Aid is a scarce and precious resource, which, if spent well, can make a major difference to the lives and prospects of people and countries receiving it. This ODI and Publish What You Fund event will be launching  Publish What You Fund pilot Aid Transparency Index; a completely new approach to assessing the actual levels of information published by donors, ranking 58 aid agencies on the transparency of the aid they provide.

The starting point for ensuring that aid spending has a positive outcome is timely, comprehensive and comparable information. Knowing what is being spent where, by whom, and with what results is the foundation for increasing aid effectiveness. Remarkably, as the Index and accompanying report shows, aid information is still only partially available in spite of repeated pledges by donors to improve. Across the major traditional aid donors information is patchy, of inconsistent quality and – crucially – hard to compare from one aid agency to another.

With the 4th High Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness less than 3 weeks away, this event provides the perfect time to explore the index and take stock of progress. Publish What You Fund will present its findings and methodology for its pilot Index; with contributions from representatives from donor agencies on the challenges they face in implementing aid transparency and from recipient countries on why aid transparency matters to them.