Administrative data for official statistics operational enhancement — Statistical Innovation and Capacity Building in the Pacific Islands

Noumea, New Caledonia, 27/07/2026 Statistical Innovation and Capacity Building in the Pacific Islands (PACSTAT) REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (INDIVIDUAL CONSULTING SERVICES) GRANT NUMBER E633-P3, P168122 Assignment Title: Administrative data for official statistics operational enhancement Reference No.: FJ-SPC-559648-CS-INDV / REOI26-10388 The Pacific Community (www.spc.int) has received financing in the amount of USD 6.0 million equivalent from the World Bank toward the cost of the Statistical Innovation and Capacity Building in the Pacific Islands Project, and it intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services. SPC now invites eligible Individual Consultants to express their interest in providing consultancy services for the assignment entitled “Administrative data for official statistics operational enhancement”. The overall objective of the assignment is to enhance the operational readiness of national statistical offices (NSOs) and administrative data holding agencies in the Pacific region. The assignment is expected to start in September 2026 for an anticipated duration of 5 months. The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) are available with this Request for Expressions of Interest. Interested consultants should submit information demonstrating their qualifications and relevant experience. The selection and evaluation criteria are set out in clause 8.0 and clause 9.0 of the Terms of Reference . The attention of interested consultants is drawn to paragraphs 3.13, 3.15, and 3.16 of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers (Seventh Edition, September 2025) (“the Regulations”), which set out the World Bank’s policy on Conflict of Interest applicable to consulting services: The World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers – Seventh Edition, September 2025 Further information can be obtained at the address below by e-mail. Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form to the address below by e-mail no later than 16/08/2026 by 23:45 Noumea Time (GMT+11) . Attn: SPC Procurement email: procurement@spc.int Reference: FJ-SPC-559648-CS-INDV / REOI26-10388 Statistical Innovation and Capacity Building in the Pacific Islands (PacStat) Project TERMS OF REFERENCE INDIVIDUAL CONSULTING SERVICES Assignment Title: Administrative data for official statistics operational enhancement Location SPC Noumea Duration 5 months Expected Starting Date September 2026 Reference No FJ-SPC-559648-CS-INDV 1.0 Background: The Pacific Community (www.spc.int) has received financing in the amount of USD 6.0 million equivalent from the World Bank toward the cost of the Statistical Innovation and Capacity Building in the Pacific Islands Project, and it intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services. The Statistics for Development Division The SPC Statistics for Development Division leads the implementation of the Strategic Framework for Pacific Statistics, endorsed by PICT leaders in 2023. The framework promotes a regional approach to strengthening the quality, scope, and coordination of official statistics across the Pacific. SPC supports national statistical offices by building capacity to produce reliable demographic, economic, and social data for evidence-based policy and decision making. As a regional technical provider operating across 22 PICTs, SPC plays a key role in adapting international statistical standards to Pacific contexts, particularly for small island developing states with limited resources. Statistical Innovation and Capacity Building in the Pacific (PacStat) Project The PacStat project is an International Development Association (IDA; https://ida.worldbank.org/) funded project that is to be implemented over the period of June 2020 to February 2027 including an additional financing phase. The overall development objective of PACSTAT is to improve the quality of welfare data collection and accessibility to comparable welfare data in the Pacific Island Countries . The context for this project is summarized as: PICs are characterised by small populations spread across vast areas. Better, more timely, and more comparable data is needed to understand deprivation between countries as well as identify and monitor regional trends. Data deprivation in the PICs hinders evidence-based policy design. National Statistics Offices (NSOs) lack funding to meet the costs of data collection in the Pacific. Low statistical capacity is a major challenge in addressing data deprivation. There has been some improvement in statistical capacity over time, but results have not been sustained. There is potential for improvements and innovations in both administrative and survey data to lead to one or more of substantial cost savings, new statistics, or improved quality of statistics. The additional financing under the Statistical Innovation and Capacity Building in the Pacific Islands project directly supports regional efforts to advance statistical innovation and capacity building, with a particular focus on operational enhancement of administrative data for official statistics. Through commissioned works endorsed by the Pacific Statistics Methods Board (PSMB), the project will assess and strengthen national administrative data systems, enabling their systematic integration into statistical production processes across Pacific Island countries. This initiative addresses critical operational challenges including data governance, quality assurance, interoperability, and confidentiality by building institutional, legal, and technical capacity within National Statistics Offices and priority government agencies. The additional financing sustains and expands high-priority activities, such as regional workshops, technical assistance, and the development of standard operating procedures and metadata templates, ensuring readiness for regionally standardised data reporting and evidence use. By promoting the practical use of administrative data alongside traditional survey and census programmes, the project enhances the quality, timeliness, and comparability of welfare statistics, directly contributing to the achievement of project development objectives and laying the groundwork for the next phase of regional statistical innovation 2.0 Objective of the assignment: The overall objective of the assignment is to enhance the operational readiness of national statistical offices (NSOs) and administrative data holding agencies in the Pacific region to use administrative data for the production of official statistics, building on the findings of a preliminary administrative data readiness assessment which is currently being completed by a separate assignment. The objective will be achieved by supporting practical, implementation-oriented activities that address priority gaps identified during the readiness assessment, including: Strengthening the capacity of Pacific NSOs to operationally access, manage, and use administrative data for statistical production, through the design and implementation of targeted pilots, improved workflows, and institutional collaboration; Enhancing the operational usability of selected administrative data systems in the Pacific region for official statistics, including arrangements related to data access, governance, data management practices, and integration into statistical production processes, either as standalone sources or as part of a broader source mix. The assignment is intended to move beyond diagnostic assessment and to demonstrate, through a limited number of pilots in selected Pacific countries, practical approaches and good practices for the effective use of administrative data in official statistics. It will support learning, documentation, and regional knowledge exchange, and inform the potential scalingup of successful approaches in subsequent phases. 3.0 Scope of Services: The Scope of the assignment includes the following tasks: Task 1 – Selection of pilot countries and agencies : Identify and select three pilot countries, with one country selected if possible from each Pacific subregion (IDA countries) based on national contexts and involvement in the PacStat 2 project and identify relevant use cases for the production of official statistics using administrative data. Selection will be informed by previous readiness assessments, national statistical priorities, and the willingness and capacity of institutions to engage in pilot activities, and feasibility within the contract timeframe from a legal point of view. The selection process will be informed and validated by SPC, which will also be involved in initial consultations with participating countries to confirm scope, expectations, and roles. Task 2 – Development of agency level operational work plans : Develop agency level operational work plans for the use of administrative data in official statistics in each pilot country, in collaboration with national statistical offices (NSOs) and selected administrative agencies. Based on at least two meetings with NSOs and administrative agencies for each pilot country and building on the admin data readiness assessment project recently carried out by the World Bank, the work plans will define the intended statistical uses of administrative data, describe institutional roles and responsibilities, identify required legal, technical, and organisational arrangements, and outline a sequencing of activities and milestones. Task 3 – Design and documentation of administrative data flows : Design and document administrative data flows from source systems to statistical production processes for the selected pilot use cases. This will include documenting data extraction mechanisms and calendar, data structures and variables, metadata availability, data transformation and validation steps, and quality assurance procedures. The documentation will focus on clarity, consistency, and reproducibility, supporting both pilot implementation and potential future institutionalisation, with key design decisions validated by SPC. Task 4 – Development of data sharing protocols and arrangements : Support the development or refinement of data sharing protocols and related governance arrangements required for the regular use of administrative data for official statistics. This will include clarifying access conditions, data transfer modalities, update frequency, confidentiality and security requirements, revision policies, and roles related to data stewardship. Existing legal frameworks and institutional practices will be considered. Task 5 – Pilot implementation of administrative data pipelines : Support the pilot implementation of administrative data pipelines in each selected country, focusing on the operational use of administrative data for selected statistical outputs. This will include supporting the use of appropriate IT infrastructure, data ingestion, application of agreed data processing and quality checks, and the production of pilot or experimental statistical outputs. Statistical processing will be implemented using the R scripting language, with computer code hosted on a GitHub repository owned by the respective countries. The purpose of this task is to assess operational feasibility, identify practical challenges, and document lessons learned, rather than to establish full production systems. Task 6 – Regional workshop on administrative data for official statistics : Design and deliver a regional workshop on the use of administrative data for official statistics in the Pacific. The workshop will provide a platform for pilot countries to share experiences, challenges, and lessons learned, and to facilitate peer to peer learning and experience exchange among participating NSOs and agencies. The workshop agenda and content will be validated by SPC. 4.0 Expected Outcomes, Deliverables, and Timeline: The Project Development Objective is to improve the quality of welfare data collection and accessibility to comparable welfare data in the Pacific Island Countries. The deliverables and timelines are presented in the table below: Activity Deliverable Due date Task 1 – Selection of pilot countries and agencies Inception and pilot selection report End of Sept 2026 Task 2 – Development of agency-level operational work plans Agency level operational work plans (one report per pilot country) End of Oct 2026 Task 3 – Design and documentation of administrative data flows Administrative data flow and technical documentation (one report per pilot country) End of Nov 2026 Task 4 – Development of data sharing protocols and arrangements Data sharing agreements and data exchange protocols (for each pilot country) End of Dec 2026 Task 5 – Pilot implementation of administrative data pipelines Source code, pilot statistical outputs, implementation notes (for each pilot country) End of Jan 2027 Task 6 – Regional workshop on administrative data for official statistics Workshop presentation/materials; final completion report End of Jan 2027 5.0 Duration of the Assignment and Estimated Expert-Time Input: The Individual Consultant will be engaged for up to 5 months. The envisaged start date for the Individual Consultant is at the earliest opportunity and no later than September 2026, and the engagement will be full time with flexible remote work and up to 3-4 country visits as needed and approved by SPC. All travelrelated costs associated with these missions shall be included in the contract price. 6.0 Reporting Requirements: The consultant will report the PacStat Project Manager for overall assignment of coordination and project alignment, and to the SPC Data Services & Dissemination Manager or SPC Statistics Adviser (Process Modernisation) within this team for technical and methodological guidance. Reporting responsibilities include: The consultant will submit the following deliverables to SPC, which will form the basis for milestone payments as agreed in the Contract: Inception and pilot selection report , including methodology, detailed work plan, sequencing of activities, pilot engagement approach, justification for the selection of pilot countries and agencies, selected use cases, and confirmation of scope, roles, and expectations. Agency level operational work plans for each pilot country , covering selected countries and agencies, priority use cases, roles and responsibilities, sequencing of activities, and implementation timelines. Administrative data flow and technical documentation , including data extraction mechanisms, processing workflows, metadata, validation, and quality assurance procedures. Data sharing protocols and governance arrangements , including datasharing agreements and data exchange protocols for selected country use cases. Pilot implementation and outputs , including source code implementing administrative data processing pipelines, statistical outputs produced from administrative data, and implementation notes documenting operational challenges and lessons learned. Regional workshop and final completion deliverables , including workshop agenda and materials, a summary of discussions, lessons learned and agreed good practices, a synthesis of results across all tasks, and recommendations for scalingup or institutionalisation. The Finance and Administration Officer in SPC’s Statistics for Development division will be the focal point for all finance and administrative aspects of the Project. All reports and deliverables should be submitted in English. Deliverables should be presented in a format suitable for SPC internal use and for sharing with relevant national and regional stakeholders. The consultant may be required to present key outputs in workshops or virtual meetings with SPC and national statistical office teams. The consultant may be asked to participate in additional briefings or ad hoc meetings as requested by SPC or the PacStat Project Manager. 7.0 Working Arrangements: The consultant will work closely with SPC and relevant stakeholders. SPC will provide access to relevant data, resources, and personnel necessary for the successful completion of the assignment. Throughout the assignment, the consultant is expected to operate in accordance with the mutually agreed-upon number of workdays and associated deliverables as determined in consultation with the SPC. The consultant shall demonstrate diligence and effectiveness in executing assigned duties to the highest acceptable standards. In assessing the consultant invoices for payment, the Project Manager will review these timesheets based on guidance from SPC Statistics Adviser (Process Modernisation) The Project’s Labour Management Procedure is to be implemented throughout the assignment. Grievances can be lodged, as follows: Address/post: Pacific Community (SPC), 95 Promenade Roger Laroque, BP D5 98848 Noumea, New Caledonia | Phone: +687 262000 | Fax: +687 263818 | Email: complaints@spc.int | Web: www.spc.int. https://spc.int/accountability 8.0 Selection Criteria – Qualifications, Experience, and Skills: The consultant should meet the following minimum requirements: Academic qualifications Advanced university degree (Master’s level or higher) in statistics, data science, economics, information systems, public policy, or a closely related field. A Bachelor’s degree with extensive relevant professional experience may be considered in lieu of a postgraduate qualification. Professional experience Minimum of 8–10 years of relevant professional experience in official statistics, administrative data systems, data integration, or statistical modernisation programmes. Demonstrated experience working with national statistical offices (NSOs) and government ministries or agencies that manage administrative data. Proven experience supporting the use of administrative data for official statistics, either through readiness assessments, system design, or operational implementation. Experience working in developing country contexts, preferably Small Island Developing States (SIDS) or similar capacity constrained environments. Experience working on donor funded projects, preferably World Bank–financed or multilateral development programmes. Technical expertise Strong understanding of administrative data ecosystems, including data quality assessment, metadata, classifications, identifiers, and data governance. Practical experience with data integration, data flows, and statistical production processes involving administrative data. Familiarity with legal, confidentiality, privacy, and data sharing frameworks relevant to the use of administrative data for statistical purposes. Experience designing or supporting data sharing protocols, operational work plans, or pilot data pipelines. For implementation focused work: experience using statistical or data processing tools (e.g. R or similar scripting languages) for data processing and quality assurance is an advantage. Analytical and reporting skills Strong analytical skills, with the ability to translate technical findings into clear, actionable recommendations. Proven ability to produce high-quality written outputs, including assessment reports, technical documentation, implementation plans, and synthesis reports suitable for senior management and donors. Ability to document complex technical processes in a clear, structured, and reproducible manner. Stakeholder engagement and communication Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively with NSOs, line ministries, and technical counterparts across multiple institutions. Strong facilitation and communication skills, including experience supporting consultations, workshops, or knowledge exchange activities. Ability to work effectively in a multicultural and regional environment and to manage multiple stakeholders with differing capacities and priorities. Language and availability Excellent written and spoken English is required. Knowledge of French or another Pacific regional language is an advantage. Availability to undertake the assignment within the specified timeframe and to travel internationally, if required. 9.0 Evaluation Criteria: CVs of eligible candidates that meet the minimum qualification requirements will be evaluated in accordance with the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers, using the following criteria and scoring system. Only candidates achieving a minimum technical score, will be considered for further evaluation. Evaluation scoring criteria Weighted score (%) Qualifications 20% Adequacy for the assignment / relevant experience 50% Competencies and skills 30% TOTAL 100% The attention of interested consultants is drawn toparagraphs 3.13, 3.15, and 3.16of the World Bank Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers (Seventh Edition, September 2025) (“the Regulations”), which set out the World Bank’s policy on Conflict of Interest applicable to consulting services. As part of the selection process and prior to contract award, consultants are required to declare the existence or absence of any conflict of interest by completing the Conflict-of-Interest Declaration Form available at the following link: Conflict of Interest Declaration.