Evaluating aid transparency - Full Report

RETHINKING THE THEORY OF CHANGE The implicit Theory of Change on aid transparency serves the interests of donors more than beneficiaries, as the latter are less able to utilise the information that is being shared. [...] Alternative approaches to aid transparency The IATI focus has narrowed the utility of transparency to the technical sharing of data, primarily data on aid allocation. [...] The lack of trust in the quality and interviewee, the allocation information is reliability of the data is exacerbated by difficult ‘not that helpful without information about relations between stakeholders in some cases.’ its performance.’ — Analysis of the impact of aid transparency in Benin and Tanzania by PWYF (2017) ‘Gaps in publication of performance information persist. [...] Use and impact of and value of aid spending, to assess the impact of projects, or to extract learning from successful and transparent aid data unsuccessful projects.’ — ATI (2020) The movement has made a powerful political impact Traceability and tracking is non-existent Aid transparency has received much attention One hope at the beginning of the aid transparency and is reflected in indexes (e.g. [...] Even among the that there is a tendency to ‘cling to a few agencies scoring in the top 10 in the ATI, there is a successful examples’ of use rather than to accept lack of a consistent, systematic, institutionalised the broad and possibly intractable problem.