Following the close of the Summit of the Future, a common belief and consistent narrative seem to be taking shape among civil society and other critical actors that has not yet been reflected within the official proceedings. That belief and narrative? That the current international aid architecture is failing and a new and transformative approach to how international development cooperation is governed at the global level is needed. The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), taking place in Sevilla (Spain) next year, is a major opportunity to achieve that.

In this letter, the DAC-CSO Reference Group called on the OECD DAC to push for an ambitious outcome that can eventually ensure that all aid is fully untied.

Download the open letter

Aid data from 2023 has called into question the direction in which Official Development Assistance (ODA) is headed. More worryingly still, some rich countries have already announced budget cuts for 2024. This report provides a basis for discussion and debate at a time when the value of ODA is more relevant than ever.

The OECD Development Assistance Committee (ODA) is conducting a review of its Recommendation on Untying ODA (Official Development Assistance, or aid). In this blog, our aid expert examines how wealthy countries are continuing to profit from both formal and informal tied aid. With one week to go until the publication of preliminary data from the OECD DAC outlining the ODA distributed by donor countries in 2023, this article shines a light on one of the practices that continues to call into question the integrity of aid. It also outlines five issues that must be addressed.

The new figures released by the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) show that while total reported ODA rose to an all time high, the percentage of ODA spent in donor countries also increased. This is hugely problematic.

Joint reaction of the DAC-CSO Reference Group to the OECD’s Development Assistance Committee’s High Level Meeting, which took place on 15 November.

#UNTaxConvention #TaxJustice #ODA #PSI

Since 2018, temporary rules have allowed donor countries to report private-sector oriented operations, known as Private Sector Instruments, as official development assistance. In this report, we chart the increased use of such operations, highlight problematic gaps in transparency and accountability, and end with recommendations both for the OECD DAC and wider civil society.

This blog unpacks last week's disappointing civil society dialogue with the OECD Development Assistance Committee.  

Official Development Assistance (ODA or aid) reached a new all-time-high of US$204 billion in 2022, but behind the headline figures the data shows even higher inflation of ODA than witnessed in 2021. It is vital to make sure that the integrity of ODA is preserved to serve the needs of people across the global south rather than the interests of countries in the global north.