Mandate:   -   Terms of reference for the DAC Working Parties approved on 13th-14th March 1975 [DAC(75)18]

   -   Change of name, 5 February 1998 [DCD/DAC/M(98)3]

   -   New mandate approved by the DAC on 17 September 2003 [DCD/DAC/M(2003)6/FINAL]

   -   Renewal of the mandate approved by the DAC on 10 May 2007 [DCD/DAC/M(2007)6/FINAL, Item IX, para. 22 and DCD/DAC(2007)25/REV2]

   -   Revision of the DAC subsidiary body mandates approved by the DAC on 23 October 2008 [DCD/DAC/M(2008)9, para. 7]

   -   Decision to extend the mandate to 31 December 2011 [DCD/DIR(2010)18]

   -   Decision to extend the mandate to 31 December 2014, approved by the DAC on 3 November 2011 [DCD/DAC(2011)38/REV1, para. 17 e. and DCD/DAC/M(2011)9/FINAL, item V]

   -   Change of name, 16 March 2012 [STAT(2012)19] and 25 April 2012 [STAT(2012)27]

   -   Revision of the mandate, approved by the DAC on 12 November 2012 [DCD/DAC(2012)42 and DCD/DAC/M(2012)10/FINAL, item 4, para. 5]

   -   Decision to extend the mandate to 31 December 2015, in order to synchronise with the Committee mandate's date, approved by written procedure [DCD/DAC(2014)60 and DCD/DAC/M(2014)12/FINAL, item 3. para. 4]

   -   Decision to extend the mandate to 31 December 2016, in order to synchronise with the Committee mandate's date, approved by the DAC on 15 April 2015 and confirmed to the DAC on 18 June 2015 [DCD/DAC(2015)9, para. 3.ii), DCD/DAC/M(2015)3/FINAL, item 7. para. 24, 25, 26 and DCD/DAC/M(2015)5, item 3. para. 4]

   -   Decision to extend the mandate to 31 December 2017, in order to synchronise with the Committee mandate's date, approved by the DAC on 20 May 2016 [DCD/DAC(2016)26 and DCD/DAC/M(2016)5/FINAL, item 6. para.14]

   -   Decision to extend the mandate to 31 December 2018, approved by the DAC High Level Meeting on 30-31 October 2017 [DCD/DAC(2017)26/REV2, para.5 and DCD/DAC/M(2017)8/REV1 Item 10]

   -   Decision to revise and extend the mandate to 31 December 2022, approved by the DAC, via silent procedure, on 19 December 2018 [DCD/DAC(2018)39/FINAL].

   -   Decision to revise and extend the mandate to 31 December 2027, approved by the DAC on 24 November 2022 [DCD/DAC(2022)27/FINAL]

1.   The Development Assistance Committee (DAC) is the principal forum through which bilateral donors deal with issues related to the volume and effectiveness of development co‑operation. It aims to impact donor policies and practices in ways that promote aid effectiveness, capacity development, and inclusive globalisation, in order to support poverty reduction and sustainable development in developing countries.

2.   Subsidiary Bodies of the DAC will function as communities of practice and sources of expertise that promote collective learning and produce deliverables in accordance with the DAC mandate. The deliverables of Subsidiary Bodies are to be based on the Programme of Work and Budget (PWB) and on additional guidance from the DAC, as communicated by its Chair. They could include leading edge thinking, policy recommendations, good practices, and tools, which are to be relevant, practical, timely, and user-friendly. These deliverables should be accompanied by communication and dissemination strategies designed to ensure impact on behaviour change. Subsidiary Bodies will also promote synergies among other Subsidiary Bodies in contributing to the DAC’s PWB.   

3.   The operations of Subsidiary Bodies, as part of the Organisation for Economic Co‑operation and Development (OECD), will be in line with the rules, regulations, and guidance of the Organisation. Together with the Secretariat, they will carry out horizontal work with other parts of the OECD where appropriate to particularly contribute to policy coherence for development. Furthermore, Subsidiary Bodies will develop substantive interactions with international organisations and non-DAC donors –including in support of the Organisation’s efforts toward enlargement and enhanced engagement– as well as reach out on a case by case basis to partner countries and other relevant actors.

Extract from document [DCD/DAC(2022)27/FINAL]

Revised Mandate

I. Objectives

The overarching objective of the Working Party on Development Finance Statistics (hereafter the “WP-STAT”) is to assist the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) in maintaining and improving the quality (i.e. relevance, accuracy, credibility, timeliness, accessibility, interpretability and coherence)^[2] and user-friendliness of OECD DAC statistics on development co-operation and other resource flows to developing countries.

II. Working Methods

To achieve its objectives, the WP-STAT shall:

• Make recommendations about: ODA eligibility and measurement of development finance; guidelines and definitions for reporting; data comparability; the integrity of DAC statistics and the credibility of the ODA measure; the scope and use of DAC statistics.

• Propose improvements in the OECD DAC statistical system to capture and report on, in a transparent way, the volume and the main characteristics of international official flows for development (from DAC and other bilateral and multilateral providers, with emphasis on but not limited to official development assistance) as well as flows from private sources.

• Develop measurement standards and methods to support the update and implementation of the DAC statistical Reporting Directives, in order to i) recommend to the DAC significant amendments to the Directives for its decision or ii) make technical adjustments (e.g. updates to statistical classifications), on authority delegated by the DAC in between full revisions of the Directives.

• Facilitate the use of OECD DAC statistics for monitoring development finance provided in support of the 2030 Agenda and other internationally set policy objectives, as appropriate.

• Supply the DAC CRS data on the provision of resources in support of sustainable development, to support the implementation of the standards developed by the DAC and to monitor donor effort and members’ performance against internationally established standards, objectives and targets for development co-operation, and thereby help promote change in provider agencies.

• Promote good statistical practice and peer learning among provider agencies through statistical peer reviews and by providing a venue to exchange knowledge, experience and best practices on a variety of questions related to statistical reporting on development finance – data collection, production, processing, verification, standardisation, publication, access and use, including analytical tools and technologies (e.g. artificial intelligence) – and by encouraging participation in WP-STAT work by countries and organisations reporting to the CRS.

III. Coordination arrangements

In order to efficiently implement its objectives, the WP-STAT shall:

• Engage with other subsidiary bodies of the DAC, in particular Network on Environment and Development Co-operation (ENVIRONET), the Network on Gender Equality (GENDERNET) and the Network on Governance (GovNet), to ensure that statistical tools and methodologies for monitoring their respective thematic areas in DAC statistics remain relevant and up to date.

• Closely co-operate with the Committee on Statistics and Statistical Policy, which is responsible for the OECD’s statistical policy, both within the Organisation and vis-à-vis the rest of the world.

• Co-operate with other OECD bodies, in particular the Working Party on Export Credits and Credit Guarantees, the Environment Policy Committee, the Investment Committee, the Committee on Fiscal Affairs, with a view to supporting the DAC in furthering policy coherence for sustainable development.

• Co-operate with other international organisations and fora, in particular the United Nations and various UN entities, to ensure that the DAC statistical standards and processes are relevant for monitoring global commitments and allocation of ODA to specific recipients, sectors and policy objectives, as well as the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation, with a view to supporting the DAC’s efforts to enhance development co-operation effectiveness and deliver development results.

• Collaborate with other development-related statistical frameworks and transparency initiatives, such as the Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD) and the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), to promote coherent reporting practices.

• Consult with other stakeholders, including relevant OECD Part II bodies and independent bodies hosted by OECD, development finance institutions, civil society organisations, academia, philanthropic foundations and the broader private sector, with a view to increasing the transparency of development finance data and promoting their use.

IV. Composition

The WP-STAT is composed of governmental officials and experts from DAC members responsible for development finance statistics, data production and the monitoring of development co-operation activities.