What this covers: the definition of Core ODA, the items it excludes and why, and how it compares with total ODA.

Concepts and definitions

Core ODA is ONE's measure of how much of a donor's ODA contributes directly to development in partner countries. It is total ODA minus two items spent in the donor country and minus debt relief:

• In-donor refugee costs (IDRC)
• Imputed student costs
• Debt relief

Core ODA includes donor administrative costs. It is ONE's own measure.

IDRCs are the costs of hosting refugees from ODA-eligible countries in the donor country. Under OECD DAC rules, donors may count them as ODA for the first 12 months of a refugee's stay in the donor country, a rule the DAC clarified in 2017. IDRC has grown as a share of total ODA in recent years, particularly among European donors after large numbers of Ukrainian refugees arrived starting in 2022. For some donors it has exceeded half of total ODA.

Imputed student costs are the estimated costs of hosting students from ODA-eligible countries in donor-country universities. They are calculated by formula rather than from actual expenditure. They are ODA-eligible under OECD rules, and the money is spent in the donor country.

Debt relief is the cancellation or restructuring of loans that developing countries owe donor governments. It reduces the debt a recipient already owes, so it adds to ODA without a new transfer of resources to the recipient in that year.

Core contributions to multilateral organisations are a separate concept. They are a delivery channel. The multilateral allocates the funds at its own discretion across sectors, countries, and purposes. They count in Core ODA.

Choosing between Core ODA and total ODA

Core ODA is useful for assessing the resources a donor directs to development in partner countries, and for comparisons between donors whose totals are inflated by IDRC, student costs, or debt relief. Its drawback is that it departs from official figures and cannot be checked against OECD publications.

Total ODA is useful for questions about a donor's effort as officially reported, and any work that replicates or compares against OECD-published figures. Its drawback is that in-donor spending and debt relief count in the total although they are not spent in partner countries.

Showing both side by side highlights the gap between what a donor reports and what reaches partner countries.

Pitfalls

• Core ODA and core contributions to multilaterals sound alike. One is a measure and the other is a channel, and an analysis that uses both terms can confuse readers.
• Readers unfamiliar with Core ODA often take it for an OECD standard, and compare it directly with OECD-published totals.
• IDRC is a very large share of total ODA for some European donors, so total ODA alone can mislead about their engagement in partner countries.

What makes a result verifiable

A Core ODA result is verifiable when it states which components were subtracted (IDRC, imputed student costs, debt relief) and why, gives the total ODA figure alongside it, and notes when IDRC is a large share of the donor's total along with the 12-month rule.