Process To Develop National MPI Outline

The process to develop Jamaica’s national Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) began in June 2021 and has involved extensive consultation with stakeholders and persons living in poverty across the island.

Speaking at a JIS Think Tank on January 15, Director of Policy Research at the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), Suzette Johnson, said the initiative received funding support from the Caribbean Development Bank and technical assistance from the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).

“Yes, it has been a while but it is an important process,” Ms. Johnson said.

She explained that a project steering committee was established with representatives from 17 organisations across Government, the public sector, civil society, academia and international development partners.

“These persons had expertise in poverty measurement, poverty coordination, research, community development, communication and statistics. A wide range of experts were part of this core team that gave oversight to the project,” she noted.

Ms. Johnson said the project was implemented in two main phases, with the first focusing on capturing the views of Jamaicans who experience poverty.

“This is not something that experts will just sit at their desk and do. We wanted to hear from the people about their understanding and their experience of poverty,” she said.

A consultant conducted focus group discussions in seven parishes identified among the poorest, based on existing data. From these parishes, 17 urban and rural communities were selected, and 357 persons participated.

“When we asked, ‘What is poverty? What causes poverty? Who is poor?’ people told us in their own words. That helped us to understand what Jamaicans themselves would want included in a multidimensional poverty index,” Ms. Johnson said.

Participants raised issues such as underdevelopment in rural areas, poor or poorly maintained infrastructure, crime and violence in some urban communities, and the impact of generational poverty on people’s mindset.

“Some people said, ‘I’m poor, my family always in poverty, and this is just how we live’. They recognised that there is a mindset that is holding some persons back as well,” Ms. Johnson shared.

She explained, however, that not all issues raised could be included.

“The methodology prescribes that the indicators have to be in one data source. Some things, like politics, governance issues or detailed crime data, are not usually captured in a household survey, so we were not able to include those. But most of the other concerns were captured in the index,” Ms. Johnson said.

Following the consultations, the team tested and refined the indicators using data from the Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions, applying rigorous statistical analysis to determine how the index should be structured.

A second phase of consultations was then held to get feedback from a wider group of stakeholders, including youth groups, community organisations, the National Poverty Reduction Programme Committee, the National Social Protection Committee, persons involved in population policy development, social protection, and other professionals.

“We wanted feedback from our stakeholders. We asked if the indicators accurately represent existing policies and if they reflect the circumstances of persons living in deprived conditions,” Ms. Johnson said.

She noted that the process was iterative, with some groups consulted more than once. “Through that process, we were able to refine how we define deprivation for a Jamaican household or an individual within that household,” she said.

Ms. Johnson emphasised that the MPI reflects both technical analysis and the lived experiences of Jamaicans.

“The index is grounded in what people told us about their lives. It is not just numbers, it is the voices of Jamaicans shaping how we understand and measure poverty in this country,” she said.