‘Publish to IATI within 2 years of the WHS’ says Grand Bargain on humanitarian financing

A commitment for global actors to publish their humanitarian financing to IATI within two years has been included in a groundbreaking ‘Grand Bargain’, launched at the first World Humanitarian Summit (WHS) today.

Donors and international aid organisations are being asked to publish their data to the IATI Standard as part of the new Grand Bargain on humanitarian action to achieve greater transparency.

The call for humanitarian organisations to come together in a Grand Bargain was first recommended in a report by the UN’s High-Level Panel on Humanitarian Financing in February. Since then, Sherpas from leading donor countries, international organisations and NGOs have been negotiating its content.

A commitment by humanitarian actors to IATI at the WHS will mark the most significant endorsement of the initiative since providers of development cooperation signed up to the 2011 Busan Partnership Agreement.

IATI believes data on financing is essential for the improved operational efficiency and effectiveness of humanitarian action and that a lack of reliable, timely data, particularly in fast-onset emergencies, impairs planning, coordination and delivery.

IATI recently modified its Standard to meet the data needs of the humanitarian community. Version 2.02 of the IATI Standard allows organisations to mark their activities as ‘humanitarian’ and tag them to specific crises and sectors. Crucially, IATI allows for very frequent (even daily) updates of financial and logistical information to be exchanged automatically between donors, implementing agencies and coordination structures – meeting data needs in fast-onset crises.

Decision makers and humanitarian organisations can find key information on the case for reporting humanitarian assistance to IATI and how to go about publishing IATI data by reading World Humanitarian Summit briefing: Using IATI to improve operational effectiveness in humanitarian action.