UN Forum hears how funding for Indigenous Peoples' can be tracked with IATI data

At a side event on 19 April 2024 during the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII, UN-HQ New York), IATI raised awareness of how it can improve the tracking of funding to Indigenous Peoples.

The side event was held by Global Alliance of Territorial Communities and Charapa, and brought together panelists representing Indigenous Peoples, donors, multilateral agencies and NGOs. The event focused on why better data was needed to realise Indigenous Peoples’ rights, combat climate change, manage biodiversity and achieve sustainable development.

Panelists highlighted that more data is needed to track funding pledges by donors to ensure it reached Indigenous Peoples. As important delivery partners in addressing climate change and conserving biodiversity, it was also highlighted that more information is needed on the allocation of funding to Indigenous organisations on these issues.

Annelise Parr, from the IATI Secretariat joined the side event’s panel and spoke on how IATI data could help provide useful information about the pledging and implementation of funds to Indigenous Peoples. She said: “The International Aid Transparency Initiative is a global standard for publishing aid data. It’s a network that brings together donors, NGOs, and other stakeholders to improve the transparency and impact of aid. With nearly 2,000 organisations publishing data, IATI provides consolidated and timely information that spans beyond financials, offering insights into locations, strategies, and outcomes”.

“The primary benefit is that there is no need to start at ground zero. Much of the required information for ongoing and in many cases future planned activities has likely already been published and is already available in the IATI corpus.”

The event participants learned that many funders of Indigenous Peoples activities publish IATI data on their development finances and this information is accessible online. Annelise Parr said: “The primary benefit is that there is no need to start at ground zero. Much of the required information for ongoing and in many cases future planned activities has likely already been published and is already available in the IATI corpus.”

To enhance and institutionalise the tracking of funding for Indigenous Peoples and local communities, the Paris Roadmap for Tracking of Funds was agreed in November 2023. At the side-event, participants heard that the Paris Roadmap has already generated some results in terms of inspiring new reporting practices and fostering dialogue and partnership. The roadmap includes the commitment to develop a common framework for reporting Indigenous Peoples funding and IATI’s Secretariat participated in a technical workshop on refining that framework prior to the side-event also in New York (18 April 2024).

The IATI Secretariat looks forward to supporting the implementation of the Paris Roadmap for Tracking of Funds and working with this dedicated community to improve the transparency and tracking of Indigenous Peoples funding.

Discover IATI data

Explore IATI data on our access tools: d-portal, Datastore Search and Country Development Finance Data. For more information on how to use IATI data visit the Data Use Query Corner on IATI Connect. Alternatively, email the IATI Secretariat at [email protected] for support in accessing, understanding or analysing IATI data.