This paper from aidinfo considers the issue of transparency in aid and the role that the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) plays.
IATI, launched in Accra in September 2008, seeks to increase the transparency of aid information in order to improve the effectiveness of aid in reducing poverty.
In arguing the case for aid transparency, aidinfo states that the flow of aid should be traced at every step of the process, from the time it is released by the donor, through every organisation involved and in all geographical locations, until it reaches the ground.
Furthermore, it highlights the importance of applying transparency standards across the board, so that information available on aid is:
- timely
- published in a common format
- accessible
- comparable
- more detailed.
While the costs initially involved in increased transparency may make donors hesitant to adopt such tracing mechanisms, these costs will be outweighed by the benefits of aid traceability, and ultimately money will be saved in adopting these processes. Please see our Costs and Benefits Analysis paper for more information.
Outlining the benefits of aid transparency for all stakeholder groups, ‘Show me the Money’ explores the differing needs of each group of users involved, and emphasises the need for pilots to be undertaken to demonstrate how IATI will work for each of them in a practical sense.
With careful use of case studies and figures illustrating the debilitating nature that a lack of transparency can bring in the context of aid, this paper produces a convincing case for the adoption of IATI, providing many of the answers that signatories and donors alike ask on this detailed and technical subject.
