TAG 2018 Chair's welcome: putting IATI in a local context

  • Nov. 13, 2018

John Adams small

This post was written by Technical Advisory Group Chair, John Adams ahead of the TAG 2018 meeting (13-15 November, Kathmandu).

Today, I have the pleasure of opening IATI’s Technical Advisory Group (TAG) meeting in Kathmandu. Many thanks to all participants who have traveled many hours to attend our first TAG in Asia.

Meeting in Nepal: putting IATI in a local context

I’m delighted our meeting in Nepal has attracted IATI’s highest number of participants - almost a 25% increase from TAG 2017. This is partly thanks to a huge sign-up rate from local representatives from across government, donors and civil society organisations.

In Nepal, there’s exciting growth in the open data movement, where interest in improving data on development and humanitarian resources flows is rising fast

In Nepal, there’s exciting growth in the open data movement, where interest in improving data on development and humanitarian resources flows is rising fast. The government of Nepal has made significant efforts to establish their Aid Management Platform (AMP), including its public website. Many other platforms and initiatives have been created to access humanitarian information, especially following the 2015 earthquake. Examples include Young Innovations Earthquake Response Rapid Response Portal and the Inter-Agency Common Feedback Project from the United Nations Office of the Resident Coordinator. And Nepal’s new federal system means that accurately geo-located information on donors’ activities is even more important for coordination at all levels of government.

We are grateful that the Government’s Minister of Finance, Dr. Yuba Raj Khatiwad will be speaking about Nepal’s commitment to transparency and I look forward to learning how we can increase IATI’s relevance at the country-level.

Delivering IATI’s mission: data use for sustainable development

This year’s TAG agenda focuses on achieving our goal that IATI data is routinely used to help achieve sustainable development, in line with our Data Use Strategy. This is a significant inflection point, as previous meetings have sought to achieve an improvement in data publishing and upgrading the Standard. With over one million humanitarian and development activities published, IATI has reached a critical mass of data, which is ready to be used and continually improved.

From raising awareness of the benefits of IATI, to improving IATI integration into government systems, our three-day meeting will aim to motivate our community to address the key challenges of data use.

Unconferencing the TAG: richer face-to-face conversations

This year is also the first time we have added an ‘unconference’ space to the agenda. For those not familiar, we are offering a large room for attendees to set up their own conversations within the TAG community on any topic of interest. If you have something you’d like to collaborate on, then simply book a conversation space using the sign-up sheets provided.

Celebrate 10 years of IATI - reception Wednesday 14 November, 6:30-8:30pm

As well as planning our future, the TAG 2018 will be celebrating our communities’ contribution to IATI since launched in 2008. Please come along to the reception to reflect on our achievements and make valuable contacts with fellow participants.

IATI TAG Chair: handing the seat to Steven

After serving three terms as the Chair of the TAG, I will be stepping down. I’m so proud of the growth in the TAG community since I was first elected back in TAG 2014 in Montreal. Together we’ve contributed to one major and four minor standard upgrades, seen the number IATI publishers rise from under 300 to nearly 900 and refocused our movement on improving the use of IATI data.

It has been a pleasure to work with all long-standing and newer members of the TAG community and I wish new Chair, Steven Flower every success, and pledge him my support as he takes on the new role.