Image Credit: TAI
In 2020, governments and civil society organizations faced major challenges, and there were questions about how international donors were responding to the pandemic, including on governance issues. We now have the data and would love to present you with some trends by issue and country.
As part of our #OECDDataSeries, this blog brings you 4 downloadable infographics on the state of funding in various TAI member’s priority fields: corruption, media, women’s rights, and the gender equality policy marker. You can also explore 2020 flows on Governance and civil society funding in Nigeria and Kenya.
The profiles are based on data from the Creditor Reporting System (CRS) Aid Activity database managed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The CRS collects data across a number of fields, including sector, purpose, intended recipient country or region, and channel. These infographics are based on one of the Government and Civil Society sector fields: I.5.a. Government & Civil Society-general.
If you are intrigued to know more about the bigger picture around TPA funding and want to do some of your own analysis, then check our dynamic summary through Power BI drawing on the April 2022 data release and showing data from the above-mentioned sector I.5.a.
Anti-corruption organizations and institutions funding in 2020
In 2020, funding to anti-corruption organizations and institutions was down $144 million compared to 2019, falling to $349 million. Most of this funding ($244 million) was through official development assistance (ODA) grants, followed by $90 million in other official flows, which are non-concessional. Private development finance provided a little more than $11 million. Only $4 million in ODA loans were disbursed to this issue.
Projects reported by funders ranged from citizen accountability and work on illicit financial flows to supporting audits and government reforms.
Anti-corruption organizations and institutions funding in 2020
The Gender Policy Marker and Funding to Government and Civil Society in 2020
In their reports to the OECD on aid and other international funding for development, funders can report on how projects and programs are integrating gender equality objectives. This is done through the gender equality policy marker. The marker allows funders to specify if funding had a significant gender equality objective (score of 1) or a principal objective (score of 2). Two sub-sector areas related to women’s rights and ending violence against women and girls are usually marked as 2. What about the other sub-sector areas, ranging from media to public procurement?
Looking at the other sub-sectors within the government and civil society area, the greatest change in the use of the marker was a decrease in the use of the marker, meaning no score at all. Of all the funds disbursed, 41% were not marked. This was up from 24% in 2019.
However, this is for all kinds of funds, not just ODA, and a variety of funders. Members of the Donor Assistance Committee (DAC) of the OECD are more likely to use the marker than other funders. Looking just at ODA grants and loans, which are made by DAC members and some multilaterals, the use of the marker was still down, but by less. The marker was not used almost 25% of the time, compared to about 18% in 2019. In addition, scores of 1 and 2, which show attention to gender equality, were also down for ODA in 2020 compared to 2019.
Media and Free Flow of Information Funding in 2020
In 2020, funding to media and free flow of information reached $703 million. This was an increase of almost $35 million compared to 2019, which was at $668 million. This category (as reported to the OECD) includes many different types of projects:
support to organizations to produce media (e.g., support to channels and editorial departments),
investigative journalism (such as for ProPublica),
work against hate speech and misinformation,
data portals and open data, and
advocacy on freedom of expression.
Women’s Rights Funding in 2020
The OECD collects data on funding to government and civil society, which includes two purpose areas with direct connections to gender equality:
Ending violence against women and girls (EVAWG)
Women’s rights organisations and movements, and government institutions (hereafter shortened to “women’s rights organizations”)
In 2020, with the COVID-19 pandemic in full swing, support for women’s rights organizations was at $1.048 billion, down only $7 million from 2019. This was close to holding steady. Most of this funding (71%) was provided through ODA grants and15% through private development finance, which are often grants from charitable foundations. There was also 13% provided through ODA loans.
Funding to Nigeria in 2020
In 2020, international donors disbursed almost $830 million to benefit governance and civil society in Nigeria. This was an increase of about $523 million from 2019. Over 83% of the 2020 funding was ODA loans from the International Development Association (IDA), the concessional window of the World Bank.
Curiously, only 1% of this funding was tagged to COVID-19.
Funding to Kenya in 2020
With Kenya’s presidential election in 2022, many are watching governance and civil society issues. Many TAI members also work in Kenya, so as a companion to the governance funding dashboard and overall findings, we wanted to share some specifics on how international funding to Kenya looked in 2020.
