The assessment conclusion is that overall FM risk rating is Moderate and that the INSEED’s FM arrangements are acceptable because they meet the OP/BP10.00 requirements. The World Bank’s FM review shows that INSEED has acquired a recent experience in World Bank FM guidelines through management of TFSCB. However, INSEED has no previous experience in implementing IDA operations and the qualifications of FM staff are relatively weak. INSEED’s FM staff will be trained on World Bank financed project FM procedures. The trainings will be provided as needed at the project start and during the project life. In addition, in-depth fiduciary reviews (financial management, disbursement, reporting and procurement) will be undertaken during project implementation to ensure the continuous adequacy of financial management arrangements, and update assessed risks. 6. INSEED will be responsible for the overall fiduciary aspects of the project and will be the operational link between IDA and the Country. The operational manual and auditing arrangements are in place. INSEED has developed a FM operational manual describing the internal control system of the institution. The manual will be updated to reflect operations specifications requirements of the project and INSEED will install adequate accounting and information systems. 7. Budgeting arrangements: The annual project budget will be prepared based on government policy guidelines and regulations. The procedures for preparation of the annual budget will be documented in the updated financial manual to be finalized within three months after the effective date. The project annual work plans and procurement plan will provide relevant information for preparation of annual budgets. 8. Staffing: The coordination team will be established within INSEED and will be responsible for fiduciary aspects of the project. A qualified Financial Management Specialist (FMS) will be appointed before the effectiveness date and will be assisted by an Accountant. The FM capacity of the coordination team will be strengthened by technical assistance and trainings on WB fiduciary procedures. The overall responsibility of the project’s FM matters rests with the project FM specialist who reports to the project coordinator. 9. Accounting and auditing: INSEED will account for all project funds, expenditures and resources using MS Excel software. Cash basis accounting will be used to record the transactions and prepare the Page 37 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) financial reports. INSEED will prepare Interim un-audited Financial Reports (IFRs) on a quarterly basis according to the format agreed with the World Bank. IFRs will be submitted to the World Bank within 45 days after the end of each calendar quarter and should provide financial information required to effectively monitor and manage the project, including the uses of funds by project components and activities (comparing budget and actual expenditures). INSEED will also produce project annual financial statements. The statements will include at least: (i) a statement of cash receipts and payments which recognizes all cash receipts, cash payments and cash balances for this project; (ii) comparison of budget and actual project expenditures; and (iii) the accounting policies adopted and explanatory notes. The details of presentation and disclosure requirements will be described in the Financial Manual. 10. Audit arrangement. The annual financial statements will be audited by an independent external auditor acceptable to the World Bank. The auditing reports will be submitted to the World Bank no later than six months after the end of the Fiscal Year. A detailed management letter containing the auditor’s assessment of the internal controls, accounting system and compliance with the financial covenants in the Grant Agreement, suggestions for improvement, and management’s response to the auditors’ management letter will be prepared and submitted to the management for follow-up actions. The arrangements for the appointment of the external auditors of the project financial statements will be communicated to the Bank through agreed terms of references. 11. Supervision plan. Risk based supervision plan will be implemented. The project will be reviewed once a year. IFRs will be reviewed on a quarterly basis and audit reports on an annual basis. Comments will be shared with INSEED and support will be provided as needed to maintain the FM performance at a satisfactory level. 12. FM Risk assessment and mitigation: Assessment of the risks that the project funds will not be appropriately used is an important part of the financial management assessment work. The risk features two elements: (i) the risk associated to the project as a whole (inherent risk); and (ii) the risk linked to a weak control environment with regard to the project implementation (control risk). The content of these risks is described below. Table 2.1 FM Risk Rating Summary and Mitigation Measures Issues/Risks Risk Risk Mitigating Measures Residual Risk Rating Rating Inherent Risk  Country H The INSEED PFM system mirrors the H Central level PFM system and its weaknesses resulting in the risk of lack of transparency and accountability in the use of public funds. Project and Sector level L The project is simple in the design and L does not involve any complexity Overall Inherent Risk M M Control Risk Budget M The budgeting process is in place and M Page 38 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) involves the Director General and the Steering Committee and approvers IFR M Interim financial reports will be M prepared on a quarterly basis according to format agreed Accounting and Internal L Cash basis accounting will be used to L control record the transactions and prepare the financial report Audit M The annual financial statements will be M audited by an independent external auditor and the reports will be published on the website and also submitted to the World Bank Funds Flow L A Designated account in KMF will be L opened at the Central Bank to receive funds upon request from the World Bank. The Disbursement will be based on Statement of Expenditures. Overall Control Risk M M Overall FM Risk M M Note: H = High; L = Low; M = Moderate. Disbursements 13. The project duration is four years (2017-2020) and funds will be disbursed according to the expected disbursement plan below. Disbursements will be made in line with the World Bank Disbursement Guidelines for Projects. A Designated Account (DA) in KMF will be opened at the Central Bank to receive advances made from the IDA grant account. The ceiling of the DA will be set to KMF 100 million, equivalent to a cash forecast for fourth (4) months of expenditures. After the initial advance, the project implementation unit will submit applications for withdrawal supported with statements of expenditures on a monthly basis to report on the use of the advances for eligible project expenditures using the electronic submission (eDisbursement) available on the World Bank’s client portal2 . The proceeds may also be disbursed using the direct payment, reimbursement and special commitment methods which are further detailed in the disbursement letter along with detailed instructions for the withdrawal of proceeds. The signatory of the Withdrawal Applications (Was) will be designated through the Authorized Signatory Letter (annex to the disbursement letter). In addition, an account in foreign currency can be opened at a commercial bank to transfer payments for international consultants and foreign providers. 2 https://clientconnection.worldbank.org Page 39 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) Table 2.2 Expected Disbursements (in US$ Million) Fiscal Year 2017 2018 2019 2020 Annual 0.4 1.0 0.7 0.4 Cumulative 0.4 1.4 2.1 2.5 14. Figure 2.2 Funds flow mechanism that will be deployed for the project. Procurement 15. The Union of Comoros is in the process of major procurement reforms. A new Procurement Code was adopted by the Parliament in December 2011 and became effective on May 31, 2012. The main pillars of the code are transparency, efficiency and economy; accountability; equal opportunity for all bidders; prevention of fraud and corruption; and promotion of local capacity. The Procurement Code was supplemented by regulations, procedures manuals, and standard bidding and other procurement documents. The Procurement Code defines methods of procurement and review procedures. The Code also created (i) the Public Procurement Oversight Authority or Autorité de Regulation des Marchés Publics (ARMP) and National Tender Board Directorate or Direction Nationale de Contrôle des Marchés Publics (DNCMP) for procurement reviews, at the Vice- Ministry of Finance level. Finally the Code provides for the creation of procurement units or Cellules de Gestion de Marchés Publics (CGMP) under the leadership of a Personne Responsable des Marchés Publics (PRMP), and a Commission d’Appel d’Offres (CAO) within each department and/or decentralized departments of national public institutions for which the law is applicable. 16. The Procurement Code is generally consistent with good public and international practices and includes provisions for: (i) effective and wide advertising of up-coming procurement opportunities; (ii) Page 40 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) public bid opening; (iii) pre-disclosure of all relevant information, including transparent and clear bid evaluation and contract award procedures; (iv) clear accountabilities for decision-making; and (v) an enforceable right of review for bidders when public entities breach the rules. In general, the new procurement code and regulation do not conflict with IDA guidelines but its application is still under observation and it was agreed with the Government of Comoros that its efficiency would be assessed in the future fiscal year. 17. The Government has proposed to delegate project management including procurement responsibilities to the INSEED which has already implemented the preceding project financed by the World Bank. The existing procurement manual of the agency was approved by the World Bank and would be updated to reflect specific project needs within three months after the effective date. The agency set up the preliminary Procurement Plan for the project’s implementation. Guidelines 18. The procurement for the proposed project will be carried out in accordance with: (i) the World Bank’s Procurement of Goods, Works and Non-consulting Services under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits and Grants by World Bank Borrowers”, dated January 2011 (revised July 2014) (“Procurement Guidelines”); (ii) “Guidelines: Selection and Employment of Consultants under IBRD Loans and IDA Credits and Grants by World Bank Borrowers” dated January 2011 (revised July 2014) (“Consultant Guidelines”); and (iii) the provisions of the Financial Agreement. 19. Anti-corruption guidelines. The “Guidelines on Preventing and Combating Fraud and Corruption in Projects Financed by IBRD Loans and IDA Credits and Grants”, dated October 15, 2006, and revised in January 2011, will apply to this project. 20. Procurement Documents. Procurement transactions will be carried out using the World Bank’s Standard Bidding Documents or Standard Request for Proposal (RFP) respectively for all International Competitive Bidding (ICB) and National Competitive Bidding (NCB), for goods and for selection of consultants. If needed, and for NCB, the Borrower may submit a sample form of bidding documents to the World Bank for prior review and will use this type of document throughout the project once agreed upon. The Sample Form of Evaluation Reports published by the World Bank will be used. Advertising Procedure 21. General Procurement Notice (GPN), Specific Procurement Notices (SPN), Requests for Expression of Interest (EOI) and results of the evaluation and contracts award should be published in accordance with advertising provisions in the following guidelines: “Guidelines: Procurement under IBRD Loans and IDA Grants” dated January 2011, and “Guidelines: Selection and Employment of Consultants by World Bank Borrowers” dated January 2011. The Borrower will keep a list of received responses from potential bidders interested in the contracts. 22. For ICB and request for proposals that involve international consultants, the contract awards shall be published in UNDB online within two weeks of receiving IDA’s "no objection" to the recommendation of contract award. For Goods, the information to publish shall specify: (i) name of each Page 41 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) bidder who submitted a bid; (ii) bid prices as read out at bid opening; (iii) name and evaluated prices of each bid that was evaluated; (iv) name of bidders whose bids were rejected and the reasons for their rejection; and (v) name of the winning bidder, and the price it offered, as well as the duration and summary scope of the contract awarded. For Consultants, the following information must be published: (i) names of all consultants who submitted proposals; (ii) technical points assigned to each consultant; (iii) evaluated prices of each consultant; (iv) final point ranking of the consultants; and (v) name of the winning consultant and the price, duration, and summary scope of the contract. The same information will be sent to all consultants who submitted proposals. The other contracts should be published in the national gazette periodically (at least, quarterly) and in the format of a summarized table covering the previous period with the following information: (i) name of the consultant to whom the contract was awarded; (ii) the price; (iii) duration; and (iv) scope of the contract. Procurement Methods 23. Procurement of Works. No procurement of works is expected for this project 24. Procurement of Goods. The Goods to be financed by IDA would include: the purchase of office equipment, office supplies, and specific goods related to statistics activities and so on. Similar Goods that could be provided by a same vendor would be grouped in bid packages estimated to cost at least US$500,000 per contract and would be procured through International Competitive Bidding (ICB). Contracts estimated to cost less than US$500,000 equivalent may be procured through NCB. Goods estimated to cost less than US$50,000 equivalent per contract may be procured through shopping procedures. For shopping, contracts will be awarded following evaluation of bids received in writing on the basis of written solicitation issued to several qualified suppliers (at least three) who have a physical shop of the concerned goods. The award would be made to the supplier with the lowest price, only after comparing a minimum of three quotations open at the same time, provided the supplier has the experience and resources to execute the contract successfully. For shopping, the project procurement officer will keep a register of suppliers updated at least every six months. 25. Selection of Consultants. Consultancy services required for the project would cover consultancies for: financial audits, services related to statistics matter, and training. All consulting services contracts costing more than US$200,000 equivalent for firms will be awarded through Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS) method. Contract for specialized assignments to cost less than US$100,000 equivalent may be contracted through selection based on Consultant’s Qualifications (CQ) method. Contracts for standards accounting audits and for missions of routine nature may be awarded under Least Cost Selection (LCS). Single Source Selection (SSS) may be employed with prior approval of the Bank and will be in accordance with paragraphs 3.9 to 3.12 of the Consultant Guidelines. All services of individual consultants will be procured in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 5.1 to 5.4 of the Consultant Guidelines. Short lists of consultants for services estimated to cost less than US$200,000 equivalent per contract may be composed entirely of national consultants in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 2.7 of the Consultant Guidelines, if a sufficient number of qualified individuals or firms are available. However, if foreign firms express interest, they would not be excluded from consideration. 26. Procurement of consulting services other than consulting services covered by Consultant Guidelines. Shopping will be used. Page 42 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) 27. Training, Workshops and Conferences. The training (including training material and support), workshops and conference attendance, will be carried out on the basis of approved annual training and workshop/conference plans. A detailed plan giving the nature of training/workshop, number of trainees/participants, duration, staff months, timing and estimated cost will be submitted to IDA for review and approval prior to initiating the process. The appropriate methods of selection will be derived from the detailed schedule. After the training, the beneficiaries will be requested to submit a brief report indicating which skills have been acquired and how these skills will contribute to enhance his/her performance and contribute to the attainment of the project objective. 28. Operational Costs. Operating costs financed by the Project are incremental expenses, including office supplies, vehicles operation and maintenance, maintenance of equipment, communication costs, supervision costs (i.e. transport, accommodation and per diem), and salaries of locally contracted staff. They will be procured using the procurement procedures specified in the Project Financial and Accounting Manual. Assessment of the Agency’s Capacity to Implement Procurement 29. A procurement capacity assessment for the INSEED has been carried out during the project appraisal. The assessment reviewed the organizational structure for implementing the project, procurement procedures, staffing and the interaction between the coordination team and the other institutions involved in the implementation of the project. During the performance of the former statistic project, INSEED was staffed with a project coordinator, an accountant, a procurement officer and support staff. A similar, but larger, organizational structure would be used for this project and INSEED can use part of the former personnel to implement the proposed project. It has been agreed that INSEED will appoint a procurement officer, staffed internally, and will hire a consultant in procurement and supply management to support the coordination team. 30. Overall Procurement Risk Assessment Rating: The key issues and risks concerning procurement for implementation of the project have been identified and the procurement risk is assessed as Substantial. 31. Risk mitigation measures have been discussed and agreed with INSEED. The measures proposed to strengthen the procurement team during implementation of the Project would include: (i) up-date the project implementation manual to reflect project specificity; (ii) planning specific procurement trainings related to the project’s activities for the procurement officer as well as for the coordination team; and (iii) organization of a half-day training session to update INSEED’s staff knowledge on Selection of Individual Consultants. Other Mitigation Measures 32. Apart from identifying the minimum required staffing and equipment needed for a procurement unit satisfactory to IDA, no other mitigation measures can be identified at this time. However, given that the World Bank’s procurement specialist is based in Madagascar, close supervision and support will be undertaken to propose any additional mitigation measure if and when they are needed. 33. Frequency of procurement reviews and supervision. World Bank’s prior and post reviews will be carried out on the basis of thresholds indicated in the following table. The World Bank will conduct six-monthly supervision missions and annual Post Procurement Reviews (PPR); with the ratio of post review at least 1 to 5 contracts. Page 43 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) Table 2.3 Procurement and selection review thresholds Expenditure Contract Value Procurement Contract Subject to Category (Threshold) Method Prior Review US$ 1. works 2. Goods ≥500,000 ICB All <500,000 NCB The first 2 contracts <50,000 Shopping The first two contracts No threshold Direct contracting All 3. Consulting Firms ≥200,000 QCBS; LCS; All contracts <200,000 QCBS; LCS; CQS The first two contracts 4. Individuals ≥100,000 comparison of 3 CVs All contracts <100,000 comparison of 3 CVs The first two contracts 5. Firms & No threshold All Single Source Individuals All Term of reference regardless of the value of the contract are subject to prior review 34. All trainings, terms of reference of contracts estimated to cost more than US$10,000, and all amendments of contracts raising the initial contract value by more than 15 percent of the original amount or above the prior review thresholds will be subject to IDA’s prior review. All contracts not submitted for prior review will be submitted to IDA for post review in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 5 of Annex 1 of the World Bank’s Consultant Selection Guidelines and Bank’s Procurement Guidelines. 35. Procurement Plan. All procurement activities will be carried out in accordance with approved original or updated procurement plans. The Procurement Plans will be updated at least annually or as required to reflect the actual project implementation needs and capacity improvements. All procurement plans should be published at the national level and on the World Bank website according to the guidelines. 36. An initial simplified Procurement Plan covering the main procurement activities expected under the project components has been developed by INSEED. This plan was agreed between the Recipient and the World Bank during the project preparation. After the project is approved by the Board it would be published on the website of the Ministry of Finance and Budget as well as on the World Bank external website. The Procurement Plan will be updated in agreement with the Bank at least annually or as required to reflect the actual project implementation needs and improvements in institutional capacity. The prior review thresholds set out in the Procurement Plan will be reviewed from time to time and revised as needed during the project implementation. 37. The list of contract packages for consulting services, goods and non-consulting services in the Procurement Plan is as follows: Page 44 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) Table 2.4 Consulting services Expected Estimated Date for Ord. Procurement Prior or Post Expected Bid Description of Contracts Amount Expression No. Method Review Opening Date (US$) of Interest / ToR Specialist SIG September 1.1 5,000 ICS Prior November 2017 (Digitalization RGPH) 2017 Analysis & dissemination November 1.2 20,000 ICS Prior December 2017 of Census data (RGPH) 2017 Analysis National Accounts January 1.3 150,000 ICS Prior February 2018 data 2018 1.4 Analysis CPI 20,000 ICS Prior March 2018 April 2018 Preparation Household November 1.5 Poverty and Living 28,000 ICS Prior January 2018 2017 Standards Survey (HPLSS) Data cleaning & processing October 1.6 7,000 ICS Prior December 2018 HPLSS 2017 Quality assurance and October 1.7 30,000 ICS Prior December 2017 data analysis HLPSS 2017 Evaluation & analysis of January 1.8 30,000 ICS Prior March 2019 poverty indicators 2019 Analysis of welfare & November 1.9 30,000 ICS Prior January 2019 gender indicators 2018 Consultancy/training 1.10 30,000 ICS Prior April 2018 June 2018 services on reports writing 1.11 Consultant in procurement 28,000 ICS Prior April 2017 June 2017 1.12 Accountant officer 28,000 ICS Prior April 2017 June 2017 1.13 Consultant M&E 14,000 ICS Prior August 2017 September 2017 1.14 Consultant ICT 28,000 ICS Prior July 2017 September 2017 Table 2.5 Goods and Services Estimated Prior or Expected Bid Ord. Procurement Description of Contracts Amount Post Opening Remarks No. Method (US$) Review Date Equipment Digitalization census (RGPH) January 2.1 Procurement of data (images & vectors) 14,000 DC Prior 2018 January 2.2 Computer high capacity (DD screen) 10,000 Shopping Post 2018 January 2.3 UPS (Onduleur) 2000 VA 9,500 Shopping Post 2018 January Group purch 2.4 Color plotter A0 or A1 3,500 NCB Prior ase ed 2018 2.5 Plotter printhead 6,200 NCB Prior January Page 45 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) 2018 January 2.6 Copier maps “Tireuse à plan” 1,200 NCB Prior 2018 January 2.7 Other equipment for maps processing 2,100 NCB Prior 2018 January 2.8 Scanner A2 or A3 1,400 NCB Prior 2018 January 2.9 GPS 3,500 NCB Prior 2018 Other equipment and supplies for January 2.10 13,770 NCB Prior digitalization 2018 Equipment for Census data processing (RGPH) December 2.11 IT equipment and computer accessories 19,000 Shopping Post 2017 February 2.12 Equipment reprography 3,500 Shopping Post 2018 Equipment Household Poverty and Living Standards Survey (HPLSS) 2.13 PDAs 80,000 Shopping Post March 2018 2.14 Software and IT accessories 25,000 Shopping Post March 2018 Census and Survey documents printing 2.15 Printing of RGPH documents 170,000 NCB Post July 2017 2.16 Printing of HPLSS documents 20,000 Shopping Post June 2018 Equipment Infrastructure INSEED, including furniture and equipment for coordination team 2.17 IT equipment and computer accessories 20,000 Shopping Post June 2017 2.18 Printers 2,000 Shopping Post June 2017 2.19 Projectors 2,700 Shopping Post June 2017 Equipment Communication (Tel., 2.20 38, 000 Shopping Post June 2017 Internet and so on) Equipment Solar Energy (cables for 2.21 12,000 Shopping Post June 2017 connection to solar panels) Furniture and office supplies for 2.22 15,300 Shopping Post June 2017 coordination team August 2.23 Statistical software (e.g., STATA, SPSS) 25,000 Shopping Post 2017 Software for CPI data processing (e.g., November 2.24 60,000 Shopping Post Phoenix) 2017 2.25 Procurement of Motor vehicle 29,000 Shopping Post July 2017 Procurement of office furniture & September 2.26 23,000 Shopping Post accessories 2017 Non-Consulting Services, Operating costs and Training 2.27 Technical supervision of RGPH operations 20,000 Shopping Post July 2017 July 2017 to June 2.28 Trainings RGPH field staff 281,330 Shopping Post July 2017 estimated from Remuneration of RGPH field staff (e.g., Procurement 2.29 454,000 Shopping Post July 2017 supervisors, enumerators) Transportation costs RGPH (fuel, vehicle 2.30 55,000 Shopping Post July 2017 2018 renting) 2.40 Furniture & small supplies for RGPH 58,000 Shopping Post July 2017 Preparation and dissemination of RGPH February 2.50 40,000 Shopping Post reports 2018 Page 46 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) Remuneration of HPLSS field staff (e.g., January Procurement estimated from 2.51 180,000 Shopping Post supervisors, enumerators) 2018 January 2018 to June 2019 January 2.52 Trainings HPLSS field staff 60,000 Shopping Post 2018 Furniture, communication fees & small February 2.53 40,000 Shopping Post supplies HPLSS 2018 2.54 Transportation costs HPLSS 40,000 Shopping Post March 2018 Reports preparation and dissemination 2.55 of HPLSS results (including Workshops 30,000 Shopping Post June 2019 costs) 38. Procurement Filing. Procurement documents must be maintained in the project files and archived in the safe place until at least two years after the closing date of the project. Staff recruited into the procurement unit within the project implementation unit will be responsible for the filing of procurement documents. Environmental and Social (including Safeguards) 39. No environmental and safeguards policies are triggered for this project as it does not involve land acquisition or civil works activities leading to economic or physical displacement. The project will collect data on key gender characteristics to inform policies to promote gender equality. In addition to INSEED, the NSS also consists of several producers of official statistics, including the Central Bank and MDAs; and of a host of data users, including the Planning Commission, academia, DPs and decision makers in the government. The success of the statistical service depends on the use of data in decision making in the Comoros. Evidence based decision-making is expanding in the country, but will become more prominent as more and better data become available. The project will aim to work with key facilitators to increase the demand and use of data. These include academics. Close collaboration with universities has been planned not only to enable the hiring of graduate students by INSEED, but also to support university researchers in accessing and analyzing socioeconomic data and to provide feedback to INSEED on the quality, relevance and timeliness of statistics. The fieldwork will involve relevant government agencies and local authorities. Should there be a need to obtain data from individual households, the project will include substantive consultations with communities and civil society to ensure they are informed about the purposes of the data gathering. Monitoring and Evaluation 40. The INSEED coordination team will be responsible for monitoring progress against agreed outcome indicators and reporting on their performance. As the project implementation progresses monitoring of outcome indicators will be crucial. INSEED will be required to compile a report on progress against agreed outcome indicators at least once a year. Role of Partners (if applicable) 41. Development Partners will contribute to providing technical and financial support to activities directly related to those in the project. Some DPs closely contributing to supporting activities in the NSDS will be part of the PSC. The UNFPA with UNICEF, AFD and GAVI are currently supporting the Page 47 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) preparatory activities for the implementation of the population census. UNFPA has provided financial assistance close to US$200,000 for the preparation of the census, cartography work and pilot survey. It is also financing the census management unit and the technical coordinator. This support is supplemented by financial assistance from AFD of about US$100,000, and from UNICEF and GAVI of about US$15,000. The UNFPA will allocate additional funding by 2017, but the amount has not been announced yet. It is also assisting INSEED for additional fundraising. AfDB will contribute to support the household survey and the update of NA and price statistics. The AfDB is supporting the update of NA and CPI until 2017. It is providing technical assistance on NA and CPI data processing, through short- term missions, for about US$90,000. It will also provide about US$340,000 for the implementation of the employment and informal sector surveys, which are part of the 1-2-3 household survey. The financial contributions of DPs and potentially the Government will be provided through parallel channels. . Page 48 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) ANNEX 3: IMPLEMENTATION SUPPORT PLAN COUNTRY : Comoros Comoros Statistics Project Strategy and Approach for Implementation Support 1. The strategy for implementation support has been developed based on (i) the existing capacity of the implementing agency; (ii) the nature of activities involved in the project; and (iii) the commensurate risk profile in accordance with the risk assessment. The Implementation Support Plan, as described below, will be a living document and will be reviewed regularly and revised when required during the implementation. Implementation Support Plan and Resource Requirements 2. Implementation support will be provided by at least two implementation support mission per year complemented by remote support on demand. The implementation support will cover technical, procurement, financial management as well as project management support. The implementation support will be advisory in its nature to ensure that project ownership remains with INSEED and internal capacity is strengthened. 3. Technical support will empower INSEED in the design and implementation of data production activities. INSEED has some experience in implementing large data production activities, but the design was often out-sourced to international consultants leaving a capacity gap at INSEED to design such activities. The project activities will include technical support by international consultants and World Bank’s implementing support will focus on building up capacity at INSEED to design data production activities. This will contribute to technical sustainability of the project beyond its duration. 4. Financial Management. The project will be supervised regularly using a risk-based approach that will review audit reports and IFRs and advise the task team on all FM issues. Because the overall risk assessment of the project is substantial, the project will be supervised at least twice a year; the schedule may be adjusted as need arises. The Implementation Support and Results Report (ISR) will include an FM rating of the project. A support mission will be carried out once the project becomes effective to ensure project readiness. 5. Procurement. Procurement supervision missions will be conducted on a regular basis (around twice a year) and one annual post-procurement review will be conducted. A World Bank procurement specialist or a specialized consultant will accompany the mission. Page 49 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) Time Focus Skills Needed Resource Estimate Partner Role Project management & Knowledge of 8 weeks Technical team leadership Bank OP/BP, 3 missions discussions experience in supervising lending Complementary operations financial and technical support Operational support Drafting ToRs, 6 weeks on additional Concept notes, activities plans and budgets, reporting, general project First twelve months management skills Procurement Bank BP/OP on 3 weeks Procurement Financial Management Bank BP/OP on 2 weeks FM Survey support Sampling, 2 weeks questionnaire 1 mission design, supervision and analysis Project management & Knowledge of 10 weeks Technical team leadership Bank OP/BP, 3 missions discussions experience in supervising lending Complementary operations financial and technical support Operational support Drafting ToRs, 6 weeks on additional Concept notes, activities plans and budgets, 12-48 months reporting, general project management skills Procurement Bank BP/OP on 3 weeks Procurement Financial Management Bank BP/OP on 2 weeks FM Page 50 of 51 The World Bank Comoros Statistics Project (P159437) Survey support Sampling, 2 weeks questionnaire 1 mission design, supervision and analysis Skills Mix Required Skills Needed Number of Staff Weeks Number of Trips Comments Task team leader 44 8 Washington DC Operational support 38 2 Country office/Regional FM specialist 20 4 Regional Procurement specialist 20 4 Regional Survey specialist 20 2 International Name Role UNFPA Technical and financial support on complementary activities AfDB Technical and financial support on complementary activities UNICEF Technical and financial support on complementary activities AFD Financial support on complementary activities IMF Technical support Page 51 of 51