Tracking aid funding through open data

Mohinga: Myanmar’s aid transparency portal

Aid flows have increased significantly over the past few decades, but how effective has this been in achieving human development outcomes? By making aid funding information available, we can improve transparency and make sure it’s going where it’s needed.

Catalpa worked with the Myanmar Foreign Economic Relations Department, European Union and the Government of Germany to strengthen the Myanmar Government's capacity to coordinate, manage and report on development assistance.

The result was Mohinga, an Aid Information Management System (AIMS) that monitored billions in aid funding and thousands of individual development activities. Prior to the 2021 coup, Mohinga was Myanmar’s primary source of aid data, enabling better dialogue on aid priorities. Visit the platform to see how it works.

The world’s most modern AIMS

Mohinga leveraged Catalpa’s Openly platform, the first AIMS to be based on the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) Standard. It automatically integrated internationally reported aid data with locally collected aid data, storing it in one place for comprehensive oversight of aid funds.

The platform offered visualisation by location, sector, donor and partner Ministry, and provides aggregated reporting for funds from groups of partners, such as the European Union and its Member States.

Improving decision making for development outcomes

By providing transparency of aid funding in Myanmar, Mohinga contributed to more effective policy making, improved government planning, and better decision making for donors.

Internationally, Mohinga is regarded as a best-practice example of aid information management systems, with outstanding reviews stating it is a “game changer” (Devex) and a “Category A” AIMS (London School of Economics and Political Science).