Washington, D.C.—Publish What You Fund, a global campaign for aid transparency, today ranked the Millennium Challenge Corporation as the most transparent donor organization among the 67 organizations the London-based group assessed in its 2013 Aid Transparency Index.
The Aid Transparency Index is the only global measure of aid transparency among leading development organizations. The index uses data from 39 indicators and looks at organizations’ published data and their commitment to transparency.
MCC ranked ninth globally and first among U.S. Government agencies in last year's rankings.
”The latest Aid Transparency Index validates the President's strong commitment to transparency and is a reminder of how far the U.S. Government and the rest of the donor world have come in a very short period of time,” said Sheila Herrling, MCC’s Vice President for Policy and Evaluation. "It is remarkable that five of the six U.S. Government agencies evaluated have significantly improved their rankings since last year."
“Of course, it is great to be recognized for the hard thinking and hard work that so many MCC staff have put into improving our transparency practices. But the real rewards will come when these efforts lead to the intended outcomes—when the countries we work with have the information they need to manage aid flows and when their citizens have data required to hold their own governments accountable.”
This year’s Aid Transparency Index represents a significant accomplishment in meeting the President's commitment to transparency and open data. Six agencies now report their data to the Foreign Assistance Dashboard, which collects and publishes data on U.S. Government official development assistance (ODA). The Dashboard is helping standardize data collection and reporting across all agencies and is ensuring that these efforts are institutionalized and sustainable. Data on 86 percent of the U.S. Government’s ODA is included on the Dashboard, and it aims to provide information on nearly all ODA in the coming months.
Investing in improvements to the quality and accessibility of data is a core part of MCC’s business practice. MCC launched its own open data site in 2012 at data.mcc.gov; the site houses data in machine-readable formats to meet the needs of a variety of stakeholders. MCC is also engaging with the private sector in the United States to see how it can use the agency’s data to help inform its investment decisions.
Greater access to open data helps U.S. taxpayers ensure that their tax dollars are being spent wisely and empowers MCC partner countries—including governments, citizens and private sector—to hold themselves accountable and work toward a more economically prosperous future. The Millennium Challenge Corporation looks forward to continuing to advance global aid transparency.
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