Accountability as strategic transparency: Making sense of organizational responses to the International Aid Transparency Initiative

Aid transparency received a welcome boost in December 2011 when a critical mass of donors signed up to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI), an electronic registry through which all aid expenditure is published using the same criteria. IATI launched with statements about increased effectiveness, improved collaboration and better decisions based on greater transparency. This article investigates the strategic nature of organizational responses to IATI. It places particular emphasis on subtle distinctions between norms and standards, diminishing returns on the production of additional data, and inconsistently communicated benefits. It concludes that these factors contribute to IATI membership being rearticulated as part of the management of organizations' visibility, hence reformulating compliance with IATI as a form of strategic communication.