Welcome to the latest roundup of news from the world of aid and development finance transparency.

Last chance to be part of the 2026 Aid Transparency Index

The deadline is approaching!
Please register by 30^th September if your agency wishes to feature in the 2026 Aid Transparency Index. The Index offers the opportunity to improve your aid and development transparency and gain recognition for your commitment and performance. Participating agencies will gain:

✅ A full assessment
✅ Tailored training
✅ Peer support
✅ Accreditation for your transparency efforts

Do get in touch if you would like to discuss this opportunity.

Thanks to all the agencies who have already registered. Look out for a big announcement on who’ll be participating in early October.

Download the information pack for more details.

New dates announced for training on aid and development data

Over 160 people have attended our free training sessions on using international aid and development data. They have described it as “clear and informative”, ”a helpful introduction to IATI data” and “a nicely paced overview, not overwhelming.”

Join us to discover how to track global development funding. In one hour, we’ll introduce you to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI)—the leading global open aid dataset. Learn how to access and navigate over a million development, humanitarian, and climate projects to support your research, planning, fundraising, advocacy, or campaigning.

Book now for the next available dates:

📅 Monday 22 September, 2.30pm BST

📅 Monday 6 October, 11.00am BST

📅 Monday 20 October, 2.30pm BST

Book your place

Other news

Here’s a quick roundup of other news and publications we’ve been reading over the last few weeks:

The Lowy Institute has published its latest Southeast Asia Aid Map which highlights the impact that major US and European aid cuts will have on low-income countries in the region. The interactive database tracks and maps aid and development finance flows from the international community to Southeast Asia. It shows that Australia continues to provide targeted assistance in areas such as gender, climate, and disability, but its overall ODA contribution remains low compared to other OECD countries. The Lowy Institute warns that without renewed commitments from western donors, long-term climate adaptation and poverty reduction efforts in Southeast Asia may suffer.

This article from CAPAIDS reflects on its engagement with local actors in Uganda on what is going well and not so well in development, highlighting some of the shortcomings of the current aid ecosystem which are holding back locally led development. Local communities identified eight recommendations, including ensuring transparency and accountability – “donors and intermediaries must be held accountable to help promote quantity, quality and data transparency of local funding”. Another recommendation was to practice zero tolerance for corruption and resource grabbing.

Development Policy Centre has launched the 2025 Australian Aid
Transparency Audit. It finds that, after a long period of deterioration, in 2025 Australian aid transparency improved considerably. These improvements were largely driven by Australia’s new AusDevPortal. While there is a lot of good aid information on the portal, the audit finds a few areas that could be improved, such as more time series data and easier data downloads. The audit recognises the important role of the support of politicians and senior staff at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in driving transparency improvements. The Australian Minister for International Development has written powerfully about the importance of transparency to the government, and for building trust and openness in its development programme.

The Trust, Accountability, and Inclusion Collaborative has released a new interactive dashboard tracking five years of governance-related funding (2019–2023). The data show sharp fluctuations, with disbursements rising by 36% between 2019 and 2022 before declining in 2023. The dashboard allows users to explore trends across regions, sectors, and funders, offering a clearer picture of how resources for transparency, participation, and accountability are allocated.

Human Rights Funders Network (HRFN) has analysed the projected decline in funding for global human rights movements, driven by cuts to foreign aid and growing instability in philanthropic support. The report synthesises data from various sources to assess the impact of these converging pressures on human rights initiatives and identifies ways for funders to respond. HRFN estimates that human rights-focused ODA will decrease by between US$1.4 billion (22%) and US$1.9 billion (31%) by 2026 as compared to 2023. The analysis suggests that the cuts will have a profound effect on the infrastructure of civic space and human rights.

A study by the German Institute of Development and Sustainability (IDOS), published in Development Policy Review, examines whether increased aid transparency leads to greater government effectiveness and public understanding and trust. Based on an examination of German international aid, the study’s findings suggest that, while donors assume a virtuous transparency loop, the reality can resemble a fragile transparency loop that is easily disrupted. Governments may withhold information; mediators may spread misinformation; and the public may not receive information neutrally. The authors find that these dynamics may explain why, despite increasing transparency, donors may not achieve the intended increases in government effectiveness and public trust. The study concludes that donors should find a balanced approach to aid transparency that upholds democratic accountability while avoiding information overload, tailoring disclosures to different audiences.

ODI Global has released new analysis which shows the recent US and EU aid cuts and higher US tariffs pose a significant threat to the global economy. Low- and middle-income countries may lose US$39 billion in aid in 2025, and US$89 billion worth of exports annually if US demand falls due to high tariffs – the combined effect reaching 0.7% of GDP. Burundi, South Sudan, and Lebanon were identified as at risk of feeling the worst effects of this double shock.

The International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) will be holding its Members’ Assembly and Community Exchange on 26-27 November 2025 in Nairobi, Kenya.

Access Info Europe has released a study comparing access to information (ATI) frameworks in 15 European countries, all of which operate public request platforms. The analysis measured how well national laws align with the Council of Europe’s Tromsø Convention and other international standards. The resulting ranking was topped by Ukraine and Croatia, with Germany and Belgium at the bottom. One of the key findings is that more recent laws (2010s–2020s) tend to be stronger than older laws.

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