Press Releases

Press Release
May 13, 2015 
Establishment of a Collaborative Group among the DHS, MICS and LSMS


Establishment of a Collaborative Group among the DHS, MICS and LSMS


For decades, the three largest global household survey programs
- the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS), the Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys (MICS), and the Living Standards Measurement Study (LSMS) (supported by USAID, UNICEF, and the World Bank, respectively) – have played a critical role in supporting countries to generate high-quality data for tracking progress towards both global and national targets, and for formulating effective policies and programs to improve lives around the world. As the post-2015 agenda comes into focus, it is clear that these three programs will continue to serve as essential data sources as well as platforms for building survey capacity and fostering sustainability in host countries: key components towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and an equitable Data Revolution.

In recognition of the increasing demand for high-quality household-level survey data as part of the broader global data agenda, managers of the DHS, MICS and LSMS programs met to discuss avenues of collaboration in the post-2015 era, agree on a structured process to facilitate ongoing collaboration, and exploit potential synergies across programs.

Building on the long-standing collaboration between the DHS and MICS programs, particularly on harmonizing survey tools and analytical models, the three programs agreed to establish a Collaborative Group aimed at enhancing the relevance of household surveys for monitoring broad measures of progress and for policy. The Collaborative Group will meet regularly, in person or virtually, to 1) share information on the scheduling of surveys at the country level, 2) foster further harmonization of survey tools, and 3) work together on new methodological advances in household survey. The goal of the partnership is to increase the frequency, quality, and relevance of household survey data around the world by better serving countries in meeting their domestic and international data demands through improved comparability and integration across surveys, enhanced survey methods and techniques, and greater coordination on survey timing and scheduling.

Sunita Kishor, Director, The Demographic and Health Surveys Program
Attila Hancioglu, Global Coordinator, Multiple Indicator Cluster Surveys
Gero Carletto, Manager, Living Standards Measurement Study

Download a PDF of this press release>>
 

Download our Brochure

DHS 2021 brochure thumbnail