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Making U.S. Foreign Assistance More Transparent: USG Agenda for Action Presented to IATI Steering Commitee February 9, 2011. USG Commitments made on Aid Transparency
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Making U.S. Foreign Assistance More Transparent: USG Agenda for Action Presented to IATI Steering Commitee February 9, 2011
USG Commitments made on Aid Transparency • Transparency is a signature element of the Administration’s governing philosophy, as evidence by the Open Government Directive; • At the G20 Summit in Pittsburgh, the U.S. joined other countries in committing to enhance international aid transparency in 2010; • This pledge is consistent with our commitments in the Paris Declaration and Accra Agenda for Action; • Enhanced U.S. leadership can catalyze global progress made on aid transparency (e.g. International Aid Transparency Initiative); • An Interagency Policy Committee on Aid Transparency convened by NSC and OSTP approved a policy in April 2010 to make U.S. foreign assistance more transparent.
Objectives of the USG Aid Transparency Policy • Make foreign aid more useful for development (allow governments to better manage their aid flows and empower citizens to hold governments accountable for how assistance is used); • Increase the efficacy of our foreign assistance (clearer understanding of what we are doing where/to what effect = better position to ensure that investments are consistent with broader objectives; to coordinate and target assistance with other agencies and donors; to generate stock knowledge of what works and what doesn’t); • Promote international accountability (greater access to information about assistance helps countries and civil society hold donors accountable for quantity and quality of aid flows).
Guiding Principles • Presumption in favor of openness; • Initial focus on publication of existing, raw data in open, machine-readable format in a central location; • Detail, Timeliness, and Quality; • Prioritization; • Comprehensiveness & Comparability; • Accessibility; • Institutionalization.
Next Steps and the Way Ahead • Phase 1 (Within next 6-12 months) • Country Pilots (USAID) • Statistical Directive (OMB) • Aid Dashboard (State/USAID) • Apps for Development Challenge • Phase 2 (2011-2012) • Scale Up Country Pilots • Build Single Interface Backed by Common Framework • Exercise Leadership in Achieving an International Standard • Investigate Greater Flexibility for Forward Commitments • Develop Agency and Partner Capacity to Measure and Publish Results • Illustrative Country Pilot Selection Criteria: • Level of host country demand; • Host country capacity; • USG and donor presence; • Regional Diversity