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What is UIS-AIMS and what are its core areas of concentration?

The Assessment, Information Systems, Monitoring and Statistics Unit (AIMS) is the regional office of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) created in late 2003 upon the arrival of the Regional Advisor, Dr. Ko-Chih Tung.

It serves as the UIS' main link to the region, strengthening the response to statistical capacity building needs, extending technical assistance across the entire UNESCO mandate, and monitoring and supporting Education for All (EFA) initiatives.

Aside from its regional representation and liaison functions, its main focus is the development of capacity of the Member States’ national statistical information systems for policy formulation, planning, monitoring, evaluation and assessment in areas of the UNESCO mandate.

The UIS-AIMS team, consisting of professional specialists, provides technical assistance and advisory services; facilitates national teams to conduct systems diagnosis and develop solutions, procedures and tools as well as conducts training of trainers; all with the aim of building nationally self-sustainable institutional capacity in the Member States. UIS-AIMS also collaborates closely with the UNESCO regional and field offices and other development agencies.

What are the unit’s current programmes?

As the regional office of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, AIMS provides advisory services and technical assistance across all sectors of the UNESCO mandate of education, science, culture and communication. UIS-AIMS themes for the current biennium include capacity building in statistics and statistical information systems, monitoring and assessment; technical assistance to Member States and UN agencies; and regional Education For All initiatives.

The Programmes and Budget for 2004-2005 was approved at the 32nd session of the UNESCO General Conference, heralding a new phase in UNESCO's activities.

Who does UIS-AIMS serve?

The UNESCO Member States in the Asia and the Pacific region are the prime beneficiaries of the work of UIS-AIMS. International, intergovernmental, non-governmental and regional organizations, research institutes, universities, and other relevant bodies also make use of the unit’s outputs and the expertise of its staff. UIS-AIMS also contributes regularly to national Poverty Reduction Strategic Programmes (PRSPs), Complete Country Assessments/United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks (CCA/UNDAF), Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and other cooperative development initiatives.

How is UIS-AIMS involved in the EFA campaign?

UIS-AIMS is involved in the monitoring and evaluation of EFA initiatives. It is also involved in advocacy efforts  to maintain and strengthen the political momentum to realize the six EFA goals in the region. It works collaboratively with other units and agencies to strengthen the response and output to meeting each EFA goal in the region.

UIS-AIMS is also involved in efforts to realize EFA through technical assistance in the areas of monitoring and assessment. It is involved in preparing analytical guidelines and templates on “how to analyze education disparities and identify EFA target groups.”

With the Regional Bureau for Education, AIMS is involved in EFA coordination and responsible for convening the UN Thematic Working Group on EFA and the National EFA Coordinators of the East and Southeast Asia; and provides technical support services to other sub-regions of Asia and the Pacific.

Where and how can I access UIS-AIMS statistical reports, publications, questionnaires, training materials and other documents?

All UIS-AIMS reports, publications, questionnaires, training and workshop materials and other documents are available at the on-line resource centre. UIS-AIMS also issues monthly e-newsletters and e-alerts that you can subscribe to by sending us an e-mail or registering on-line. For special requests and queries e-mail us at bkk.aims[at]unesco.org.  

Where else can I find statistics?

The UIS as the lead UNESCO statistical institute has an extensive and dynamic database of national, regional and global statistics that can be accessed through its website.

More statistics can be found on other websites within the UN system and from countries themselves. For a complete list of all these international agencies, see the UN Statistics Division  website.

The UNDP’s Human Development Reports are also a good general source for all UN data (including UIS data), presented on a yearly basis. See also the “Partners and Links” sub-section under the AIMS Community for a list of related websites.