Beyond
Busan A Report on Canada’s Progress Toward More Transparent Foreign Aid
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Contents Report Summary
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A Message from EWB
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Introduction
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Canada’s Road to IATI
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What’s Next: Moving from Words to Action
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Update: Engineers Without Borders Canada and IATI
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Nothing worth doing is easy: Challenges to IATI implementation
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The Road Ahead: Canada’s Role in Shaping the Future of Global Aid Transparency
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Conclusion
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Additional Resources
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Report Summary In November 2011, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) signed on to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI). The international aid transparency community has welcomed this and other steps that Canada has taken toward more transparent aid. However, most are reserving further comment until Canada provides more detail about its strategy to follow through with these commitments. This will likely come in the form of CIDA’s IATI implementation schedule, which is scheduled for release in December 2012. This report begins by outlining the history of aid transparency in Canada
and abroad. Next, it provides an overview of where CIDA and Engineers Without Borders Canada (EWB) currently are in their implementations of the IATI standard. Then, it explores several challenges to IATI implementation—and to the broader evolution of the aid transparency movement as a whole— that Canada, EWB, and others have encountered since committing to more transparent aid. The report concludes by illustrating the opportunity and responsibility that Canada has to take a leadership role in addressing the challenges to IATI implementation and helping to shape the future of global aid transparency.
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A Message from EWB At Engineers Without Borders Canada (EWB), we have always believed that how aid dollars are spent is just as important as how much money is given.
But aid transparency alone is not the solution.
The international economic crisis has led to a de-prioritization of efforts This is precisely why strengthening to reduce global poverty. In the 2012 aid transparency is so critical: by being Federal Budget, Canada announced more honest about our successes and it was reducing the international failures, we’re able to improve the development assistance budget by $780 effectiveness of aid and help accelerate million over the next three years. In this global development. time of fiscal restraint and uncertainty, how we spend our aid dollars truly Over the past two and a half years, matters more than ever. EWB has worked to inform and engage Canadians about the importance of Minister of International Cooperation transparent aid. As a result of our Julian Fantino has said that he intends efforts, over 25,000 Canadians from to put emphasis on “making sure every coast to coast called on the Government nickel we [CIDA] spend... is accounted of Canada to join the International Aid for, and that we are receiving the most Transparency Initiative (IATI). Since significant outcomes possible.” EWB we also believe it’s vital to walk the looks forward to seeing Canada set the walk, last year EWB became the second pace in demonstrating this, by following non-governmental organization in through on CIDA’s aid transparency the world to commit to, and begin commitments and continuing to lead publishing in compliance with, the IATI the effort to make aid more effective. standard. On November 28, 2011, the hard work and perseverance of thousands of Canadian citizens was significantly James Haga strengthened when Canada Director of Advocacy, announced we would join other Engineers Without Borders Canada leading donors and sign on to IATI.
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Introduction On November 28, 2011, at the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF4) in Busan, South Korea, the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) officially became the 23rd signatory to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI).
CIDA’s commitment to IATI is an incredible move toward aid transparency and accountability in Canada, and the aid sector as a whole. But there is still much to do. IATI provides the framework and incentive for donors and implementing organizations to publicly release information on how foreign aid dollars are spent. However, data alone is not enough to make transparency and accountability—and ultimately, more effective aid—a reality.
IATI aims to improve aid effectiveness by making information about aid flows and activities easier to access and understand for all stakeholders, particularly those in developing countries. IATI facilitates this by requiring its members to publish their foreign aid data consistently So, the question becomes: what next? and publicly, using one detailed and comparable format: the IATI standard. It has now been over six months since Canada signed on to IATI. What’s CIDA’s decision to sign on to IATI was happened since? Has joining IATI made as part of the Government of sparked tangible reform, or simply Canada’s broader Open Government quieted dissent? What does Canada agenda, which saw Canada place need to do to continue improving the significant emphasis on improving effectiveness of the aid we support? government transparency throughout 2011. As part of this focus, CIDA This report provides an overview of launched an Open Data portal in March the progress Canada has made toward 2011. Since CIDA was already publicly increasing the transparency and publishing its project data, signing on accountability of our foreign aid, and sets the stage for the next steps our to IATI seems a logical next step. country needs to take in order to ensure that increased transparency leads to But it is not the final step. improved development results.
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Canada’s Road to IATI 2008
September
The International Aid Tra Initiative (IATI) is launch Ghana. IATI is a voluntar stakeholder initiative tha aid more effective by esta common, open, internati for publishing more, and information about aid.
2010 March 17
2011
February
During Canada’s 41st federal election campaign, EWB engages 95% of all candidates, asking that each include support for Canada signing on to IATI in their party’s platform.
Minister Stockwell Day, President of the Treasury Board and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway, announces the launch of a year-long, country-wide pilot of Canada’s Open Government Initiative. The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) launches its Open Data portal, which makes project-level statistics and information on international aid activities available to the public.
April 18
Following a meeting between EWB and The Globe and Mail’s editorial board, the editorial in today’s paper states that “Canada must join the International Aid Transparency Initiative”.
Fo be Glo bo tod tha the Tr
Sep
2012
April 12
April 20
The Honourable Tony Clement releases Canada’s Action Plan on Open Government. This document sets out a three-year plan for the implementation of IATI, which is:
Canada announces its support for the Open Aid Partnership and commits to providing $1 million to the initiative over the next three years, making CIDA the largest partner donor to date.
• Year 1: review all IATI requirements and publish our plan to make CIDA data available and accessible • Years 2 and 3: implementation and reporting.
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Th offi to Pa mu tra th
l Aid Transparency s launched in Accra, oluntary, multiative that aims to make e by establishing a nternational standard ore, and better, ut aid.
June
Ongoing: until 2011
EWB launches the Accountability, Creativity, Transparency (ACT) Campaign, which marks the beginning of our work on aid transparency.
EWB meets with 140+ MPs, Canada-wide, to raise their awareness about the importance of aid transparency and recommend practical policy solutions.
June 14: Day of Action on Parliament Following a meetingHill between EWB and The Globe and Mail’s editorial board, the editorial in today’s paper states that “Canada must join the International Aid Transparency Initiative”.
November 11
November 28
EWB becomes the second NGO in the world to publish its aid data to the IATI standard.
At the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, South Korea, the Government of Canada announces we will sign on to IATI.
September 20
October
October 30
The Government of Canada officially announces its intent to join the Open Government Partnership, a multiyear, multilateral government transparency initiative led by the United States and Brazil.
EWB becomes the first beta tester for the Open Aid Register
EWB presents to the Parliamentary Finance Committee on IATI as part of the government’s 2012 Federal Budget consultations.
October 18
EWB leads a 24-hour blitz, during which over 10,000 Canadians online and at events in 18 cities across the country ask their MPs and the Government of Canada to sign on to IATI.
At the time of writing...
IATI has 31 signatories 7
What’s Next: Moving from Words to Action After an organization becomes an IATI member, its next task is to create an implementation schedule that outlines how and when its data will be published to the IATI standard.
thus far. The sentiment seems to be that, although CIDA was not an early adopter, when the organization did commit to IATI it was with a great deal of thoughtfulness.
CIDA is set to release its IATI Isabel Bucknell, member of the IATI implementation schedule in December Technical Advisory Group and Program Advisor at AidInfo, admits that 2012. Canada’s three-year timeframe could Until then, the information we have be shorter from an AidInfo perspective. about CIDA’s planned approach is However, she appreciates the effort limited to the brief overview provided that Canada is making to understand in the Government of Canada’s Action the depth of the IATI standard and its Plan on Open Government. Here, we requirements, saying “we [at IATI] are learn that CIDA has set a three-year very impressed with CIDA’s attention timeframe for IATI implementation. to detail… we would love organizations 2012 is dedicated to reviewing the to be ambitious, but if they’re making IATI requirements and developing sure it [IATI] becomes an effective an implementation schedule. 2013 process, that’s almost more important and 2014 will then be focused on than trying to do it within a week.” implementing that schedule. That said, most parties are waiting to Representatives of the aid transparency see CIDA’s implementation schedule community express a considerable before making further judgments respect for Canada’s approach to IATI about Canada’s commitment to IATI.
2012
December
CIDA is set to release its IATI implementation schedule.
2013 & 2014
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CIDA focused on executing its IATI implementation schedule.
Update: Engineers Without Borders and IATI In November 2011, Engineers Without Borders Canada (EWB) became the second nongovernmental organization (NGO) in the world to publish its data to the IATI standard. Since then, we have been equipping ourselves to be fully compliant with IATI standards. The first step in our implementation plan was to run a pilot with our Water and Sanitation (WatSan) team in Malawi. The key pieces of knowledge we hope to gain from this pilot are: 1. How to identify and create the organizational and technical systems needed to support effective implementation of the IATI standard; 2. What is needed to cultivate a strong buy-in to IATI and the accompanying data collection processes within a field-based team; and
will be integral to our ability to support the implementation of the IATI standard by the remainder of our African teams. The WatSan team has already published to a base level of IATI compliance. By mid-summer 2012, we expect the WatSan pilot to be at a high level of IATI compliance. At that time, we will finalize our strategy to expand IATI compliance across all of our African teams. Our goal is to have all of our African teams reach at least a base level of IATI compliance by October 2012. EWB is also developing IATI-compliant systems for our National Office Administration team and preparing to make relevant changes to our accounting systems, in order to facilitate EWB’s long-term compliance with the IATI standard.
3. An assessment and strategy to improve the National Office’s capacity to manage the implementation and organizational change processes.
Institutionalizing IATI compliance hasn’t been easy for EWB. It’s a massive undertaking that requires a substantial investment of time and resources, and significant organizational change to do properly and sustainably.
In this way, the WatSan pilot is central to helping us develop a strong base of experience, which
But we believe it’s worth the effort, because we believe in the value of truly transparent aid.
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1 The complexity of institutionalizing the collection and dissemination of data.
Nothing Worth Doing Is Easy: Challenges to IATI Implementation The emphasis on awaiting CIDA’s implementation schedule seems borne from a widespread acknowledgement that there are significant challenges that come with the practical application of the IATI standard. There are three key hurdles that have been noted:
In addition to these challenges accompanying IATI implementation, there are two broader issues that IATI and the aid transparency movements are currently turning their attention toward:
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It’s no simple task to create and implement the processes to collect, manage, and publish data to the IATI standard. Complex organizational changes need to happen at a variety of levels, which can be a particular challenge for large and geographically dispersed institutions. As a result, implementation strategies vary widely across current IATI signatories. Some have chosen to publish partial data very quickly, focusing on rapidly publishing their available data to the IATI standard now, and working to improve quality
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and processes later. Others, like CIDA, have delayed immediate publishing and opted to take more time with the initial planning stages, in an effort to engrain the entire process in the fabric of their institution from the get-go. It’s too early to tell which approach will prove most effective in the long term, since no signatory has yet published to the full breadth and depth required by the IATI standard. But if there’s one thing all stakeholders agree upon, it’s that implementing IATI completely and effectively won’t happen overnight.
Officially establishing IATI as the Busan Standard.
At the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness (HLF4), a commitment was made to develop an internationally accepted standard for publishing aid data: the Busan Standard. While this standard is generally held to be one and the same as the IATI standard, this has yet to be made official. As a result, the
item at the top of IATI’s agenda for this year is negotiating with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)’s Development Assistance Committee (DAC) to have the IATI standard officially become the Busan Standard. IATI aims to have this agreement solidified by fall 2012.
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The need to change ideas about when data is ‘fit’ for publication. Adding another layer of difficulty to the required organizational changes are institutions’ existing notions about what kinds of data are suitable to be released to the public, and how questions about that data are to be addressed. “The idea of publishing planning information, information that has not been audited or checked is… a real cultural shift for people,” says Bucknell. Since getting buy-in from staff is central to successful organizational change, this is a challenge that EWB, CIDA, and other IATI signatories need to consciously address within their broader implementation plans.
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The lack of comprehensive implementation support systems. “The IATI Secretariat funding for this financial year is by no means secure,” says Andrew Clarke of Publish What You Fund. “This is very constraining for support and implementation.” IATI’s limited funding and small staff are becoming increasingly stretched with the rapid and continuing increase in signatories since the 2011 HLF4 in Busan. Further, IATI currently sees itself more as a facilitator when it comes to implementation. As a result, while IATI is in the process of developing a tool to measure the quality of signatories’ compliance, creating these sorts of mechanisms is not its primary focus. Instead, the organization
is looking to signatories and supporters to help each other with implementation. Bucknell believes that this approach will be more effective in the long run. “A centralized support model is never going to be successful in maintaining such a large community,” she says. “Right now, we’re trying to understand what [our support model] is going to look like.” One idea currently being explored is a certification system that would create a pool of official IATI implementation support organizations. However, no concrete plans are currently in place and it remains to be seen who will fill this gap, and how.
Increasing the diversity of IATI signatories.
In order to provide a truly accurate picture of the complexity of aid funding flows, IATI needs to be adopted throughout the full breadth and depth of the aid sector.
That means: a) expanding beyond official bilateral and multilateral donors, which currently make up the majority of IATI signatories, to include civil society, non-governmental, and private sector stakeholders, and
b) significantly increasing the participation of stakeholders based in recipient countries.
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The Road Ahead: Canada’s Role in Shaping the Future of Global Aid Transparency CIDA is uniquely positioned to take a leadership role in addressing the challenges faced by IATI and its signatories. In so doing, Canada also has the opportunity to become an even more powerful voice for increased international aid effectiveness. There are four key ways that Canada can demonstrate its leadership right now:
1 Actively support the adoption of IATI as the Busan Standard.
2 Lead by example with the production of high quality data. CIDA has expressed a strong commitment to producing high quality data, and we look forward to seeing more detail about how CIDA will approach this task in their implementation schedule. It is also important that CIDA not focus solely on the quality of its own data, but also support other signatories in publishing similarly robust information. One way that CIDA can do this is by openly sharing experiences and lessons learned—both successes and failures—with the IATI community, so that stakeholders can learn, improve, and evolve together. For instance, CIDA will be the first signatory to publish information in two languages. “We’re interested in learning from Canada how IATI can be implemented in multiple languages,” says Bucknell. “This is a new thing for us [the IATI Secretariat] and we could learn a lot from their implementation.”
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3 Push other aid sector actors to adopt transparency commitments. In IATI meetings, CIDA has expressed support for expanding and improving the diversity of IATI signatories, and we are proud that Canada is being vocal about this gap. However, CIDA has the ability to do more than just draw attention to this issue. Particularly as a member of the Open Government Partnership, Canada has both the forum and the clout to champion the importance of transparency and accountability to increasing aid effectiveness. As a result, Canada has a responsibility to take a leadership role in convincing other donors and ‘non-traditional’ (i.e. private sector) actors in the aid sector, particularly those from emerging economies, to sign on to IATI.
4 Support the clear and creative communication of IATI data. “Data is pretty useless on its own,” admits Bucknell. “There’s a risk that money goes into getting data out there, but the data just sits there because no one is funding ‘translation.’” Canada is already taking a leadership role in the ‘translation’ of IATI data, as a partner of and largest external donor to the World Bank Institute’s Open Aid Partnership (OAP). Still in its early stages, OAP focuses on using geomapping software to create maps of IATI data. The goal is to make IATI data easier to understand, with a particular focus on communicating with recipient stakeholders at all levels, from government institutions to donor and recipient country citizens. CIDA has been geo-mapping its data for some time, and as a result has considerable experience to share with OAP. Reaction to OAP’s ambitions and Canada’s involvement has been positive,
“The good thing about [OAP] is it’s a downstream part of the chain,” says Clarke, “IATI is about producing information, OAP is about applying it.” As OAP matures, it is important for CIDA keep in mind that geomapping is not a ‘quick fix.’ OAP needs to be clearly defined in order to avoid overlap with other data application initiatives and the information behind the maps must also be robust in order for them to be useful. Overall, CIDA’s involvement with OAP is a significant opportunity for Canada to distinguish itself both by making OAP a standout data application and communication tool, and by actively encouraging other actors to explore similarly creative applications of aid data.
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Conclusion “Transparency does not, by itself, make aid more accountable or services better. But it is a necessary condition for every part of the internationally agreed agenda for aid effectiveness.” - Owen Barder, Senior Fellow and Director for Europe at the Center for Global Development
Between the launch of EWB’s Accountability, Creativity, Transparency (ACT) Campaign in 2010 and the November 2011 announcement that CIDA had signed on to IATI, over 25,000 Canadians shared their voices in support of increasing the transparency and accountability of our country’s foreign aid. Canada’s commitment to IATI was an incredibly important victory, but it will not automatically result in more effective aid.
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Aid transparency can be a layer in a strong foundation that we build more effective aid upon, or it can be just a box we tick that means very little. Our task is now to ensure this is a meaningful change. It is our responsibility as Canadian citizens to hold CIDA accountable to its aid transparency commitments. EWB will continue to monitor Canada’s progress in implementing its new policies, in order to ensure that these lead to improvements in development practice and, ultimately, more effective aid.
Additional Resources AidInfo http://www.aidinfo.org Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Open Data Portal http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca/acdi-cida/ACDI-CIDA.nsf/eng/FRA-511112638-L57 Canada’s 2012 Action Plan on Open Government http://open.gc.ca/open-ouvert/ap-patb-eng.asp International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) http://www.aidtransparency.net Publish What You Fund’s Aid Transparency Index http://www.publishwhatyoufund.org World Bank Initiative’s Open Aid Partnership http://wbi.worldbank.org/wbi/open-aid-partnership
Forthcoming Publications to Look Out For IATI Secretariat’s 1st Annual Report (forthcoming, September 2012) http://www.aidtransparency.net CIDA’s IATI Implementation Schedule (forthcoming, December 2012) http://www.acdi-cida.gc.ca
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