Lessons learnt from the 2019 Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD)
data survey
Total official support for sustainable development (TOSSD) is a new international
statistical measure that provides a complete picture of all official resources and
private finance mobilised by official interventions in support of sustainable development
and the SDGs. It consists of two pillars: cross-border resources to developing countries
(pillar I) and support to international public goods and global challenges (pillar
II). To test the TOSSD concept and operationalise the reporting, a data survey was
carried out in 2019 on 2017 resources. This paper analyses the main lessons learnt
from the survey with the objective to help further refine the TOSSD Reporting Instructions
and data collection process, and provide evidence to the international community about
the usefulness, relevance and feasibility of TOSSD as a measurement framework for
the SDG era.
TOSSD can respond to developing countries’ needs for information on external financing
for sustainable development (pillar I), with estimates showing that between 18% and
26% of the volume of resources captured in the survey relate to additional data captured
in TOSSD. TOSSD can fill a key information gap on financing for international public
goods (IPGs) that support the achievement SDGs (pillar II). The TOSSD framework is
appropriate for various providers of financing for sustainable development, including
traditional providers, South-South Co-operation providers and multilateral institutions.
To enhance the usefulness and relevance of TOSSD, efforts will need to continue to
fill the remaining data gaps and enhance data quality.
Published on October 21, 2020
In series:OECD Development Co-operation Working Papersview more titles