The 2024 Aid Transparency Index has recorded its highest-ever scores – marking a continued improvement in aid transparency among the world’s major aid and development agencies. Released by Publish What You Fund, the Index found advancements in the quality, quantity, and timeliness of aid data.
The average score across all 50 organizations in 2024 was the highest seen so far at 64.4 (compared with 61.8 in 2022). More organizations achieved scores in the top ‘very good’ category (12) and fewer organizations than ever before were in the bottom ‘very poor’ category (2).
All but one of the assessed organizations are publishing at least some data in the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) Standard – meaning it is open, standardized, comparable, and machine-readable.
The Index also highlights how aid transparency data is being used more than ever by aid and development agencies, journalists, think tanks, and civil society organizations. High-quality, real-time aid data is needed more than ever to improve aid effectiveness and hold donors to account for their commitments to tackle poverty, conflict, and the climate crisis.
We assessed 26 bilateral agencies on their #AidTransparency for the #2024Index@MCCgov topped the list with a score of 93.0, followed by @FCDOgovUK in 2nd with 82.9 and @Sida in 3rd with 75.4
➡️https://t.co/PoChL9EbNu pic.twitter.com/m1ZjKeyMuR
— PublishWhatYouFund (@aidtransparency) July 17, 2024
Despite the positive results, impact data including results and evaluations remains a challenge. The gaps in the data are significant, but this shouldn’t distract from the extremely valuable and high-quality evaluations available in the IATI data.
Gary Forster, CEO of Publish What You Fund, said:“Many agencies still have a lot of work to do to become truly transparent, but it’s really positive to see the efforts which are being made to improve the quantity, quality and timeliness of the aid data they publish. It’s also heartening to see that the Index provides an important incentive for change – both as a public ranking and as a mechanism for detailed feedback and engagement. We’ve witnessed examples of agencies fixing policies and making institutional changes that will have a genuine and long-lasting affect on their transparency.”
The African Development Bank -Sovereign Portfolio retained its top spot in the Index, with an impressive score of 98.8 out of 100.
Dr Akinwumi Adesina., African Development Bank Group President, said: “I am delighted by this recognition from Publish What You Fund. It is a testament once again to the commitment of the Bank’s Board, management, and staff to continuously improve the disclosure of aid flows by providing consistent, high-quality, and easily accessible data. This achievement is especially significant given the new, more rigorous assessment standards and transparency requirements for development financial institutions. The rating of our sovereign portfolio as the most transparent development organization in the world for the second consecutive time, is simply extraordinary. I commend Publish What You Fund for the vital and much needed work it does, in making aid and development efforts more transparent and effective.”
Alex Tilley, who researched and authored the report, said: “It’s important to explain why now, aid transparency is more important than ever. Not least because we’re facing global challenges which need a coordinated response between donors. But also because we’re seeing aid and development data increasingly used for decision making by policy makers and those looking to influence policy. As such if a donor is not transparent their role and impact will be misunderstood at best, or invisible at worst.”
