The OECS Data for Decision Project, the Ministry of Equity, and the Central Statistics Office welcomed a team from the World Bank for a technical mission from July 27 to August 3, 2024. This meeting is part of ongoing efforts to design a questionnaire for the Survey of Living Conditions and Household Budget Survey (SLC 2024/2025). Over 20 attendees at this workshop represented the CSO, the Ministry of Equity, and the Government of Saint Lucia through the SLCs National Assessment Team (NAT).
Leading the workshop and capacity-building initiatives were Amparo Palacios-Lopez (Program Manager), who joined virtually, Alemayehu Ambel (Senior Economist), and Ivette Conteras (Economist), who were there in person. The questionnaire review sessions were held on Monday, July 29, at the Financial Center Conference Room and Tuesday, July 30, at the Ministry of Equity Conference Room.
During this workshop, the intention is also to refine the SLC/HBS 2024/2025 implementation plan and conduct training in Survey Solutions (a Computer-Assisted Personal Interview Software (CAPI) developed by the World Bank Data Group. James Arthur Shaw (Survey Specialist) of the WB led the CAPI training virtually. The training was held on the morning of Day 3 (Wednesday, July 31 and Day 4 (Friday, August 2) at the Financial Center Conference Room. Around 15 persons were trained from the CSO, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of Equity.
The Director of Statistics appreciated the opportunity to develop the capacity of the staff of the CSO with the CAPI. The Ministry of Equity welcomed the opportunity to share with the WB Team the rationale for expanding the questionnaire to include more social protection and vulnerability questions.
The World Bank team has been instrumental in introducing new questionnaire modules that reflect the global standard for livelihood measurement for Saint Lucia and other countries in the region. Work continues post-workshop, toward finalizing the questionnaire and the preparations for the survey implementation by the end of 2024 through mid-2025.