8 October 2014: The 2014 Aid Transparency Index has ranked the UN Development Programme (UNDP) the most transparent aid organization, in an evaluation of 68 agencies worldwide. The Index assigned UNDP an overall score of 91% on 39 indicators that measure commitment to aid transparency and publication of aid information.

The International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) standard sets a global benchmark for accurate, comprehensive and timely aid information. The Initiative aims to increase donor accountability and maximize aid effectiveness through the aligning of donor assistance with developing countries’ national budgets and priorities. Over 280 UN agencies, multilateral banks, countries and NGOs use the IATI standard.

Other top performers included the Department for International Development (DfID), the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), GAVI and Sweden, all of which performed well on most indicators. The Global Fund, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and World Bank IDA performed better in 2014 than in 2013, and several agencies started publishing more current information on their activities to the IATI registry in 2014, including Finland, France’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Development (MAEDI), the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Spain and Switzerland.

While more agencies ranked in the ‘very good’ category than last year, the Index notes, “the majority of organisations are lagging behind in meeting their international commitments.”

Through its open.undp.org portal, UNDP publishes information on project data from over 10,000 development projects in 177 countries and territories. UNDP also discloses its internal audit reports and publishes monthly reports on its activities and result frameworks, which include sub-national geographical data.

“UNDP is committed to working in the open to spark innovation, to ensure the best possible use of funds entrusted to it and to accelerate the development of a sustainable future for all,” said Helen Clark, UNDP Administrator. Clark stressed “transparency is core to our mission” and explained that UNDP is working to further develop the IATI common standard for publishing information about aid spending through its role as head of the IATI Secretariat. [UNDP Press Release] [IATI Press Release] [IATI Website]