Better information, better aid
Better information, better aid
Better information, better aid
Andrew Mitchell's announcement of a full UK aid transparency guarantee and a new independent watchdog is welcome news. (Audio of speechhere.)
In this blog, we have argued that recipients need to be able to give better feedback to aid agencies on whether goods and services actually reach the end of the track.
Andrew Mitchell's announcement today addresses another of the information failures the opacity of aid spending decisions.
We often discuss aid in terms of percents of GNI and billion dollar targets for this or that sector, but what specific projects and programs is that aid actually being spent on? It's not always been very clear. And if its not clear what the aid is being spent on, how can the aid agencies be held properly accountable?
This is why the aid transparency announcement is so important. It potentially provides both the givers and recipients of aid with valuable information that can be used to appraise the spending decisions of aid agencies, and monitor and evaluate their impact.
The UK Aid Transparency Guarantee will help to create a million independent aid watchdogs people around the world who can see where aid money is supposed to be going and shout if it doesn't get there.
The Guarantee commits us to publishing full information about DFID projects and programmes on our website in a way that is user-friendly and meaningful.
Over time, we want to make that information available, in an open and standardised format to the people who depend on the funding: the communities and families living in poor countries. Knowledge is indeed, power.
The simple act of publishing information can help us achieve many of our most important development aims. It reduces the risk of corruption and waste. It improves the quality of public services and increases public sector accountability.
But while access to information is necessary, it is not sufficient. Here are a few ideas on how to catalyze better use of new data streams.
Crunching the numbers. The best way DFID can share aid spending information is to publish raw data (as Owen Barder argues elsewhere) - broken down by projects, countries, sectors in a format that third parties can easily access and import. This kind of information is tough to analyze, so what is needed is a data savvy crowd to crunch through the numbers and flag up patterns, trends and issues of possible concern.
Smart apps. Data analysis can be helped through the development of applications which enable an non-tech audience to make sense of and analyse the data. The GapMinder software for analyzing WDI data is an excellent example of a tool for visualising data, and the World Bank's global apps for developmentcompetition is a smart way for donors to encourage private innovation in this area.
Discourse on data. There also needs to be fora for discussing what the data means for aid effectiveness and to feed this back into the policy and program design process. Tim Harford's terrific show More or Less on Radio 4 is a good example of the kind of scrutiny that is required for aid statistics.
The new government's commitment to aid transparency is a welcome step forward. Active citizens and NGOs now need to seize this opportunity to improve aid effectiveness and help end poverty.
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