Leveraging data for inclusive development

Countries can take fundamental steps toward sustainable development by linking civil registration and vital statistics (CRVS), identity management, health information, and social protection systems.

Legal identity is a precondition for sustainable development. It is the basis for realizing many basic rights and opportunities, and critical for ensuring no one is left behind. The estimated 1 billion worldwide (https://id4d.worldbank.org/global-dataset) that cannot prove their legal identity are more vulnerable to poverty, statelessness, exploitation, and abuse. This is acknowledged in the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) – specifically in SDG 16.9, which calls for “legal identity for all, including birth registration” by 2030.

An effective CRVS system is the foundation for identity management. The only way to capture up-to-date identity characteristics is to register vital events – including birth, marriage, divorce, and death – for a country’s entire population on a continuous and permanent basis. It also generates documents that have legal sanctity.

Countries can improve their ability to plan and deliver services when relevant data is shared across systems, and to manage public resources efficiently. For example, vital statistics drawn from civil registration provides policymakers working to improve health and social protection services a complete and accurate picture of a population. And the authorities that deliver these services can verify and trust the identity documents presented, reducing risk of fraud and identity theft.   

The Centre of Excellence works closely with key partners to support linkages between CRVS and other systems through research, knowledge sharing, and technical assistance.

Resources on data for inclusive development

Learn more about the interaction between CRVS and other systems with the following papers, videos, and webinars.

Publications

• Compendium of Good Practices in Linking Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) and Identity Management Systems (https://crvssystems.ca/sites/default/files/assets/files/CRVS_Compendium_e_WEB.pdf) – Get inspired with 6 country case studies about good practice in linking CRVS and ID management systems (Armenia, Ecuador, Kyrgyzstan, Namibia, the Netherlands, and Peru)
• The Nexus Between Civil Registration and Social Protection Systems: Five Country Practices (https://crvssystems.ca/sites/default/files/assets/files/SocialProtection_Compendium_e_WEB.pdf) – Learn from the experiences of 5 countries that improved public service delivery based on universal civil registration (Argentina, Chile, Namibia, South Korea, and Tunisia)

Articles and blog posts

• Creating digitized, interoperable ID systems (https://crvssystems.ca/blog/creating-digitized-interoperable-id-systems)
• Legal identity for all: Why we need to link CRVS and ID management systems (https://crvssystems.ca/blog/legal-identity-all-why-we-need-link-crvs-and-id-management-systems)

Leadership profiles

• Read eight short inspirational stories (https://crvssystems.ca/leaders) from African leaders in CRVS systems. 

Webinars

• The nexus between civil registration and social protection systems (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eb-RWsvasgc&list=PLhhb-JA5bQ7OkpibBeCYb8-s21rW3iE_D)
• Capturing who we are: CRVS and ID to leave no one behind (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXx7mMyL4CA&feature=emb_logo)
• Civil registration, vital statistics, and identity management systems (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91biYEbxF8I)
• The power of linking civil registration, vital statistics, and identity management systems (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iu4kjP5z-nk)