More resources and funding is going to the Global South than ever before. Funders like the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and FCOO (previously DfiD) have agreed that, for increased transparency, publishing to IATI is part of the contractual obligation when receiving funding. Many more donors are supporting the IATI initiative. But if you see the map you will see that most of the publishers are in the first World despite most development funds going to the Southern partners. This does not mean there’s no data published by the partners in the South. It is published but often by the partners in the North.
For IATI to be successful, inclusive and traceable, it’s important that the partners in the South publish in IATI directly. Engaging the southern partners and encouraging them to publish in IATI is not just strategic, but also coherent with IATI’s vision and mission. Providing transparency is part of the contract obligation when receiving the aid funding.
IATI was established in 2008 and at the time of writing this, there are 1206 IATI publishers. IATI publishers share information on a wide range of resources, from aid to private finance, that flow into developing countries. To plan resources effectively, governments in developing countries need to know what development and humanitarian organisations are operating in their country. They also need to know what these organisations are spending, which services they are providing and where.
We at Data4Development encourage every organisation distributing or spending funds through international delivery chains to publish IATI data. The increasing volume of investments and activities calls for urgent coordination on transparency and accountability and makes more strategic partnerships with Southern organizations critical.
Starting 2016 the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs made it a requirement for the grantees in the strategic partnerships programme on lobby and advocacy that started this year.
If you are a partner in the South and need training or support in publishing by yourself contact us.
If you are a Strategic Alliance Partner of the Dutch Ministry and based in the South, you need to start publishing your IATI data related to this funding when the funding is rewarded.
