The Kosovo Agency of Statistics (KAS) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Kosovo in order to continue cooperation in the transfer and release of collected data, that started in 2002 with the System of Early Warning, which has continued with Public Pulse from 2010 until today.

The purpose of this MoU is to improve access to and use of data by Kosovo policy-making institutions, as well as by other stakeholders, including academia, NGOs and development organizations.

Public Pulse data complements existing data in Kosovo, produced by KAS and other entities, providing data collected over the last 10 years on people's perceptions of political and socio-economic issues, democratization, satisfaction with central and local institutions, rule of law, functioning of public services, interethnic relations and social tolerance, security issues, environment, etc.

This Memorandum was signed on behalf of KAS by the Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Ilir T. Berisha, and Mrs. Maria Suokko, Permanent Representative, on behalf of UNDP in Kosovo.

"This memorandum is a continuation of the very valuable cooperation between UNDP and KAS in providing data and making them available to the institutions of Kosovo and other stakeholders. The data should be the basis for planning and development policies. UNDP in Kosovo, in partnership with USAID, has been committed to supporting data collection as a basis for evidence-based policy development over the past 20 years. Public Pulse data series complement those collected by KAS and other institutions. Making them available through KAS increases their visibility and, hopefully, their use by the institutions of Kosovo," said Mrs. Suokko on this occasion.

Meanwhile, Mr. Berisha stressed that “KAS appreciates the cooperation with UNDP and other international institutions. The signing of this Memorandum of Understanding is done in order to provide a window on the KAS website for the visualization of Public Pulse data, including the presentation of the authorship of this data. Public Pulse data are a measure of the perceptions of Kosovo citizens about changes in Kosovo, in relation to democratization, economic development, political direction and other processes."

Today's Memorandum is the second in a row - after the signing of the first memorandum with KAS in July 2020, and provides the basis for the continuation of the transfer and release of Public Pulse data. Ongoing partnership and cooperation with KAS are very important for UNDP, recognizing the key role of KAS, as the main institution responsible for collecting official data in Kosovo.

The project has been running since 2002, initially as the Early Warning System and later as the Public Pulse and from the beginning has been funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).