Data & Indicators

1. To help measuring the contribution of the transport sector to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
2. To encourage countries, Regional Economic Communities(RECs), and agencies in SSATP countries to collect a common set of data, which is needed for planning purposes.
3. To give an indication as to where intervention in the transport sector is necessary in relation to the "minimum infrastructure platform" (MIP) notion.
4. To allow comparing sector performance over time and between countries.

The 2004 Concept Note  a list of high level indicators that summarizes the situation of transport through 4 focus areas, which are deemed crucial for poverty alleviation and growth (Road Network Management; Rural Accessibility; Urban Transport Effectiveness; Corridor Effectiveness), a list of secondary indicators that allows a finer appreciation of the state of the transport system in a given country by sub-sector (Transport Sector Management Sustainability; Road Transport; Urban Transport; Rail Transport; Water Transport; Air Transport.)

Transport Data

Since its inception, the initiative has processed two full cycles of data collation in 2005 and in 2006 in 16 countries and a partial one in 2007. Collated with spreadsheets, all these data are now available through the World Bank [[[Development Data Platform]]]. The DDP is a web-based database system that makes all World Bank data accessible to whoever has an internet connection. This system will from now on be the SSATP data dissemination platform. Data collation will remain through spreadsheets in the short term though, even if web-based data form will ultimately be used.

These cycles witnessed some changes in indicators as a few in the initial set proved either difficult to collate or even difficult to analyze. These cycles also demonstrated the importance of precise and unambiguous definitions. The set of SSATP indicators is dynamic to allow for significant improvement over time.

All data that are now available here are as they were received with no quality control beyond the removal of obvious outliers. Although web-based quality control remains will be developed, these figures are a witness of the limited reliability of data currently available.

Transport Sector Data Management Systems

The main lesson from these cycles regards the institutional framework that governs the production and management of transport-related data. If some such data does exist in most participating countries, they were at best difficult to uncover, without very few metadata that could help better understand data. These pervasive problems are the result of inadequate or often inexistent Transport Sector Data Management Systems (TSDMS). Following up on this observation, the SSATP initiated at the end of 2006 an Institutional Assessment of 5 SSA countries (Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Uganda, Niger and Cameroon) TSDMS to detail the current condition, identify strength and weaknesses. The individual country reports have been produced and should serve for the respective governments and their partners in the development of their TSDMS.

This SSATP experience led to the production of [[[Guidelines for establishing a sustainable and useful transport sector data management system]]] that should guide all practitioners and decision makers toward sustainable production, management and dissemination of transport-related data.

The way forward

In its DP2, the SSATP continues its support to the production of reliable transport-related data. It will shift its support to the development of appropriate TSDMS and refrain from data collation. It will put the focus on a small number of selected countries that are willing to put resources in the development of such TSDMS.

It will also support the development of appropriate methodology for the production of transport-related data.