Uganda has experienced strong economic growth over the past two decades and has made great strides towards improving the quality of life and access to services. In order to continue to promote pro-poor economic growth, the Government of Uganda (GoU) developed the National Development Plan (NDP) and a Joint Budget Support strategy as part of the implementation of the National Development Strategy (NDS). Uganda recognizes the need for adequate data collection to effectively monitor outcomes of the National Development Strategy (NDS). For this purpose, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS) implemented the Uganda National Panel Survey (UNPS) program, with financial and technical support from the Government of Netherlands, and the World Bank Living Standards Measurement Study Integrated Surveys on Agriculture (LSMS-ISA) project. The 2005-2009/10 Uganda National Panel Survey (UNPS) is the first "panel" survey done by the LSMS group. The households included were chosen from the 2005-06 Uganda National Household Survey (UNHS). The sample One of the primary uses of the UNPS is to inform policymaking in advance of the Budget, through descriptive reports that are made ready in time for the initial work on sector budget framework papers. Survey Objectives The UNPS aimed at producing annual estimates of outcomes and output in the key policy areas and at providing a platform for the experimentation and assessment of national policies and programs. Explicitly, the objectives of the UNPS include: The UNPS aims at producing annual estimates in key policy areas and at providing a platform for experimenting with and assessing of national policies and programs. Explicitly, the objectives of the UNPS include: 1. To provide information required for monitoring the National Development Strategy, of major programs such as National Agricultural Advisory Services (NAADS) and General Budget Support, and also to provide information to the compilation of the National Accounts (e.g. agricultural production). 2. To provide high quality nationally representative information on income dynamics at the household level and provide annual information on service delivery and consumption expenditure estimates to monitor poverty and service outcomes in interim years of other national survey efforts, such as the Uganda National Household Survey (UNHS), Uganda Demographic and Health Survey (UDHS) and National Service Delivery Surveys (NSDS). 3. To provide a framework for low-cost experimentation with different policy interventions to e.g. reduce teacher absenteeism, improve ante- and post-natal care, or assessing the effect of agricultural input subsidies. 4. To provide a framework for policy-oriented analysis and capacity building substantiated with the UGDR and support to other research which will feed into the Annual Policy Implementation Review. 5. To facilitate randomized impact evaluations of interventions whose effects cannot currently be readily assessed through the existing system of national household surveys.
