Related documents
Last updated on November 11, 2025. View changes
Related documents
Further information about an organisation or activity can be provided by using the document-link element. This link can be added to several places, including the organisation file. It can be attached to each activity, and at multiple points within a result element.
A publisher may want to add more detail about their work, such as the organisation’s annual report, the conditions attached to any funding, or a report on the results or impact the activity.
Where can related documents can be added?
Each document-link needs to contain a URL to a publicly accessible webpage or document.
If documents are available in other languages and stored separately, these should be added as additional document-link elements.
Including the file-format attribute helps to inform users about what to expect from the document.
A number of donors require their grantees to publish specific documents.
Technical guidance summary
Location |
Use |
Rules |
Guidance |
|---|---|---|---|
| organisation file | Provides further information about the organisation or its work (e.g. their annual report or a work plan for a particular country). | There must be a URL for the external document or webpage. The document-link must include a title, format, and category. | A recipient country that is the focus of the document or webpage can be specified. A description of the document can also be added. |
| activity file | Links to further information about the activity. | There must be a URL for the external document or webpage. The document-link must include a title, format, and category. | The description should specify what the document is about and why it has been included. |
The locations below were introduced at version 2.03 of the IATI Standard:
Location |
Use |
Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| result | A link to an online, publicly accessible webpage or document expanding on the result. | The document or webpage should link to the specific result being reported, or to a results frame. |
| indicator | A link to an online, publicly accessible webpage or document expanding on the result indicator. | The document or webpage should link to the specific results indicator being reported. |
| baseline | A link to an online, publicly accessible webpage or document expanding on the indicator’s baseline. | The document or webpage should link to the specific indicator baseline being reported. |
| period-target and period-actual | A link to an online, publicly accessible webpage or document expanding on period-target or period-actual. | The document or webpage should link to the specific target or actual figures being reported. |
What a document-link should include
Element |
Use |
Rules |
|---|---|---|
| title | Short title of the document or webpage. | This must be included once and only once for each document-link. The title can be provided in multiple languages. |
| description | Description of the document, including any instructions on where to find relevant information. | This element must occur no more than once for each document-link. The description can be provided in multiple languages. |
| category | Specifies the type of document or webpage. | At least one category must be published for each document-link. The code must be on the document category codelist. |
| language | Specifies the language of the document or webpage. | The code must be on the language codelist. If the document is available in multiple languages, the document-link element can be repeated with a different language code selected. |
| document-date | The date of publication or last updating | Must be in the format: YYYY-MM-DD, e.g. 2018-03-16. |