Supporting the TAG

Consultations
#1

Following the recent Steering Committee meeting where we discussed a new approach to IATI governance, we are considering how we could improve support to the TAG.

There are two areas where community support would be really useful to me (as TAG Chair) and to the IATI Technical team:

  1. Providing expert input into the evolution of the IATI Standard. This would require people with deep knowledge of the standard, evaluating and providing advice on suggested changes. We do this already through consultation process, but maybe a more formalised ā€œexpert groupā€ would help to articulate a vision for the Standard and work through proposals in more depth and with more rigour.

  2. Community leaders driving adoption and use. We have a need to form communities of interest within IATI who will drive forward things that we care about. I see this particularly in supporting adoption and use of the data.

Iā€™d be interested in your views on this. And if youā€™d like to volunteer or nominate someone who would fit into either group, then please let me know.

#2

Iā€™d like to volunteer to help

Linda

#3

Iā€™ll volunteer for the communities of users side of things? On the expert group, I think itā€™s a great idea - Iā€™d ask though that you aim to include technical experts who are/will be users of the data (ie not just technical experts supporting publishers) and ideally worldwide - Latin America and Africa have some amazing civic technologists.

#4

Also putting my hand up to volunteer!

#5

Thanks Sarah, thatā€™s a good idea on the technical group - should not just be producers.

#6

Thanks Leigh, you could fit Sarahā€™s description of a consumer, right?

#7

Iā€™d like to be involved on the users side.

#8

Iā€™m a media consumer. An ā€œinfomediaryā€? Ugh. Anywayā€¦

I have spent quite some time looking into the IATI data recently (thanks, BOND, for the starter course).

As you may know, IRIN specialises in reporting in humanitarian crises. Data-driven reports and visualisations are among our most popular products for the aid professional audience and the broader public too.

I ran over the 2015 data (activities starting after 1 Jan 2015), and found that 2015 disbursement transactions in which the provider and receiver were both named, and the date was actually in 2015, amounted to only about $5 billion (if my spaghetti Python is horribly at fault, I apologise in advance). My idea of network graphs and an eye-popping dataviz died a little. I can get provider and receiver for $19b from FTS. And if I wait a year, thereā€™s OECD/CRS. Nevertheless in my own opinion, and as an editorial standpoint for IRIN, more aid finance transparency, via any and all data, is a critical priority and always worth pursuing.

Iā€™d be happy to take part in whatever way is useful or appropriate.

Best wishes

Ben Parker
Director
IRIN

1 Like
#9

Hi all,

As a developer on Akvoā€™s RSR platform, which has all IATI fields fully integrated, I would like to volunteer to help think about the evolution of the standard as well.

Thus far, Iā€™ve only joined one of the consultation meetings on IATI v2.02, but Iā€™ve been following IATI and working with the data for nearly three years now and would like to have a more active participation in it.

Kind regards,
Kasper Brandt

#10

Hi,

Currently we (Zimmerman & Zimmerman) are working on the development of a free IATI Studio community edition, which will be launched next April. The idea is to create a lively/active IATI community where custom charts and transparency micro-portals can be shared and discussed.

I would like to ā€˜volunteerā€™ for the 2nd area and discuss & create a user scenarios for example.

Cheers,
Tristan

#11

Thanks everyone for contributing and volunteering to be part of these expert groups.

One of the barriers to effective use of the data is data quality and inconsistency. Does that fit naturally with the expert group on adoption and use, or should we have a separate expert group on data quality? (@theo.sande do you have a view?)

#12

Data quality is not a goal in itself and fits naturally with adoption and use in my view. Even though we are only starting, it is in the attempts to start using the data that quality issues arise. Hand in glove.

#13

More than happy to join as a volunteer. We will all become publishers AND users

#14

Iā€™m interested to contribute as well. Could fit in group 1, helping to convey needs of AIMS users in standard evolution or group 2.

#15

As both a producer and user of IATI data, glad to contribute on the data Quality and data usage discussions.

#16

As a co-producer and user of data, happy to contribute to both groups as well!

#17

Very late in responding - but yes, Iā€™d say Iā€™m mostly an IATI data user/consumer.

#18

Iā€™d be interested in contributing as well. See relevance to my work on both groups.

#19

Hi,

I would like to join on the user side. I am currently helping multiple aid recipient governments to use IATI data.

I would also suggest that this also needs to be advertised beyond the community message board to get a wider range of voices.

Thanks,

Matt

#20

Hi All - so it looks like we have a community forming here which is great. What should be the next step? Perhaps each person could provide a quick brief on how they are currently using IATI data, how they would like to be using IATI data, and what would need to be done to get them to that point?