Ghana to host workshop on Data Usage

Ghana in collaboration with the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) would host a Regional Workshop on Data Usage to strengthen development cooperation management systems at the country and the regional levels.

The workshop, which is slated for March 19 and 20 in Accra, would provide the opportunity to consider how IATI could support global policy discussions relating to the Financing for Development and the Sustainable Development Goals.

The discussions would also consider areas in which additional support is required to ensure that global transparency efforts continue to reflect changing country needs, as reliance on aid becomes less significant and other forms of development finance expand.

It would discuss ways to exploit the wealth of available data to meet financial and budgetary planning needs at national and sub-national levels, and to challenge those providing information to do so with greater emphasis on the quality needs of the end user.

During the two-day workshop, participants would agree on common actions that would advance the use of development cooperation data, and address any systemic barriers. It is also expected to result in a clear roadmap for promoting data usage.

Mr Dominic Sam, the UNDP Country Director, said in a statement: “We are delighted to join with the Government of Ghana and IATI in hosting this very important workshop, and it reflects the growing demand for transparency in development cooperation, and we look forward to exploring ways to make data better serve development.”

IATI is a multi-stakeholder initiative that seeks to increase the transparency of development cooperation to maximize impact on poverty.

It was launched at the Accra High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness in 2008 in response to stakeholder demands for timely, detailed and accessible information on aid support and development cooperation.

The IATI Secretariat is led by UNDP, and comprises of UNOPS, Development Initiatives and the Governments of Ghana and Sweden.

More than 300 organizations publish information on the resources they make available for development through the IATI Registry.

While the number of publishers continued to grow, the statement said, the users of the information at the country level have highlighted a lack of quality in the published information from providers, which rendered it insufficiently reliable to meet the planning needs of national governments as well as other end users.

Cassiel Ato Forson, Deputy Minister of Finance stated: “In line with our current fiscal consolidation efforts, the Government of Ghana recognizes the importance of transparency in the assistance from our development partners to ensure that we have adequate information on the resources coming in, and can plan as well as use our limited resources in an optimal manner”, according to the statement.