New York, November 25, 2011— Members of the public can now access financial data on the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) development activities for the most recent fiscal period, thanks to a new open data portal.
The publishing of open data on http://data.undp.org allows people to track aid and helps governments in developing countries to manage aid more effectively, NOA.al News Agency reports.
“UNDP is committed to being transparent and to being accountable for all the contributions we receive,” UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said. “Accountability ensures we can be more effective
in our work to make a real difference in people’s lives – from fighting poverty and boosting democratic space, to working with governments on their plans for sustainable and just societies.”
The portal also highlights information on UNDP-administered multi-partner trust funds.
Additional data sets, including details on income and expenditures by focus areas, will be added over the next 12 months, in compliance with global aid effectiveness agreements signed in Accra, Ghana, in 2008, where development organizations agreed to publicly disclose regular, detailed and timely aid information. Expenditures are published in the format of the International Aid Transparency Initiative, a global voluntary standard which makes information about aid spending easier to find, use and compare.
The publication of data builds upon UNDP’s ongoing efforts to increase transparency, earning the organization a Top 10 ranking in the 2011 Pilot Aid Transparency Index run by the Publish What You Fund campaign.
The new portal comes ahead of a key meeting in Busan, Korea, next week, where representatives of developing and donor countries, civil society and development organisations will review progress on the Accra agreements, and find ways to improve the impact and value for money of development aid.
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