The Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) Statistics Division launched three projects between 2018 and 2023 aimed at strengthening the capacity of national statistical systems (NSSes) in Central Asian countries to produce, disseminate, and analyze data to support the implementation of the 2030 Agenda. All three projects were funded by the Government of the Russian Federation. The projects focused on building skills of official statisticians through the translation and delivery of training courses, with a final project focused on establishing a Network of Young Official Statisticians to support their professional development. The projects were implemented by the Statistics Division in collaboration with the Federal State Statistics Service of Russia (ROSSTAT) and two Russian universities, the National Research University - Higher School of Economics (HSE), and the Moscow State University of International Relations (MGIMO).

This evaluation was conducted between February and May 2024 to support accountability and enable learning to inform the design and implementation of future ESCAP projects. The evaluation assessed the performance of three projects in terms of their relevance, effectiveness, impact, efficiency, sustainability, and cross-cutting issues.