Development Assistance Database
Development Assistance Database (DAD)
The Development Assistance Database (DAD) is an Aid Information Management System for use in national reconstruction and long term development environments that strengthens the management, coordination, and transparency of international assistance. DAD is a Web-based information collection, tracking, analysis and planning tool for use by national governments and the broader assistance community, including bilateral donors, international organizations, and NGOs.
The use of the DAD by national governments to strengthen the effectiveness of aid management fulfills basic tenets of the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness by allowing each country to take ownership and lead the process of international assistance, ensuring that it is aligned to their needs and priorities. Implementation of this technology has empowered governments to truly drive the aid process and direct donors to priority sectors, regions or strategic goals.
History
Originally known as the Donor Assistance Database, the DAD was rebranded as the Development Assistance Database on August 2, 2005. The first Donor Assistance Database was a PC system created for Russia in 1996 by the G7 Support Implementation Group. The first Donor Assistance Database tracked 20,000 projects and over US $100 billion in Official Development Assistance delivered between 1991 and 2001. The DAD was then adapted as a tool for the Newly Independent States of the former Soviet Union to monitor development assistance from the international community. These first generation implementations include Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. The DAD then developed into a Web-based tool, and shortly thereafter, Russia graduated from being a recipient of international assistance.
This experience initiated DAD’s existence as a commercial-off-the-shelf product created for use in any national reconstruction or long term development environment to strengthen the effectiveness and transparency of international assistance.
The DAD has been implemented in 21 countries. In addition to the NIS, these include Lebanon, Zambia, Rwanda, Vietnam, UNDP Regional Center in Bangkok (Tsunami Regional DAD and Private Sector DAD), Pakistan, Indonesia (Recovery Aceh-Nias), UNAIDS Indonesia, Maldives, Thailand, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Sierra Leone, Macedonia, and Guatemala. Most of these implementations have taken place through a strategic partnership between the software company Synergy International Systems, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). This partnership led to the signing of a Long Term Agreement in July, 2005.
Tsunami Relief and Recovery
DAD systems and corresponding Web Portals were established for each of the four most seriously affected countries after the Asian Tsunami of December 2004. These included Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Thailand. A comprehensive Regional DAD and regional Portal for the Tsunami affected region was developed that includes information from each of the national DADs. The Regional DAD and a private sector DAD are housed at the UNDP Regional Center in Bangkok.
An important aspect of DAD systems in Tsunami reconstruction was creating indicators measuring the progress of projects vis-à-vis their targets. As such, monitoring and evaluation components were included in the DADs, allowing governments to track changes in real time and respond proactively.
Each of the four countries implemented M&E tools customized for the nation’s specific needs. For example, Indonesia’s Recovery Aceh Nias (RAN, a version of the DAD) database introduced sector-specific Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for measuring results of individual projects, while Sri Lanka selected to measure the percentage of progress in delivering outputs, both in qualitative and quantitative terms. Maldives implemented a sophisticated mechanism of measuring assistance towards its National Recovery and Reconstruction Plan (NRRP).
The Web-based DADs have allowed these governments to track over 2,400 projects from private, bilateral and international organizations totaling US $6.1 billion of assistance. More than 550 donor agencies and 630 implementing partners are participating in online data sharing directly providing up-to-date information on the progress of their reconstruction works.
Vietnam
The DAD Vietnam was launched through the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) and is now tracking 95% of donor activity with 45 donors participating in entering data. The DAD Vietnam also includes historical data from the past decade of ODA to facilitate monitoring and evaluation as well as aid tracking. This makes the DAD the most comprehensive source of information on ODA in Vietnam.
DAD is part of the overall ODA management effort in Vietnam to realize the commitments set forth in the Paris Declaration and the Hanoi Core Statement on Aid Effectiveness.
India
The DAD is being implemented in India as a Coordination and Decision Support System on External Assistance (CDSS), and is being implemented with a phased approach. The Government of India requested a customized system to be implemented through UNDP that will include Tsunami and non-Tsunami related projects. So far the DAD has been implemented in 3 ministries and 3 provinces.
Pakistan
The Development Assistance Database for Pakistan was launched in May 2006, seven months after the earthquake that devastated the Kashmir region of the country. The DAD was developed, tested, and installed over a period of four months. The DAD Pakistan supports English and Urdu, and is fully integrated with Pakistan’s Loan and Grant Tracking System. The DAD system also facilitates Monitoring and Evaluation by tracking Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) in line with the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. The DAD is tracking nearly $9 billion worth of commitments from bilateral, multilateral and other donors.
Lebanon
In August 2006, the Arab States Bureau of UNDP quickly coordinated between UNDP Lebanon and Synergy to facilitate the development of a DAD Lebanon for post-war reconstruction. Within two weeks of the needs assessment mission a DAD was produced. Currently work is underway to collect and enter data.
Afghanistan
In 2003 the government of Afghanistan selected Synergy to assist in the development of a Donor Assistance Database (DAD Afghanistan) to help manage the large sums of development assistance being introduced by the international community. An English and a Dari translation were created and remain in use today.
Iraq
In 2004 Synergy teamed up with Booz Allen Hamilton to produce a Donor Assistance Database (DAD Iraq) through the Department of Defense for the Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq. The DAD was subsequently transferred to the Iraqi Ministry of Planning and Development cooperation, where it is owned and operated by the Iraqi government. UNDP has taken leadership in providing technical assistance and support to this project.
Usage
The DAD serves to enable the effective management of international assistance, to provide a consolidated overview of aid flows, and to expand public information and awareness on development.
The DAD is used to collect, track, analyze and plan Official Development Assistance. This web-based system includes several modules that include listing, report building, a charting and GIS mapping component as well as an executive dashboard that allows several different reports to be displayed at once. Ad hoc reports and queries are all executed on live data.
Each DAD is customized according to the needs of the country. Although each DAD is unique, there is a common user interface, and a similar foundation of data, including detailed information on projects, financial commitments, and disbursements. Comprehensive analytical tools are also included, which empower users to effectively query through data, dynamically create reports, charts and GIS results and easily export items to commonly used formats such as word, pdf and xls.
Effectiveness
The effectiveness of a DAD depends largely on a clear government mandate, quality of data available, and donor cooperation. The United Nations Development Programme has analyzed the use of the DAD and is actively involved in reviewing current best practices and building sustainable capacity within government ministries to get the most out of their DAD. UNDP’s package of support combines DAD aid information management systems with intensive capacity development and training to bolster the government agencies leading the coordination response and to promote the effective and accountable use of aid.
In addition, Web-Based ICT tools such as DAD provide an environment for donors and implementing partners to better harmonize their efforts, thus greatly minimizing duplication of resources and activities. Finally, this technology empowers citizens with easy access to knowledge on the reconstruction progress, thereby promoting transparency and accountability.
Synergy International Systems, Inc. is actively engaged in improvements, enhancements, and is working with government line ministries and international organizations in the process of research and development for newer models of the DAD. DAD is currently in its fifth version and the sixth is expected in 2007.