In our final 2020 Aid Transparency Index launch blog, Dr Kate Weaver of the University of Texas reflects on the influence of the Index and the limitations of the methodology. She calls for greater support to enable the Index to take the next steps in delivering the real promise of aid transparency – better, more accountable aid for all.
Only three out of ten government departments have reached the level of transparency set out in its 2015 UK Aid Strategy. Our detailed review assessed ten government departments spending significant amounts of official development assistance (ODA) and found that they all now share some data on their aid and many have improved the regularity and quantity of information they make available through the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI). However, currently only the Department for International Development (DFID), the Department of Health and Social Care and the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy meet the aid transparency targets the government is due to meet by 2020.
Throughout 2019 we have been conducting a transparency review of 10 UK government departments and two cross-government funds. As these departments have come to understand the details of our methodology, learn about the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) standard and invest in the systems and processes to enable greater transparency, there has been a steady increase in the number of departments providing data, and the comprehensiveness of this data. Consequently there is now a lot more information freely available on UK aid spending which until as recently as August was simply not available. In a new blog, Elma Jenkins reflects on the newly available data, what it tells us about UK aid spending and the many questions it raises.
We can now announce the donors that will be included in the 2020 Aid Transparency Index, along with the timeline for data collection. Two donors have been added to the donor list for next year’s Index, joining the 45 donors included in the 2018 Index.
Our latest review of blogs and reports, including a paper examining the effectiveness of the Aid Transparency Index, a new database of ‘humanitarian voices’, a focus on SDG 16 and the use of blockchain technology in service delivery
We recently attended the select committee hearing on how ODA is being managed in the UK. This was a timely event, given we are mid-way through our review of the aid transparency of all aid spending government departments in the UK. It led us to ponder “What does government accountability of international aid look like?”
