The report uses data from the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI); aid flow traceability throughout the implementation chain is a key part of IATI, which provides up-to-date and reliable aid data to improve accountability, coordination and effectiveness. More than 600 development organisations publish to the IATI Standard, but there remains a traceability gap that stems from limited IATI reporting by international NGOs and organisations implementing most aid activities. To enhance traceability the report recommends that the US government follows the lead of other donors (such as governments of the Netherlands and the UK) and insists that its implementers publish to IATI.
The methodology developed for this study was created by Simon Parrish, who worked at the forefront of IATI and open data for many years as part of DI’s team, and this paper is dedicated to his memory. A forthcoming Oxfam–DI methodology note will provide further elaboration of the ‘follow the money’ procedures that Simon developed for the report. Later this year, Oxfam will publish a study using the same methods to explore the traceability of Swedish aid to Tanzania between 2013 and 2015.
Read the report on the Oxfam website
Photo: Feed My Starving Children
