A new platform to track the financing of development data projects was launched at the UN World Data Forum in Bern this month. The Clearinghouse for Financing Development Data includes data from IATI, and provides access to financing information on over 15,000 data projects. It aims to help countries, donors and development agencies identify funding opportunities, promote collaboration and advocate for more support to data and statistics.
The Clearinghouse was developed by the Bern Network on Financing Data for Development, a multi-stakeholder alliance created in 2019 by the Swiss Government. The Network aims to promote more and better funding of development data, to mobilise the global community into action towards achieving the SDGs. According to the PARIS21 2020 Partner Report on Support to Statistics, two-thirds of national statistical offices urgently need more funding to provide essential data amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
About the data
The Clearinghouse for Financing Development Data gives a comprehensive overview of the financial support to improving development statistics and data. The majority of data in the Clearinghouse comes from existing sources, including the World Bank, the OECD and IATI.
The Clearinghouse’s methodological paper recognised that:
“The IATI Datastore is the largest alternative database outside of OECD-DAC data for official development assistance. With more than 100 donors reporting to this database, IATI has a much shorter lag than CRS. It also covers more projects by philanthropic foundations. The COVID-19 pandemic and the rising need for coordination has also incentivised aid providers to report to IATI with less delay.”
Watch session at IATI Virtual Community Exchange 2
A team from the Bern Network presented the new platform during a session at IATI’s second Virtual Community Exchange (12-13 October) to share the potential of the Clearinghouse to drive transformative change for data financing.
In the recording from that session you can hear from speakers about the latest challenges and developments relating to financing data, and see a demonstration of how you can apply the Clearinghouse’s analyses and functions to your own work.
To access the Clearinghouse for Financing Development Data and for more information on the platform, visit smartdatafinance.org/.