IATI future hosting arrangements post 2022

Message from IATI Governing Board Chair (7 July 2022):

Last week, the IATI Governing Board met for its regular quarterly meeting. The main topic of discussion was the way forward for the future hosting arrangements of IATI.

This message provides an update on the events of the last few months; on recent decisions we took for the coming months; and on what we will shortly ask from the IATI membership.

IATI Hosting Arrangements

The agreement with the current hosting Consortium for IATI (UNDP, UNOPS and Development Initiatives) ends on 31 December 2022 and will not be renewed. As such, the Governing Board has the task of finding a new home for IATI (details in this post and the minutes of the April 2022 Governing Board meeting).

This is a big undertaking and we have little time, and this is also why we as a Board very much appreciate the continued support of the current hosts, and the ongoing commitment of the IATI community. We will need both, this year and the next. To this end, our first decision is to re-establish the Institutional Working Group (IWG).

Join IATI Institutional Working Group

The IWG was active in 2021 to advise the Board on the future governance structure of IATI, and we hope the IWG2021 members and any new volunteers are willing to help us again, by advising on the following matters:

  • Updating the Terms of Reference (ToRs) for the hosting of IATI 2023-2027. The Board is also considering splitting the ToRs into two parts (one ToR to serve policy / technical matters and one for operations), and would like the IWG’s opinion on this possible way forward.
  • The option for the Governing Board to enter into an agreement with a new host via a Letter of Agreement, which the Board understands is a common solution for hosted initiatives such as IATI – and to seek advice from a qualified legal advisor on what this entails in legal and liability matters for IATI as an initiative, and for members of the Governing Board.
  • Lead the selection of new hosts for IATI as evaluated against the updated Hosting Terms of Reference previously developed by the IWG in 2021.

We will ask the group to start its work as soon as possible, and to urgently guide the Governing Board on the first two issues outlined above (timeframe to be discussed). The selection of new hosts for IATI should take place at the end of October at the latest. If you are considering being part of this important work, we thank you very much for your interest and ask both former IWG members and new volunteers to register their interest here by 18 July 2022.

In the meantime, we will start a search for possible new hosts. Because the new Terms of Reference for this will need approval from the Members Assembly, and urgently so, we will ask members to vote on the updated ToRs via a written procedure, as soon as the IWG has advised on the new ToR.

Between 7 and 10 November (exact date to be announced), we will meet for an in-person Members Assembly (MA) in Copenhagen (UN City) and vote on the new hosting arrangement. Keeping in mind potential constraints so near to the end of the current Secretariat mandate, we want to combine the MA with some community-led sessions, and in general a chance to get to know each other in 3D again.

In the meantime, if you have any questions, please send me an email at [email protected]. Please also follow our new IATI Governing Board account on IATI Connect for updates. Minutes of the most recent Board meeting will be shared as soon as possible on IATI Connect and on the IATI website.

Thank you very much,

Henry Asor Nkang, IATI Governing Board Chair
On behalf of the Governing Board