3. Undertaking the monitoring activity Data collection Much of the literature on monitoring concentrates on primary research and fact-finding. However, most NHRIs rely fairly heavily on secondary sources (data created by others) in their assessments. Secondary data are useful because they are less expensive and less labour-intensive to obtain. Moreover, there is usually a fair amount of data research and collection going on in a country and duplicating existing efforts serves no useful purpose. There are a number of potential sources of secondary data: ■■ Budget documents can show the priority a country gives to a certain issue and facilitate comparisons year to year and against the performance of other Governments in the region. This measure is particularly telling in areas in the developing world. For example, education may be underfunded as a result of the country’s poor economic situation, but if the allocated budget for education falls below the area’s average, the country may not be living up to the requirement to invest resources to the maximum extent possible; ■■ National statistics; ■■ Administrative data: Government ministries also typically gather data that relate directly to their own mandates; ■■ Data from commissions of inquiry and other bodies that may commission studies that generate useful information; ■■ NGOs often carry out research and other studies. Intergovernmental organizations do the same. Most NHRIs use their own data and information too, usually internal, administrative data such as complaint statistics, data generated by specific monitoring exercises—monitoring prisons, for example—as well as the results of national conferences or workshops on specific human rights issues. In addition, the institution may conduct, or commission, primary research or fact-finding. This may be necessary when there is either a gap in existing data or the data that exist are deemed unreliable. National human rights institutions should include qualitative data along with quantitative data. For example, existing data may show that girls are less likely to move from primary to secondary school than boys. Such data are quantitative and show that there is a potential problem. An institution may decide, through the use of surveys or focus groups, for example, to try to explain why the situation is occurring. The data generated from such efforts would be qualitative and could help the institution propose effective solutions to the problem. Analysing data National human rights institutions use both process indicators and results indicators. Process indicators are analysed to: ■■ ■■ Assess the degree to which the legislation, regulation, policy or practice is: ■■ Sufficient to ensure the right is implemented; ■■ Actually being applied; ■■ Actually meeting the objectives it is meant to achieve; and Identify how the legislation, regulation, policy or practice must be modified or improved to ensure that the aims of the human rights provision can be achieved. 118