IFTI Watch
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27 August 2010
Development Aid Mapped With Geo-Referenced Data
Researchers recently unveiled some of the first efforts to map development projects, a technique aimed at improving coordination of effort. Using new “geo-referenced aid data,” the projects by AidData plotted the spatial and sectoral coordination of active projects by the World Bank and the African Development Bank in Kenya and Mozambique. Another project concerned Uganda. […]
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13 August 2010
EU Health Agency Agrees to Release Documents
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) Aug. 10 announced that it will release documents related to a drug used to treat severe forms of acne, following the guidance of the European Ombudsman, P. Nikiforos Diamandouros. An Irish citizen sought reports concerning suspected adverse reactions to the drug, but EMA initially refused access, arguing that EU transparency […]
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13 August 2010
Transparency in Development Goals Advocated
Seven pro-transparency groups Aug. 10 urged governments to include specific commitments to the free flow of information as they review the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) this September. The letter to top United Nations officials was sent by ARTICLE 19, Access Info, the Carter Center, CIVICUS, the International Budget Partnership, Publish What You Fund and Transparency […]
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5 August 2010
World Bank Releases Lebanon Strategy Document, A First
By Toby McIntosh The World Bank Aug. 4 issued the first documents under its new “simultaneous disclosure” policy, including a proposed Country Partnership Strategy for Lebanon. Under the new disclosure policy, the public gets a look at certain key proposals at the same time they are sent to the Exective Board. However, it took a […]
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30 July 2010
GTI Urges AfDB to Consult on Disclosure Policy
The Global Transparency Initiative and leaders of several African groups have urged African Development Bank President Donald Kaberuka to conduct public consultations as it reviews its disclosure policy. The Bank has indicated recently that it intends to revamp the Bank’s 2005 disclosure policy, a commitment praised in the July 30 letter to Kaberuka. Less clear is how the […]
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29 July 2010
China Agrees to Release IMF Article IV Report
China has permitted disclosure of the so-called Article IV “staff report” prepared by the International Monetary Fund. Last year, China declined to allow release of the 2009 staff report, This was a change, because China had permitted release of the 2006 report. Article IV reviews are usually conducted every year and the comprehensive staff reports summarize the economic conditions […]
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22 July 2010
IATI Effort Continuing, CSOs Encourage Action
Government representatives meeting recently in Paris agreed to proceed with plans to bring more transparency to development aid flows. The decisions July 7 came despite some concerns among activists that governments were slackening in their attention to the International Aid Transparency Initiative. It was agreed, however, that nothing would be taken out of the proposed IATI phase […]
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16 July 2010
IFC Rewrite of Disclosure Policy Criticized
The International Finance Corporation’s proposed changes to its disclosure policy are inadequate, according to environmental and development policy groups. Their critiques were voiced recently during a consultation meeting with staff members at the IFC, the World Bank’s private sector lending branch, and are being repeated during other IFC-sponsored consultations now underway. The IFC is simultaneously […]
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2 July 2010
World Bank Inaugurates New Disclosure Policy
By Toby McIntosh The World Bank July 1 began applying its new disclosure policy, with enhanced web pages and the announcement of the three members on its appeals body. One of the major reforms in the new policy is the “simultaneous disclosure” to the public of staff recommendations on projects and policies as they are […]
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1 July 2010
AFDB Planning Disclosure Policy Review
The African Development Bank has included revision of its disclosure policy among the promised reforms as it seeks a large budgetary increase.
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21 June 2010
ADB Draft Transparency Policy Criticized
“Zero draft” is the informal phrase being used by Asian Development Bank officials to describe their opening proposal for a new Public Communications Policy. ADB officials hope to convey that the draft proposal is a starting point — a work in progress. But critics see the first draft as “a big zero.”
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4 June 2010
ADB Proposes Revisions to Public Communications Policy
The Asian Development Bank June 4 issued proposed changes in its Public Communications Policy. Release of the “consultation draft” comes as the ADB commences a series of worldwide meetings. The first session will be June 15 in Canada, and the last is scheduled for August 2 in the Philippines. The ADB’s 12-country consultation schedule is posted online.
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28 May 2010
IFC Draft Disclosure Policy: Minuses and Pluses
The World Bank’s private sector lending arm has proposed a new disclosure policy that offers a few advances, but generally falls short of the standard set late last year by its parent organization. Among other things, the International Finance Corporation has not followed suit on the disclosure of staff recommendations in advance of board meetings.
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13 May 2010
IDB Approves New Disclosure Policy
The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) May 12 approved a new “Access to Information Policy” likely to increase the level of transparency at the institution. The changes largely track reforms recently adopted by the World Bank. The IDB set an international speed record for writing and approving the new disclosure policy, rushing it through as part […]
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4 May 2010
IDB Speeds Toward Adoption of New Disclosure Policy
The Inter-American Development Bank has released a proposed disclosure policy and is on a fast track to approve it in mid-May. The unexpected speed, shortchanging plans for a public consultation period, was motivated by a desire to bolster its case for a capital increase. The Board of Governors in March set a number of conditions on […]
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23 April 2010
World Bank Expands Access to Statistical Data
The World Bank April 20 announced increased access to its statistical databases and challenged the global community “to use the data to create new applications and solutions to help poor people in the developing world,” according to its press release. The Bank Group said it is providing “free, open, and easy access to its comprehensive […]
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1 April 2010
IDB Governors Raise Bar for New Transparency Policy
The Board of Governors of the Inter-American Development Bank on March 21 made several commitments to improve transparency at the IDB. The Board’s statements go slightly beyond those contained in a recently proposed outline of potential changes to the disclosure policy. Just before the Board meeting in Cancun, Mexico, the IDB released a “Policy Profile” that …
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1 April 2010
Groups Seek Transparency for Aid to Haiti
As a major conference on aid to Haiti began in New York March 31, a coalition of nongovernmental organizations made a series of pro-transparency recommendations. The recommendations “highlight the need to change the way donor states provide aid, by empowering the Haitian people; strengthening the Haitian government’s capacity to guarantee human rights; and making assistance […]
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19 March 2010
IDB Launches Review of Disclosure Policy
The Inter-American Development Bank March 16 quietly announced a “comprehensive review” of its information disclosure policy. The Bank invited public comments on a 15-page “policy profile” that outlines a proposed new policy…
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16 March 2010
New IMF Disclosure Policy Goes Into Effect
The International Monetary Fund’s slightly revised disclosure policy enters into effect March 17, with the hope that a few more governments will allow the public release of key Bank documents about their countries, but still with a proviso giving governments veto power. Although the new policy is not expected to allow significantly greater access to […]