ESCAP Technical R Training for LNOB Analysis in Turkmenistan

26 to 27 April 2023 | By invitation only

Ashgabat, Turkmenistan
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  1. Background

Leaving no one behind (LNOB) is the central, transformative promise of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals. LNOB means moving beyond assessing average and aggregate progress, towards ensuring progress for all population groups at a disaggregated level.

To support governments and the United Nations system in the Asia-Pacific region, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) has developed a user-friendly diagnostic tool called Leave No One Behind (LNOB) platform. The tool is used to improve the understanding of how various circumstances intersect and create inequalities in access to basic opportunities covered by the Sustainable Development Goals. Building on empirical methodologies such as Classification and Regress Trees (CART) and the Dissimilarity index (D-index), it uses data and statistics at national and subnational levels to identify groups left furthest behind and the circumstances they share.

In this technical R training, ESCAP will take participants through the inner workings of its LNOB platform, using the statistical R code that prepares, analyzes and produces evidence on 16 SDG indicators based on the Turkmenistan Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) from 2019. In addition to replicating the results hosted in LNOB platform, participants will also learn how to operationalize the LNOB methodology on indicators other than 16 SDG indicators currently available on the platform. Equipped with this knowledge, participants can then analyze other nationally representative household surveys.

  1. Training Objectives

The primary objective of this statistical training is to strengthen national capacities in building the evidence base to developing policies that reduce inequality of opportunity and accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals, by making sure that those left behind are also included.

At the end of the training, technical officials and specialists will be able to map out inequalities in access to opportunities and prevalence of barriers for which they have data and identify furthest behind and furthest ahead and quantify the level of inequality at national and sub-national levels through the D-Index.

  1. Target Audience

The statistical training will draw participation from statisticians, technical officials and specialists in ministries, departments and agencies, academia, think-thanks, research institution and the United Nations system entities. Given the complexity of the code and the short duration of the training, a basic level of understanding of and experience with statistical software programmes such as R and Stata will be helpful to follow the instructions. Participants are recommended to follow ESCAP guidelines for installing and preparing the R Studio environment before the training begins. It may be beneficial, but is not required, for participants to review basic R skills which can be found by a simple search on the internet.

  1. Organization and Participation

The statistical training will be organized physically at the United Nations House in Ashqabat, Turkmenistan, on 26-27 April 2023. The meeting will be conducted in Russian. The tentative programme of the training is available on the programme tab. 

26 Apr 2023
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09:00
09:15
Opening remarks
  • ESCAP representative
  • Government representative
  • UN RCO Representative
09:15
09:30
Self- introduction of experts
09:30
11:15
Session 1: Theory behind LNOB Methodology

This Session reviews the theoretical background of LNOB methodology and provide a  working understanding of the Classification and Regress Trees (CART) and D-index methodologies.

  • Theory I: CART: Presented by Sejal S Sood, ESCAP
  • Theory II: D-index: Presented by Selsah Pasali, ESCAP
  • Q&A
11:15
11:30
Coffee/tea break
11:30
12:30
Session 2: Setting up R Studio working environment

This session will focus on setting up R studio on each participant’s computer and become familiar with R and its different working environments. Participants will also be guided through basic R syntax which will prepare them for the LNOB code in the training.

12:30
13:00
Session 3: Getting Ready for the LNOB Analysis

This Session reviews the set-up for the LNOB code, organizes input files and gives background to using R for LNOB analysis.

13:00
14:00
Lunch
14:00
15:30
Session 4: Reproducing LNOB results at the national Level

This session begins the LNOB R code where our independent (circumstances) and dependent (indicators) variables are defined. Using DHS data, participants will create a focused data frame which includes data for the defined variables, with the intention of learning how to sort through and manipulate large amounts of data in R. Participants will also be guided to explore different ways to use R to produce simple Results including access rates of different population groups. For this first indicator we will focus on access to Basic drinking water. 

Once data are prepared, participants will run the CART algorithm and D-index calculations at the national level for the Basic drinking water indicator and its defined circumstances. Results will be verified on the https://lnob.unescap.org/ platform. 
 

15:30
15:45
Coffee/tea break
15:45
16:45
Session 5: Reproducing LNOB results and the use of additional factors

In continuation of our national results, participants will learn how to add additional factors to the CART algorithm for the defined indicator, bank account ownership at the Household level (SDG 8.10.2). This includes regional level analysis and additional circumstances that  may be considered, including but not limited to Religion, Ethnicity, Language and disability.   

16:45
17:00
Closing of Day 1 by ESCAP
27 Apr 2023
09:00
10:30
Session 6: Complex LNOB Indicators

In this session participants will experience running the full analysis, including at national and regional levels, and by using additional circumstances, for the more complex indicator, Attendance of tertiary education among 25-35 year olds (SDG 4.1.1). The composition of the circumstances will be discussed in more detail. 

10:30
10:45
Coffee/tea break
10:45
12:15
Session 7: LNOB Barrier Indicators

The LNOB platform treats Opportunities and Barriers differently. This session will focus on exploring two barriers from the LNOB platform, Violence against women justified in the past 12 months (SDG 5.2.1) and prevalence of stunting (SDG 2.2.2). 

12:15
13:15
Lunch break
13:15
14:45
Session 8: New dataset and new indicator

The LNOB platform uses MICS and DHS as its primary data source, given its comparability across Asia and the Pacific. However, the LNOB methodology can be applied to any dataset. This session will focus on a new SDG indicator from MICS, namely the prevalence of child marriage (SDG 5.3.1) and access to social protection (SDG 1.3.1).

14:45
15:00
Coffee/tea break
15:00
15:30
Session 9: Next steps, when to use the LNOB analysis

Voluntary National Reviews, Common Country Assessments, national studies are just a few examples of how the LNOB methodology can be integrated. This session will discuss ways the methodology has been used and can be used in the future. 

15:30
16:30
Session 10: Q&A, Discussion and Feedback

Before closing the training, participants will have a chance to ask questions on the methodology, the code, or general questions about LNOB work. This session will also  give a chance for participants to provide feedback or ask for any additional inputs from the ESCAP team. 

16:30
17:00
Closing Remarks by ESCAP

for more information, please contact

Social Development Division +66 2288 1234 [email protected]
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