Transparency &

Predictability

Busan Partnership for Effective Development CooperationPredictability

24. We will also work to make development co-operation more predictable in its nature. To this end:

a) Those of us who committed, through the Accra Agenda for Action, to improve medium-term predictability will implement fully our commitments in this area, introducing reforms where needed. By 2013, they will provide available, regular, timely rolling three- to five- year indicative forward expenditure and/or implementation plans as agreed in Accra to all developing countries with which they cooperate. Other actors will aim to provide developing countries with timely and relevant information on their intentions with regard to future co-operation over the medium-term.

Busan performanceIndicator 5a: Annual predictability

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Busan performanceIndicator 5b: Medium-term predictability

Busan Partnership for Effective Development CooperationTransparency

23. We will work to improve the availability and public accessibility of information on development co-operation and other development resources... To this end, we will:

a) Make the full range of information on publicly funded development activities… publicly available…

b) Focus, at the country level, on establishing transparent public financial management and aid information management systems…

c) Implement a common, open standard for electronic publication of timely, comprehensive and forward-looking information on resources provided through development co-operation…

Outline

• Aid transparency• The cornerstone of AE• Some principles• IATI• TR-AID• EU Donor Atlas

• Fiscal transparency• Open Government Partnership• Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency

Aid transparencyThe cornerstone of aid effectiveness

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http://www.makeaidtransparent.org/

Aid transparencyThe cornerstone of aid effectiveness

• Ownership: domestic accountability (for aid inflows)

• Accountability: tax payers in donor countries & citizens in partner countries

• Alignment by donors with partner country policies and systems and predictability

• Donor coordination, harmonisation and division of labour

• Managing for results

…are all built on the premise of data availability.

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Aid transparencySome donors do well, all can do better.2013 Aid Transparency Index

Aid transparencyAccra Agenda for Action

24 a We will make aid more transparent ... Donors will publicly disclose regular, detailed and timelyinformation on volume, allocation and, when available, results of development expenditure

25 b Beginning now, donors and developing countries will regularly make public all conditions linked to disbursements

26 b Beginning now, donors will provide full and timely information on annual commitments and actual disbursements

26 c Beginning now, donors will provide developing countries with regular and timely information on their rolling three to five year forward expenditure and/or implementation plans

Aid transparencyInternational Aid Transparency Initiative

• IATI aims to address the huge challenges faced by stakeholders in developing countries in accessing information about aid flows and activities.

• The purpose is to help implement the transparency commitments made in the Accra Agenda for Action.

• IATI is a voluntary, multi-stakeholder initiative that includes donors, partner countries and CSOs.

• IATI aims to add value by agreeing standards for sharing information.

• IATI has developed and agreed a common, open, international standard – the IATI standard. This sets guidelines for publishing information about aid spending. IATI will not create a new database.

37 signatories > 80% ODAAdaptation Fund, African Development Bank, Asian Development Bank, CDC, EC, Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation, Global Environment Facility, The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, Hewlett Foundation, Inter-American Development Bank, International Fund for Agricultural Development, UNCDF, UNICEF, UNDP, UN-HABITAT, ILO, OCHA, UNOPS, UNFPA, UN Women, World Bank, World Food ProgrammeAustralia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, UK, USA

22 partner country endorsers 213 publishers

Aid transparencyInternational Aid Transparency Initiative

• Open to all stakeholders in the aid world

• Quantitative and qualitative aid information

• Past observations and future projections

• Quarterly updating

• Partner country budget identifier

Aid transparencyInternational Aid Transparency Initiative

Aid transparencyIATI objectives

1. What will be published, for example detailed project information, expected outputs and outcomes, and conditions

2. Common definitions for sharing information, to enable better comparability between donors and countries

3. Common electronic XML data format, that will facilitate the sharing of aid information, and reduce transaction costs

4. Framework for Implementation) and individual implementation schedules how & when to publish and monitoring framework

5. Central registry and technical support

Aid transparencyIATI aid data in XML format

- <iati-activity xml:lang="en" default-currency="GBP" hierarchy="1">  <reporting-org ref="GB-1" type="10">Department for International Development</reporting-org>   <participating-org ref="GB" type="10" role="Funding">UNITED KINGDOM</participating-org>   <participating-org ref="GB-1" type="10" role="Extending">Department for International Development</participating-org>   <iati-identifier>GB-1-107367</iati-identifier>   <title>Bangladesh Budget Support for Roads and Highways Department</title>   <description>Improved systems for road maintenance operational</description>   <activity-date type="end-actual">2009-08-31Z</activity-date>   <activity-date type="end-planned">2009-08-31Z</activity-date>   <activity-date type="start-actual">2004-09-01Z</activity-date>   <activity-date type="start-planned">2004-09-01Z</activity-date>   <activity-status code="4">Post-completion</activity-status> - <contact-info>  <organisation>Department for International Development</organisation>   <telephone>+44 (0) 1355 84 3132</telephone>   <email>enquiry@dfid.gov.uk</email>   <mailing-address>Public Enquiry Point, Abercrombie House, Eaglesham Road, East Kilbride, Glasgow G75 8EA</mailing-address>   </contact-info>  <default-tied-status code="5">Untied</default-tied-status>   <related-activity ref="GB-1-107367-101" type="2">SECTORBUDGETSUPPORT and P0050 for Bangladesh Budget Support for Roads and Highways Department</related-activity>   <related-activity ref="GB-1-107367-102" type="2">PROCOFSERVICES and P0050 for Bangladesh Budget Support for Roads and Highways Department</related-activity>   <related-activity ref="GB-1-107367-103" type="2">NOTFORPROFITORG and P0050 for Bangladesh Budget Support for Roads and Highways Department</related-activity>   <related-activity ref="GB-1-107367-104" type="2">Accountable Grant AG4679: BANGLADESH ROAD PAVEMENT DESIGN PROJECT</related-activity>   </iati-activity>

Before IATI: aid opacity

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After IATI: aid transparency

Aid transparencyBusan commitment

§23 c) Implement a common, open standard for electronic publication of timely, comprehensive and forward-looking information on resources provided through development cooperation, taking into account the statistical reporting of the OECD-DAC and the complementary efforts of the IATI and others. This standard must meet the information needs of developing countries and non-state actors, consistent with national requirements. We will agree on this standard and publish our respective schedules to implement it by December 2012, with the aim of implementing it fully by December 2015.

Aid transparencyImplementation status

All COM services dealing with external aid (DEVCO, ELARG, FPI, ECHO) now publish through IATI.

Aid transparencyInternational Aid Transparency Initiative

Busan performanceIndicator 4: Aid transparency

Timeliness – considerable room for progressData needs to be published much more quickly and regularly: in most cases, data is only published once a year and is already six-to-nine months old.

Level of detail – a good startThe provider community is halfway to providing information for the common standard fields. Some providers do not even publish basic information, such as activity start dates.

Forward-looking information – more efforts neededMuch more effort is needed to achieve widespread publication of detailed forward-looking information for activities.

Busan performanceIndicator 4: Aid transparency

Aid transparencyEU Aid Explorer• EU Aid Explorer is an EU donors' coordination tool

developed by the European Commission with the primary objective of facilitating the sharing of aid funding data amongst EU donors, so that the data can be used in a decision making capacity across all stages of the funding lifecycle.

• EU Aid Explorer is a web-based system that combines data from multiple sources into its own database. It allows the publication of comprehensive information about development and humanitarian aid from a number of sources. 

• EU Aid Explorer was launched as a beta version in Nov 2013 for testing. Full launch is planned for 2014.

Aid transparencyEU Aid Explorer

IATI aid data delivered as aid information

Fiscal transparency

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Fiscal TransparencyOpen Budget Index 2012

Fiscal transparencyGlobal Initiative for Fiscal Transparency

The Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency (GIFT) is a multi-stakeholder action network, working to:“advance and institutionalize global norms and significant, continuous improvements in fiscal transparency, engagement, and accountability in countries around the world.”

Fiscal transparencyGlobal Initiative for Fiscal Transparency

Stakeholders from across sectors and regions have become “Stewards” of GIFT, since its initiation in July 2011:Governments: Office of the Comptroller General (OCG), Brazil; Department of Budget & Management (DBM), Philippines; Department of the Treasury, USA;

International Organizations: World Bank (WB); International Monetary Fund (IMF); Inter- Parliamentary Union (IPU); Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD);

Funders/Foundations: Hewlett Foundation, Omidyar Network, Ford Foundation, Department for International Development (DfID), Transparency and Accountability Initiative;

Civil Society Organizations: International Budget Partnership (IBP); Centre for Public Integrity (CIP)-Mozambique; FUNDAR-Mexico; Greenpeace International; and ONE.

Fiscal transparencyGlobal Initiative for Fiscal Transparency

The GIFT Stewards have agreed to a set of GIFT “Working Principles” as a foundation for GIFT:• Outcomes-focused action-orientation;• Action agenda based on potential for high leverage and scaled impact

over time, with sequencing from potential early victories to more ambitious opportunities and outcomes;

• Mutual recognition, collaborative engagement and sufficient consensus among stakeholders to determine priority outcomes and action agendas over time;

• Support structures and processes that remain nimble and adaptive to seize emergent opportunities while optimizing transparency and inclusiveness;

• Collective monitoring, learning, assessment and course-correction for efficiency and effectiveness.

GIFT’s Action-Agenda is organized and implemented around four Working Groups:

1. Aligning Incentives Working Group2. Advancing Global Norms Working Group3. Technical Assistance & Capacity Building Working Gr

oup 4. Harnessing New Technologies Working Group

Fiscal transparencyGlobal Initiative for Fiscal Transparency

• On Sept. 20, 2011 Brazil, Indonesia, Mexico, Norway, Philippines, South Africa, UK and USA launched OGP with their endorsements of an Open Government Declaration and announcements of their country action plans. Membership has now grown to 60 countries.

• Mexico communiqué annex 31: « All Busan endorsers eligible for the OGP but not currently participating should join in 2014. »

Fiscal transparencyOpen Government Partnership

• OGP is a global effort to make governments more transparent, accountable and effective.

• OGP uses political leadership, collaboration between governments and civil society, and technical knowledge to achieve these objectives.

• The OGP Networking Mechanism’s mission is to introduce governments to peer governments, non-governmental groups, and private companies with experience, skill sets, and technology that can assist governments with conceptualizing and implementing ambitious best practice open government commitments and reforms.

Fiscal transparencyOpen Government Partnership

1. Initiate consultations with domestic stakeholders, consistent with the principles of the Open Government Partnership

2. Use the networking mechanism to develop ideas for concrete commitments

3. Begin the process of developing concrete country commitments

4. Participate in an OGP peer engagement meeting5. Deliver an action plan and endorse the OGP

Fiscal transparencyOGP new country guidance & timeline

Country X aspires to be at the vanguard of reform when it comes to transparent management of its natural resources, in particular its extractive resources. Already an Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) member, the government is savvy around issues of extractives transparency but approaches the OGP Networking Mechanism for assistance in thinking through specific sub-national transparency reforms in key regions of the country that are mineral-rich. The Networking Mechanism Case Manager connects the government with both the Revenue Watch Institute (RWI) as well as two local-level non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in neighboring countries that have worked with their respective local and national governments to develop and implement best practices at the sub-national level for promoting extractives transparency. The Case Manager also connects a tech company with a local NGO that is interested in using geo-referencing software to help Country X map its natural resource concessions in tandem with other local NGOs.  Following intensive virtual and in-person consultations with RWI, the tech company, and the local NGOs, the government crafts a cutting-edge set of sub-national transparency reforms that it commits to in March 2012.

Fiscal transparencyOGP Hypothetical illustration

Mexico, a transparency recipe that worksThe price for a kilo of tortillas, setting up a doctor’s appointment, comparisons between different credit card companies, recommendations for preventing road accidents, checking a lawyer’s credentials— this is the sort of detailed, citizen-focused information that is increasingly becoming available on Mexican government websites thanks to a new transparency policy labeled "targeted transparency.“

The Philippine Good Governance and Anti-Corruption Plan:Three pillars of open governance—transparency, accountability, and participation—form the basis for the Plan, with each pillar encompassing action-oriented programs and representing a commitment to the OGP principles at all levels of government.

The Ukrainian Civic Partnership:The goal of the Ukrainian OGP Civic Partnership is to use what they view as the currently untapped potential of civil society organizations to implement open government measures in the Ukraine. 

Fiscal transparencyOGP Stories