12 July 2016
OECD Releases TOSSD Definition, Compendium Open for Public Consultation
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The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has released, for public consultation, the Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD) Compendium.

The TOSSD measurement framework featured in the Compendium aims to promote greater transparency in officially-supported development finance in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and is expected to facilitate monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

tossd_compendium24 June 2016: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has released, for public consultation, the Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD) Compendium. The TOSSD measurement framework featured in the Compendium aims to promote greater transparency in officially-supported development finance in support of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and is expected to facilitate monitoring of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The Compendium provides a working definition of TOSSD, indicating that it includes “all officially supported resource flows to support sustainable development at developing country, regional and global levels where benefits are destined for developing countries, including those resources that support development enablers or address global challenges.” TOSSD will be composed of two measures: the recipient perspective, which will track officially supported cross-border resource flows; and the provider perspective, which will capture support provided by official providers. Eligible resources will need to: target efforts to achieve the SDGs and support means of implementation (MOI) agreed in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) on financing for development; align with developing country development priorities; and conform to universally-agreed multilateral rules, principles and standards.

In contrast to official development assistance (ODA), which only applies to members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and other providers who report on development cooperation following DAC-specific definitions and rules, TOSSD aims to bring together all providers of public international finance and collaborating private operators in one global statistical reporting framework. In addition, while ODA is measured by the grant equivalent of resource flow, TOSSD will use the full face value of the flow or the gross amount. TOSSD also includes a combination of motivations, including commercial, cultural or political benefits. The Compendium notes that ODA will remain the cornerstone of OECD DAC members’ accountability to the international development community. It specifies that “no TOSSD targets or associated commitments will be established.”

The Compendium poses numerous questions for the online public consultation. In the first section, for instance, questions focus on: clarity of objectives; the distinction between ODA and TOSSD; capturing of results; integration of international standards and principles in the TOSSD framework; and a structure for an inclusive, representative, technically competent governance arrangement for TOSSD. Following the consultation, which is open from 27 June to 24 July 2016, responses will be made publicly available on the consultation website. OECD then will update the TOSSD Compendium, by September 2016.

According to OECD, the TOSSD Compendium is anticipated to be endorsed by the international community during several events, including the High-level Political Forum on sustainable development (HLPF) and the UN Development Co-operation Forum (DCF) in July 2016, among others. [TOSSD Compendium Website] [TOSSD Compendium]

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