To demonstrate its committment to aid transparency, Denmark is going beyond business as usual with a newly unveiled set of initiatives that could serve as a model to other donors.
On Tuesday, Jan. 29, the Danish government unveiled what it calls a transparency package for its aid agency, Danida. It makes good on promises made in the aid reform legislation passed in 2011 that entered into force Jan. 1, 2013.
“Citizens in the poorest countries in the world and Danish citizens have the right to insight into the work of Danida,” said Minister for Development Cooperation Christian Friis Bach in a statement.
The transparency package is expected to help rein in fraud related to its projects in beneficiary countries such as Afghanistan, which this year will become Denmark’s largest recipient of annual aid, with 530 million Danish kroner ($95.5 million) each year from 2013 to 2017. In a press release, Friis Bach stressed that Denmark will hold Afghanistan to its promise to achieve tangible progress in areas such as the fight against corruption.
“There will be consequences for our development assistance if the Afghans do not deliver on their commitments,” the minister said.
As part of Denmark’s push for more aid transparency, a section on the foreign affairs ministry’s website allows visitors to:
Send feedback to Danida: You can praise, criticize or raise a complaint to Danida, personally or on behalf of an organization. The overall goal is to strengthen the agency’s operations.
Report corruption: You can inform Danida of any suspected irregularity or if you have experienced corruption related to its activities. Reporting can be done anonymously.
Participate in public consultations: A linup for the next few months is already posted; each consultation will run for two weeks. The first on this year’s schedule ends Jan. 31, on the strategic framework for Denmark’s development cooperation with the European Union.
View Danida documents: Check out documents and summaries from meetings of the Council for Development Policy, which provides strategic advice to the development cooperation minister, or proposals for deliberation by the committees recommending approval of grants to the minister.
Access data on projects and programs: Danida promises to update its database, which is currently in Danish, annually. This section also includes its official schedule to fully implement the common standard for reporting development cooperation, per an agreement reached at the 2011 Fourth High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan.
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