FTS DATA: SOURCES AND VERIFICATION
FTS receives data from donor governments and recipient agencies, and also gathers
(to the extent possible) information as possible on specific pledges carried in
the media or donor web sites, or quoted in pledging conferences. FTS works under
strictly defined procedures, which include considerable cross-checking and reconciliation
of data from various sources. These procedures are as follows:
1. The information in the tables is based solely on written statements (communicated
to FTS or, occasionally, found on donor or agency web sites) from donors or appealing
organisations. Hence the note on all FTS tables, indicating "COMPILED BY OCHA ON
THE BASIS OF REPORTS FROM DONORS AND APPEALING ORGANISATIONS".
2. It is important to note that according to agreed procedures OCHA only reports the
data as provided from the designated resource/finance person at the agency headquarters.
Therefore, if agency representatives in the field disagree with the published data
in the financial tables, they should direct any concerns to the source of information
at their headquarters. Although this procedure may seem rigid, it is consistent
with the policy set by agencies' headquarters and agreed to by DHA/OCHA since June
1992, and it ensures that the donor community is provided with consistent reporting
from one source on the response to a Consolidated Appeal.
3. FTS reconciles all financial data received from Agencies against donor reports.
Frequently, donors announce a pledge, or report to FTS a specific commitment (see
Definitions / Glossary), some weeks before the recipient agency confirms the commitment
or receipt of the contribution. On the FTS tables, commitments and contributions
are generally grouped, and nonbinding pledges are shown separately (and not counted
towards the overall totals until confirmed at least as a commitment). Experience
shows that the typical time between a donor reporting a decision to OCHA and the
appealing agency confirming receipt of funds is approximately a month.
4. Upon issuance of a Consolidated Appeal or Flash Appeal, OCHA begins a process
of receiving data and tracking the response to a given appeal (both overall and
at the level of its specific projects). Donors and appealing organizations typically
provide details as to the sector and project for which the funds will be used. Appealing
agencies are obliged to report receipt of contributions regularly to FTS. The database
is updated on a daily basis.
5. OCHA also collects and posts information on humanitarian assistance channeled
outside of the appeal framework (i.e. to projects not listed in any appeal); including
bilateral support to the government of the affected country. This information also
originates in donor and agency reporting to OCHA (although the reality is that donors
report non-CAP humanitarian contributions much more comprehensively than recipient
agencies and NGOs). As FTS depends on the information reported to it, all tables
indicating additional humanitarian assistance outside of the Appeal framework have
the following note: "Compiled by OCHA on the basis of information provided by donors
and appealing organizations." FTS will search for new funding information, e.g.
on donor websites, as resources allow. However, FTS guarantees only that suitable
humanitarian funding information sent to it will be posted; FTS cannot guarantee
that it will find and record information not sent to it.