1. International Aid Transparency Initiative – multilateral perspectives
IATI Conference in The Hague, October 2009

2. Agenda Why aid transparency?
Importance of IATI as a tool to promote mutual accountability
UNDP’s support to partner country aid information management systems
UN(DP) and transparency
IATI regional partner country consultations (June – September 2009)

3. Why aid transparency? Aid transparency supports:
Aid transparency is indispensable for development led by partner countries, empowered to make the best decisions on the aid resources they receive
Aid transparency supports:
This is a vision of development that the UN adheres to (Millennium Declaration, UN FfD, DCF)
Improved governance of aid
Enhanced predictability of aid flows
Better development policy, planning and alignment with nat. priorities

4. IATI and mutual accountability
Aid transparency underpins mutual accountability (MA)
MA frameworks at the country level have to be substantiated by an agreement on resource allocation, division of labor and monitoring of development results
The IATI standards will have to be adaptable to country- specific contexts and support national planning, budgeting, reporting and MA processes
It is important that more donor organizations and partner countries join forces in the development of the standards – broaden the partnership and deepen its impact on the ground

5. UNDP’s support to partner country AIMs
A key component of UNDP’s work in the area of aid effectiveness
Support to setting up of AIMs in over 60 partner countries across the globe (LIC, LDC, MIC, post-conflict) – from ODA tracking to tracking progress towards the MDGs, national development goals and PD indicators
Lessons learnt:
High level political support – both by PC and DPs
Tailored capacity development strategy
UNDP guidance note on AIMs, also building on IATI standards for the next “generation” of partner country AIMs

6. UN(DP) and aid transparency
UN Secretary-General’s report on the Comprehensive statistical analysis of the financing of operational activities for development of the United Nations system for The report contains data collected directly from 28 entities, compared to 7 entities for the 2007 report.
All financial, budgetary and administrative matters pertaining to UNDP and its associated funds are contained in reports to the Executive Board and in decisions of the Board, which are all publicly available on UNDP’s Board website:
ECOSOC DCF: High Level Symposium in Vienna in November 2009 seized of IATI

7. Partner Country Consultations (1)
Region
When
Host
Participating Governments
Eastern & Southern Africa
29-30 June
Rwanda
Burundi, Comoros, DRC, Malawi, Mauritius, Namibia, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Swaziland, Tanzania
Europe & CIS
6-7 July
Montenegro
Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Kosovo 1244 RSC, Kyrgyzstan, Montenegro, Ukraine, Uzbekistan
Arab States
12-13 August
Jordan
Algeria, Djibouti, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Somalia, Syria
Asia & the Pacific
27-28 August
UNDP regional Center, Bangkok, Thailand
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Korea (Republic of), Lao, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, PNG, Philippines, Solomon Islands, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Viet Nam
West & Central Africa
8-9 September
Ghana
Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Cote d’Ivoire, Congo, DRC, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Liberia, Malawi, Niger, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Togo
Latin America & the Caribbean
16-18 September
Dominican Republic
Bolivia, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Haiti, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

8. Partner Country Consultations (2)
Objectives:
Familiarize PC with IATI
Determine the priority aid information needs of PC
Gather recommendations from PC on the scope of the IATI standard, the Code of Conduct and the way forward for IATI
Feed the findings and recommendations into the research and standard development work undertaken by the IATI TAG
Define capacity development needs of PC with regard to use of aid information for better planning, budgeting, decision- making & monitoring of aid at the country level

9. Key findings & recommendations (1)
Scope of the IATI Standard:
Timely, up-to-date & reliable information about current & future aid flows
More detailed information about where, when, how, on what & in which sectors aid is spent
Better information on results and the impact of aid
Non-statistical information (donor’s strategy, policy, evaluations, etc.)
Better coverage of aid flows: OECD/DAC, non-DAC donors, multilaterals, NGOs, foundations, global funds
Information pertaining to conditions/conditionalities
Paris Declaration targets & other commonly agreed policy indicators (gender, climate change)
Contract & procurement details

10. Key findings & recommendations (2)
Code of Conduct:
Key instrument for ensuring transparency & accountability – some regions called for a legally binding document, while others not
Monitorable actions and indicators of compliance
Should be flexible & take into account country-specific needs (e.g. reporting frequency & timeframe)
Independent monitoring of compliance
Peer review is insufficient
PC should play a key role in any future monitoring mechanisms

11. Key findings & recommendations (3)
Way forward for IATI:
Ensure that more OECD/DAC and non-DAC donors are signatories to IATI
Strengthen national Aid Information Management Systems (AIMs)
Ensure better representation of PC into IATI Steering Committee & TAG, incl. regional balance
Allow sufficient time for in-country consultations on IATI
Bring the PC outreach up to scale
Make a real change in aid transparency and accountability through better aid information & compliance with the IATI Code of Conduct

12. Key findings & recommendations (4)
Capacity Development Needs of PC:
The aim of CD efforts should be to strengthen country AIMs
Issue of sustainability of AIMs (human & financial resources)
Ensure that staff have the capacity to use aid information for better planning, budgeting , decision-making & monitoring of aid
Adapt aid information to the different needs of various users (ministries of plan/finance, line ministries, parliamentarians, CSOs, citizens)
Strong need for peer (regional and across-the-globe) exchange & learning in the aid information area
Infrastructure needs in some PC

13. More information: Dasa Silovic Senior Policy Advisor
Tel
Bureau for Development Policy
Capacity Development Group
UNDP, New York
web: