2004 - 2008
International Aid Transparency Initiative
Making aid more effective by establishing a common, open, and international publishing standard for aid activity.
The International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) aims to improve aid effectiveness by making information about aid easier to access and understand for all stakeholders, particularly those in developing countries. By signing onto IATI, governments, NGOs, and other members are required to publish their foreign aid data consistently and publicly, using one detailed format.
Since 2010, EWB Canada has worked to inform and engage Canadians about the importance of transparent aid. As a result of our efforts, over 25,000 Canadians called on the Canadian International Development Agency (now the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade, and Development) to join the International Transparency Initiative – and on November 28th, 2011, it officially became the 23rd signatory to IATI.
Since we also believe it’s essential to walk the walk, in 2011 EWB Canada became the second NGO in the world to commit to IATI, and is currently the only Canadian NGO publishing data to the standard.
Why Is It Important?
The nature of aid spending is just as important as how much money is given. Mismanaged aid funding can be ineffective, and in some cases, harmful for development initiatives.
Strengthening aid transparency is critical: by being more honest about our successes and failures, we’re able to improve the effectiveness of aid spending to help accelerate global development.
