Global aid transparency standard: progress, challenges and benefits prepared by Bill Anderson and Danila Boneva, IATI Secretariat 21st of June 2011.

Global aid transparency standard: progress, challenges and benefitsprepared by Bill Anderson and Danila Boneva, IATI Secretariat21st of June 2011

• IATI is a partnership between traditional and new donors, partner countries and CSOs – 19 signatories, 20 partner country endorsers and a coalition of NGOs/CSOs

→http://www.aidtransparency.net/whos-involved

• Established in 2008 at the Accra High-Level Forum

• The goal is to provide access to more detailed and timely information on aid and other official flows in a common format (open data)

What is IATI?

www.aidtransparency.net

• Agreement on the IATI standard: February 2011 after 2 years of multi-stakeholder consultations

• DFID, Hewlett Foundation and the World Bank are the first implementers. Other signatories will follow in the lead up to HLF4 in Busan.

• Implementation tests with partner countries to import IATI data in their Aid Information Management Systems (AIMS) for better planning, budgeting and accountability.

Where are we today?


2010 Transparency Assessment by Publish What You Fund


Publishing IATI: The road to Busanhttp://www.aidtransparency.net/

implementation


1.Greater accessibility – the IATI approach has the potential to make it easier to find and use data on aid flows and link to other relevant data

2.Timeliness of data3.Forward-looking data4.Greater coverage – IATI is relevant for a

diverse set of aid providers5.Greater alignment & flexibility – IATI provides

more detailed information on activities and provides flexibility (e.g. # of sector classifications that can be used) that enables greater alignment with partner country systems

IATI’s value added (1):


6. Traceability of aid flows7.Sub-national geographic data8.Multiple sector codes9.Includes documents10. Re-use – an open data approach with

standardized format that enables multiplicity of uses and reuse of data and software and the standard can be used and extended for other data-related initiatives

IATI’s value added (2):


Meeting promises


Meeting the standard


The pragmatic approach …


… only if Accra commitments are kept


A four-part standard for publishing aid information:

1. Scope of what will be published

2. Common definitions for sharing information

3. Framework for implementation

4. Common electronic data format (XML)

What is the IATI Standard? http://iatistandard.org/


•Donor keys data into their own management system.•Donor prints report from their system.•Donor keys data into the government’s AIMS or Excel spreadsheet or•Donor keys data into spreadsheet and sends to ministry. Ministry keys data into AIMS

Status Quo at country level: Manual Data Exchange


• Donor keys data into AIMS• Donor publishes in IATI xml format on their

own website.• Country system downloads and imports

data.• Ministry and country donor staff access

data in country system to check and modify, as well as add any country-specific classifications (e.g. national development plan sectors, budget classifications, development results, etc.)

What is IATI proposing instead? Automatic Data Exchange


Malawi AIMS: donor scoring on reporting


• Getting signatories and other donors to publish now rather than later even if the information is not perfect

• Getting more providers and partner countries on board IATI

• NGOs and IATI: who will be the first NGOs to publish? • Developing a standard way of mapping aid

information to recipient countries’ budgets• Making the information accessible not only to

specialists and users in developed countries, but for users in developing countries

• Leveraging transparency to deliver better results and greater accountability

What are the challenges?

• Faster progress in implementation of the standard by signatories prior to HLF4 in Busan and thereafter

• Widening IATI’s coverage: DAC and non-DAC donors, NGOs

• Use of the IATI information by partner countries and other stakeholders at the country level. 2011 IATI pilots.

• Preparations and outcome document of HLF4:• Delivering transparency for partner countries, CSOs

and citizens• Using the momentum generated by IATI to move

forward with firmer, clearer transparency commitments and implementation, especially of those IATI elements, which are critical for partner countries: conditions, results, forward-looking data

What are the critical next steps for IATI?

Open data gives opportunities for innovation and social accountability


ODA in 2009

Geo-coding: not only visually appealing, but also useful for sectoral overviews, DoL

dialogues and more…


Geo-coded projects of the World Bank in the DR Congo: http://www.aiddata.org/currentProjects/drc

Bill Anderson and Danila [email protected]@undp.org


mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Global aid transparency standard: progress, challenges and benefits prepared by Bill Anderson and Danila Boneva, IATI Secretariat 21st of June 2011.

Documents

iati data

iati standard

iati approach

iati secretariat21st

publishing aid information

aid agreements

aid flows7

greater coverage iati