The Global Movement for Aid Transparency continues to gather pace. The key focus of current efforts is the International Aid Transparency Initiative.  Recognising the demand for greater access to aid information, a number of governments – led by the UK and the Netherlands – launched the initiative, whereby signatories commit to “working towards better matching the demand for aid information with the supply of that information and to establishing a common format for publishing information on aid by 2010.”

Here are some examples of the work being done across the globe to promote the aid transparency agenda: 

• AidData –

AidData is a searchable repository of development projects and programs providing high-quality information on aid activities, enabling better coordination efforts and impact assessment

• Access Info  –

Access Info is a Madrid-based partner organisation advocating greater transparency and access to information in Europe, and to the development of these rights globally. Access Info and Publish What You Fund are working closely together to harness the knowledge and technical expertise of the Freedom of Information movement.

• AidInfo  –

aidinfo, (based within Development Initiatives) is working with the international development community to create a publicly accessible online format that opens up comparable, comprehensive, detailed, flexible, timely and transparent data about aid. aidinfo is supporting the International Aid Transparency Initiative through background technical work.

• Canadian International Development Agency  –

Since 2004, the Canadian International Development Agency has been required to disclose all disbursements of $10,000CAN and over. Their website contains country-specific information on all CIDA projects.

• Centre for Global Development  –

The Centre for Global Development has undertaken work on an aid quality index, which will consist of an annual report on the quality of aid distributed by donors.

• Counter Balance  –

Counter Balance is a European campaign challenging the transparency of the European Investment Bank.

• DATA Report  –

The 2008 Data Report has made an assessment of the performance of the G7 in terms of aid effectiveness.

• Debt Relief International  – 

Debt Relief International and the Overseas Development Institute are developing a series of Guides to Donor Practices, which currently covers 48 Countries with plans to add another 30 by the end of the year.

• Development Research Institute  –

The Development Research Institute at New York University has established a programme of research on aid and accountability, which includes the AidWatch blog.

• European AidWatch  –

In its annual report, European AidWatch made an assessment of the aid effectiveness of EU donors, by monitoring and advocating on the performance of EU governments on quantity and quality of aid.

• Fondation-Prometheus  –

Fondation-Prometheus is a French ‘Do-Tank’ who publish an annual barometer on the relative transparency of NGOs and not-for-profits

• German Marshall Fund –

The German Marshall Fund's Transatlantic Taskforce on Development has released its report which examines “development cooperation on a transatlantic basis”1 and the role of development in the modern world.

• Global Development Commons  –

Global Development Commons promotes the use of new innovations and technology to enhance the sharing of knowledge with southern communities. This includes the use of mobile technology to improve data mapping techniques.

• Global Transparency Initiative  –

The Global Transparency Initiative has been working for some time campaigning for enhanced transparency of the International Financial Institutions (in addition to general collaboration have discussed collaborating on the forthcoming World Bank disclosure policy).

• GrantsFire  –

GrantsFire is an online database of charitable grants, where grant-makers upload data via a standardised html format.

• International Budget Partnership  –

is responsible for the Open Budget Initiative, which publishes an index of public access to budget information.

• OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC)  –

DAC is undertaking a range of initiatives to improve the quality of data it collates and publishes – the new Country Programmable Aid dataset is particularly significant and strips out spending that is not spent or predictable at a country level. The Creditor Reporting System gathers, collates and publishes ODA data from DAC countries, whilst QWIDS (Query Wizard for International Development Statistics) is a new interface mechanism for users of DAC and CRS statistics.

• Oxfam America  –

Oxfam America is undertaking a major programme of research and advocacy on ‘ownership’ within a framework and is promoting information and transparency of aid as a first step to improving recipient country ownership.

• Project-Level Aid Database (PLAID)  –

PLAID is building on the DAC data to improve categorization of projects and keyword searching of project purposes and activities. The PLAID database currently encompasses over 700,000 multilateral and bilateral donor projects, (it is currently unavailable to the public due to reconstruction).

• TR-AID  –

TR-AID is a data-gathering mechanism run by the EC Joint Research Centre. It undertakes research and mapping exercises on aid flows in order to help major aid donors share information more effectively.

• United Nations Development Cooperation Forum  –

The UN Development Cooperation Forum assists ECOSOC in coordinating data on South-South aid flows and analysing the relationship between aid transparency and mutual accountability.

This international-level work builds on a range of national level transparency and reporting initiatives. At the country level, more than 50 different aid management systems have been implemented across the developing world. These include the Aid Management Platforms, Development Assistance Databases, as well as numerous bespoke country-level systems.