The advent of new concepts like the International Aid Transparency Initiative to record detailed operational aid project information is good news for those of us who have been asking for years for something like this to happen. Not disposing of a broad experience basis is one of the main obstacles that hinder learning for better aid concepts. As longtime observers of the scene, we expect a big leap in concept development once the improved information flow materializes at a large scale...

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  I agree with the previous Full Disclosure contributions about the importance of more and better development aid data, as I have expressed on my blog. I also think that the International Aid Transparency Initiative is important.   But agreeing on standards for publishing aid data is only a first and relatively small step and linking transparency to real, new, innovative 21st century accountability and participatory ideas will be the much bigger challenge.   How can citize...

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Afghanistan is one of the biggest recipients of aid in the world, and despite ten years of continuous investment, the country remains extremely low in the Human Development Index. Infant mortality, illiteracy, domestic violence and civilian casualties are still abnormally high.   And yet, when beneficiaries try to get involved in the development process, they are usually turned away. The Afghan government says it cannot help because they are not professional, the implementers say they ...

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The majority of international aid donors are not publishing enough information about the money they give, undermining the effectiveness of development spending and damaging public trust, according to the Aid Transparency Index 2011 released earlier this week by Publish What You Fund. The report comes just two weeks before the High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan, Korea.   Aid is a scarce and precious resource, which, if spent well, can make a major difference to the lives a...

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