Harmonising Global Public Policy: Producing Global Standards, Local Data and Statistical Capacity Development

Abstract

This chapter explores the ideas and practices of ‘harmonisation’ by International Organisations (IOs). The concept of harmonisation emerges as one of the central ways in which International Organisations govern the multiplicity of country-level measures to create universal, global-level metrics. By coordinating the multiplicity of actors (including country governments, civil society and various experts), the IOs aim to achieve the development of the universal measures, allowing for comparison between the countries and monitoring of progress across the goals whilst sustaining the country ownership of data and indicators and their active participation in shaping the agenda. In order to achieve this goal, the process of harmonisation requires constant navigation between country-level measures, grounded in specific political and historical contexts, and global standards, striving for universality and internationalisation of measurement.