IFTI Watch
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29 September 2010
Coalition Urges Governance Reforms at IMF
A coalition of groups Sept. 28 urged the International Monetary Fund to make governance reforms, including better disclosure policies. New Rules for Global Finance, Oxfam International, the Center for Global Development, other civil society organizations and some academics wrote the IMF Board of Governors saying “progress has been slow on improving critical aspects of IMF governance in […]
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28 September 2010
BIC Issues Guide to World Bank Information
The Bank Information Center, a Washington-based nongovernmental organization, has issued a “toolkit” to finding information at the World Bank. The document, “Unlocking the World Bank’s Access to Information Policy,” was written by former Bank information expert Veronique Danforth, and has a secondary headline, “Your Key to the Vault.” The guide not only describes the Bank’s […]
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23 September 2010
Article 19 Says Transparency Slighted in MDG Conclusions
The international summit on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) failed to adequately recognize the value of greater transparency, according to civil society observers. “Global civil society told world leaders that for the MDGs to succeed, two things were essential: assistance and accountability at all levels,” said Agnes Callamard, executive director of the London-based freedom of […]
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9 September 2010
London Declaration Urges More Transparency
Calls for more transparency as an integral part of the effort to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are continuing, but the message may not be getting through. Participants in a London conference Sept 6 issued the “London Declaration for Transparency: the Free Flow of Information and Development.” The document resulted from a conference organized […]
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3 September 2010
Lebanese CSOs React to Disclosure of Strategy
It’s still early days for the World Bank’s new policy of disclosing certain documents in advance of Executive Board meetings, so lessons about it are just trickling in. The policy gives interested parties a last chance to comment on upcoming decisions, but the window of opportunity is small, as some Lebanese civil society organizations learned […]
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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 […]