Please see below for a guest post from MFAN’s Accountability Working Group Co-Chairs, Diana Ohlbaum and Lori Rowley. Ohlbaum is a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and Rowley is the Director for Global Food Security and Aid Effectiveness at The Lugar Center.
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For those of us who seek to improve development effectiveness, the rationale for transparency over foreign assistance spending is obvious. Knowing what is spent, where and how it is used, and what is achieved is essential for ensuring that governments deliver on their promises – both here in the United States and in developing countries. Quality data that is timely, comprehensive, accessible and usable is the currency of democratic accountability.
But for those who produce and collect the data, releasing it does not always seem to carry significant benefits. If knowledge is power, then insider knowledge is concentrated power, and the rewards for sharing it may be less apparent.
To clarify the advantages of transparency for those who are not already convinced of its value, MFAN’s Accountability Working Group has produced a one-pager that explains the key reasons why transparency is important:
- It improves coordination among U.S. agencies and international donors.
- It enables partner governments to plan effectively.
- It reduces administrative burdens and helps meet reporting requirements.
- It builds stronger, more resilient, and more capable states.
- It harnesses information that can be used to improve policies, services, and outcomes.
These are just a few of the many reasons why releasing data to the public, and making it as reliable and useful as possible, serves our larger foreign policy and development goals. But those goals can only be met if those of us in civil society actually use the data to inform our programs, our analysis, and our advocacy. Thus we offer these recommendations for the larger development community:
1) EXPLORE. Set aside time to go to www.foreignassistance.gov and www.iatiregistry.org. Prepare some questions that you’d like to have answered and see what you can find out.
2) SHARE. It’s shocking how many people and organizations that could benefit from this information don’t even know it exists, here in Washington as well as across the United States and around the world. Do your part by spreading the word.
3) TRAIN. For researchers and advocates in the United States and developing countries alike, demonstrations and trainings can be very empowering and can overcome initial anxiety and intimidation about using new tools and technology.
4) PUSH. Don’t just let the data reside on the internet as a passive resource. Take the time to extract useful information and analyze, reframe, and repackage it to meet the needs of specific stakeholder communities. Distribute it in formats that are widely accessible.
5) CREDIT. Publicly cite the Dashboard and IATI when you use their data for blog posts, articles, research reports, and media stories. Those who toil at collecting, reviewing and disseminating the data need to know that their hard work has not been in vain.
6) RESPOND. The Dashboard team at the Department of State openly solicits feedback on the quality, format, and content of the data. Let them know what works well and what doesn’t at http://www.foreignassistance.gov/web/Contact.aspx.