211. Collection and Utilization of Statistics

211

Collection and Utilization of Statistics

23 July 2013

The National Spiritual Assembly
of the Bahá’ís of India

Dear Bahá’í Friends,

211.1 The Universal House of Justice has been pleased to note over the past several years that, in cluster after cluster in India, ever-greater numbers of believers and their friends are participating in community-building endeavours as they strive to advance the processes of the Five Year Plan. This, of course, requires that the institutions of the Faith arise with commensurate strength in order to support these activities and ensure that the necessary resources are made available as and when they are needed. One area where institutional capacity will need to be greatly enhanced is the collection and utilization of statistical data, and in this regard, we have been asked to convey the following comments.

211.2 As the process of expansion and consolidation progresses within a cluster, the gathering of numerical data is a natural part of the everyday activities that take place as the friends carry out their work and make plans for the next steps they will take. For instance, it is only reasonable to expect that coordinators who accompany children’s class teachers would be aware of the number of such classes and the approximate number of children attending each one. So too would be the case with other coordinators of the training institute and the members, especially the secretary, of the Area Teaching Committee. In this connection, instruments such as the Statistical Report Program (SRP) and the Statistical Report Program for the Training Institute (SRP Institute) have proven to be of notable help in maintaining a record of this information. At certain times during the three-month cycle of activity, institutions and agencies serving at the cluster level would pool statistical information, by generating reports from the Statistical Report Program, thus facilitating analysis of the overall progress made and planning for the next cycle of activities. In light of the above, it is apparent that the collection of data is the result of the organic process of growth in each cluster and constitutes only one means, albeit a critical one, for assessing the progress of the Cause and the community-building process under way. Although the data thus collected is used primarily for the benefit of agencies at the cluster level, the Statistical Report Program allows for it to be easily forwarded to the Regional Bahá’í Council and eventually to the National Spiritual Assembly, which may require it for its own analyses.

211.3 The Regional Bahá’í Councils play a vital role in facilitating the flow of information by extending the necessary assistance and resources to agencies serving at the cluster level and by raising the capacity of those involved in the collection and utilization of statistical data. Through such endeavours, they will also ensure that their own need for information can be readily met in a timely fashion, without having to issue urgent requests or frequent reminders.

211.4 The House of Justice has noted with pleasure the close and increasing collaboration of your Assembly with the Counsellors in several areas that need the attention of both institutions. Paramount among these is helping Regional Councils attain higher levels of functioning in various aspects of their work. You are asked to analyse, together with the Counsellors, what is being learned in the field regarding the flow of information and the efficacy of the systems and mechanisms in place at the regional and cluster levels and determine what lines of action need to be pursued by each of your institutions. As you are aware, the administrative aides of the Counsellors have been interacting closely with institutions and agencies at the regional and cluster levels with regard to the gathering of information, and they could potentially make an important contribution to the efforts to raise capacity in this area of endeavour.

With loving Bahá’í greetings,

Department of the Secretariat