The Reality of Aid Network Profile

The Reality of Aid Network (RoA) is the only major North/South international non-government initiative focusing exclusively on analysis and advocacy for poverty eradication policies and practices in the international aid regime.

It brings together hundreds of regional and global organizations, including civil society networks, working in the field of international cooperation in the 22 donor countries of the OECD and partner countries in Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America. The Reality of Aid builds on a 25-year track record of independent assessment of aid policies and practices, accompanied by constructive dialogue with policy makers at national and international levels.

The Network has two independent Southern  regional arms, the Reality of Aid – Asia Pacific (RoA-AP) and the Reality of Aid – Africa (RoA Africa).

The regional hubs support the global network in providing reports on aid performance, in influ­encing policy makers through lobbying and policy dialogue, and in facilitating collaboration among civil society organizations (CSOs) to enhance their capacities toward building effective development cooperation.

Strategic Objectives

• To provide reliable and well-researched reports on international aid performance;
• To influence national and international policy makers, in the North and the South, through lobbying and policy dialogue;
• To contribute to an informed debate on the role of aid in poverty eradication;
• To increase public knowledge and awareness and thereby catalyze public and political pressure for accountable development cooperation policies in donor countries;
• To facilitate collaboration and shared learning among CSOs from all regions of the world to enhance their capacity to advocate for effective development cooperation.

Programs and Activities

The Reality of Aid Report

Since 1993, RoA has been producing reports on aid and development cooperation and in 2000, it started to publish a major biennial thematic report that assesses aid effectiveness for poverty reduction with an emphasis on qualitative analysis of the national and multilateral aid regime.

The Reality of Aid Reports analyze and advocate key messages relating to the performance of aid donors from a unique perspective of civil society in both donor and recipient developing countries.

The Reports are established to be credible publica­tions on development assistance and poverty reduction. The Reports have also developed a reputation in many donor countries as an indepen­dent comparative reference for accountability and public awareness of development issues.

Regional Reports

RoA also facilitates the production of regional reports in Asia, Africa and Latin America, which draw on the common analysis of the global Report with additional regionally generated chapters. These are distributed widely within the region and are shared within the Network. National reports in the North are also drawn from the global Report, with extended national chapters, in languages appropriate to the country/region concerned.

Reality Check

The Reality Check is the official newsletter of the Reality of Aid. It is designed to highlight current issues in aid regime written from a regional perspective but with global significance, edited in rotation by members from the different global regions.

Lobbying and Policy Dialogue

The products and the reality of an engaged North/ South civil society network within RoA are important tools that CSOs use to influence governments and to keep donors accountable toward their commitments for poverty eradication.

The Reality of Aid Network actively engages in several policy arenas such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development – Development Assistance Committee (OECD-DAC), Global Partnership for Effective Development Cooperation (GPEDC), South-South Cooperation (SSC), and the different United Nations (UN) processes.

Capacity Development

RoA members, by means of independent or coordinated endeavor, initiate various multi-stakeholder consultations, seminars, researches, and other activities toward the promotion of CSO positions on aid and development effectiveness.