DFI growth demands increased transparency

If development finance institutions (DFIs) are to contribute to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals through creating jobs and building financial markets, then significantly more transparency is needed.  In a new Devex article, Gary Forster argues that DFIs need to share pricing information and outcome data, increasing the opportunity for improved learning, better coordination, and ultimately, improved impact.

Job opportunity: Data Research Analyst

Are you looking to use and develop your data analysis and programming skills? Are you keen to build on your experience in a research/technical role? Do you want to be at the heart of our work to increase aid and development finance transparency? If so, we would like to hear from you. We are currently recruiting a Data Research Analyst to conduct in-depth analysis into open aid data as well as oversee the technical maintenance and operation of the Aid Transparency Tracker. There is considerable scope for development in this exciting and flexible role.  Please share this opportunity with your networks. The deadline for applications is 11^th April.

Consultant opportunity: Python Developer

Can you help us deliver the next Aid Transparency Index? We are seeking proposals for a Python Developer to provide technical support in the maintenance and operation of our Aid Transparency Tracker (our bespoke data collection and verification tool). If you are a keen developer, have an interest in open data and are available for approximately 2.5 days per week, we’d like to hear from you! The deadline for applications is 31st April.

Good reads

And here’s what else we’ve been reading this week…

Southern Voice has produced a paper, which takes an exploratory research approach to the possibilities and constraints for blended finance in Nepal. The concept of blended finance as an emerging tool for development financing, particularly towards meeting the SDGs in least developed countries (LDCs), is seen with substantial optimism in Nepal, especially by the private sector. The study finds that the blended nature of finances has been particularly helpful in the hydropower sector and that the country is likely to encourage blending in specific areas like power generation, transportation, and infrastructure and to improve existing mechanisms for SME financing.

InterAction has produced a new report on innovative finance for international development and humanitarian programmes (IF4D). It features a practitioner-oriented guide to 17 different IF4D instruments and a series of case studies on how they could be used by NGOs.

The Independent Commission for Aid Impact (ICAI) has published its review of CDC (the UK’s DFI), which looks at how it is achieving development impact in low-income and fragile states, while still delivering its intended financial return. The review finds that CDC did not do enough to maximise the impact of its UK aid investments. But it also states that CDC has made significant progress in reorienting its portfolio towards low-income and fragile states, and its focus on poverty reduction has increased, although the mechanisms through which CDC ensures its investments reach and benefit the poorest could be strengthened and more clearly articulated.

The Overseas Development Institute has released the Principled Aid Index, which ranks bilateral OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) donors by how they use their official development assistance (ODA) to pursue their long-term national interest in a safer, sustainable and more prosperous world. A principled approach targets aid to countries that need it most, supports global cooperation and adopts a public spirited focus on development impact rather than a short-sighted domestic return. It is possible to view donor performance against each dimension of a principled approach, and to explore the relationship between their rankings and aid quantity.

A new Oxfam blog summarises the Institute for Development Studies’ research on fostering empowerment and accountability in “messy places.”  One of the emerging lessons is the difficult role for funders. It suggests they should seek more joined up approaches, combining social, political and economic work in the same areas and programmes