Aid effectiveness indicators agreed

The final set of indicators on aid effectiveness has been agreed at a follow-up meeting of the Busan Forum in November. These indicators will form the basis of the Global Monitoring Framework for Development Assistance.

Agreement on the ten indicators, which were put forward by the UK and Rwanda, followed two days of talks. The topics agreed on included untied aid, transparency and the role of the private sector.

At aidinfo we have been watching this process carefully. We welcome the inclusion of a global transparency indicator in the post-Busan monitoring arrangements. This is a key area and one that underpins many others.

While we understand that the details are still to be worked out, it’s vital that the transparency indicator reflects in full the commitments made on transparency at Busan, to:

Implement a common, open standard for electronic publication of timely, comprehensive and forward looking information on resources provided through development co-operation, taking into account the statistical reporting of the OECD DAC and the complementary efforts of the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) and others. This standard must meet the information needs of developing countries and non state actors, consistent with national requirements.

For this to happen, an agreement must be made on what the common standard for the publication of aid information is.

The IATI standard is a result of extensive consultation with stakeholders in developing countries, and negotiated within a multi-stakeholder forum. We believe it should form the basis of a common standard.

We urge all relevant stakeholders to reach agreement on this common standard by the end of June, so that implementation of the Busan commitments on transparency can begin.