Huge boost for aid effectiveness as groundbreaking transparency initiative gains momentum

Over 130 organisations are now publishing their data to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), an open data platform that gives a timely, comprehensive and comparable picture of aid flows in order to improve accountability and impact.  Germany is the latest country to begin publishing its data in line with the IATI common standard, with Russia signalling its intention to join.

Meanwhile IATI’s membership has grown to include 37 donor signatories who together represent 75% of global official development finance.

In a foreword to the report, Justine Greening MP, UK Development Secretary says: “Transparency of aid flows is critical to good aid delivery. It helps reduce waste, fight corruption and makes sure money gets to the people who need it most. Better information at country level is right at the heart of what the International Aid Transparency Initiative is about – empowering people on the ground to scrutinise and make better decisions.”

IATI was established in 2008 to improve the transparency of aid to increase its effectiveness in tackling poverty. Those publishing their data to the common standard include governments, foundations, non-governmental organisations and civil society.

IATI is currently working in five partner countries (Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Honduras, Nepal and Rwanda) to assess the initiative’s impact and check the information being provided is meeting the needs of aid-receiving governments and other stakeholders.

Greening: “IATI has come a long way [and] this progress is to be commended. But we still have a long way to go. Now is the time to challenge each other on the quality of our data, and to strive to improve quality, increase access and better use this growing and invaluable resource.”

During 2013 IATI will launch a data store, enabling enhanced accessibility, and will continue to promote the development of tools such as aidview.net to encourage increased access and use of IATI data.

Other priorities for 2013 include work on the common standard, supporting the private sector to implement the initiative, as well as working with signatories to move beyond publishing what they can to publishing the full extent of what is needed by partner countries and other stakeholders demanding aid information.

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Media Contact: Hilda Kalap or Tom Berry on +44 (0) 117 9 272 505 or + 44 (0) 7583315846/ +44 (0) 7891 932 726 or email [email protected]

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The International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) is a voluntary, multi-stakeholder initiative that seeks to improve the transparency of aid in order to increase its effectiveness in tackling poverty. It does this by providing timely, comprehensive and comparable information.

IATI was launched at the third High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Accra, Ghana in September 2008 where the IATI Accra Statement recognising the importance of transparency in aid information was agreed. All organisations signing up to IATI recognise the principles of the IATI Accra Statement.

From mid-2013 a consortium led by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and including the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), the Governments of Ghana and Sweden, and a UK-based NGO Development Initiatives will take over the role of hosting IATI which has been carried out since 2009 by the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).  The new consortium will host till the end of 2015.

For more information about IATI email [email protected] or follow #IATI on Twitter