Public Resource Use

Data for Accountability, Colombia and Nigeria (TAI Learning Partner)

We are working with partners in Colombia and Nigeria to generate evidence about the effectiveness of different approaches to using data to address governance challenges. With our partners – Public and Private Development Centre, the Human and Environmental Development Agenda, the Transparencia por Colombia and Akubadaura – we are learning about how political dynamics enable or hinder the use of data to address local accountability gaps. We use these lessons to inform grant making and the design and implementation of projects that aim to use data to fight corruption and demand accountability.

Objective

Data only makes a difference if it informs decisions, influences actions or shapes relationships amongst relevant actors. Working with the Transparency and Accountability Initiative and partners in Nigeria and Colombia we are exploring the challenges that limit the impact of data about public contracting, illicit financial flows and extractives revenues, and how they can be addressed. Our work is designed to help local partners to use data effectively, and to inform future investments and policies intended to harness the potential of data for development.

Approach

We are doing three things: providing strategy and implementation support to country partners, by supporting the design of ToCs and learning frameworks, gathering data from project implementation and facilitating reflection; carrying out research about the challenges and opportunities for using data for accountability and anticorruption in both countries and distilling lessons from partners work to produce a note for each country and one comparing both countries; and by carrying out Network building activities in Colombia including events and collaborating with IFC in the launch of a call for ideas. I think this activities are an effective approach for two reasons: 1) they have been discussed and agreed with donors and country partners based on their needs and challenges, and 2) they enable us to generate evidence about the contexts and the work that these partners are doing and from that evidence generate insights that respond to donors interests and concerns.