Dear Mr Bacon

Freedom of Information Request F2009-186

Thank you for your Freedom of Information request dated 31 July 2009. You asked for a wide range of information on DFID's ARIES database and our Publishing Project Information (PPI) initiative. I will take each of your questions in turn.

1. A short description of each of the fields which can be stored for each project record in the ARIES database (including fields/questions in documents which can be attached to project records). You asked that we include the field names provided in our response to your previous request F2009-154 and that the descriptions are comprehensible to those unfamiliar with the database and DFID procedures.

We do not hold a list of fields and descriptions as requested, and the legislation does not require us to compile new information. The FAQ section on the PPI database does, however, provide some information that you may find relevant: http://projects.dfid.gov.uk/

2. The criteria which has, to date, been used in all the internal approval processes regarding what information will be published through the PPI initiative, i.e. what criteria has been and will be used to decide what is to be published.

DFID is committed to making its spending on aid more transparent in line with the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness, the 2008 Accra Agenda for Action and the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI). We aim to share up to date information about aid in a form that is accessible to all relevant stakeholders and be transparent about any conditions attached to aid and expected project outputs and outcomes.

We publish basic information extracted from each project record in our main finance system. The data extracted is the key project content, as distinct from other information held within our system that supports the operational management of each project.

The current criteria used to decide which projects to publish are:

3. The proposed timetable for the remainder of the PPI initiative.

Phase 1 of the project went live on 13 August 2009. We do not have a definitive timetable for the remainder of the PPI initiative.

4. All guidance and rules relating to how each of the 'Project Performance' fields in the ARIES database should be completed. (ie guidance given to staff in all sections of DFID, including all relevant guidance relating to how the information (to be inputted into the fields) should be formulated and calculated.

I attach extracts from the ARIES user guidance which relates to completing Project Performance fields and which supplements the information given in Annex 1. Please note that training and guidance for staff in using the ARIES systems assumes some prior knowledge of other DFID systems. Training is designed according to the individual's specific role and builds on existing job training and knowledge as well as DFID's core guidance `The Essential Guide to Rules and Tools' (also known as the Blue Book). Part B of the Blue Book covers project management and is available on our website: http://www.dfid.gov.uk/About-DFID/Finance-and-performance/blue-book/Blue-Book-index-A-to-C/#

5. For each of the 'Project Performance' fields in the ARIES database, the number of projects which contain some information in this field.

The number of projects with one or more project review entries is 3323.

Project performance fields are completed at various stages in the project lifecycle, depending on the type of project, budget and duration. Projects with a budget of over £1 million are subject to formal reviews at various stages in the lifecycle. These reviews are optional for projects with a budget of less than £1 million.

6. The total number of projects in the ARIES database.

Total number of projects in ARIES related to DFID's aid programme is 13326. These include projects that were migrated from legacy systems, using the criteria that they had incurred spend in or after April 2002. ARIES also holds information on internal operational projects that are not categorised as development projects.

The information supplied to you continues to be protected by the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. You are free to use it for your own purposes, including any non-commercial research you are doing and for the purposes of news reporting. Any other re-use, for example commercial publication, would require the permission of the copyright holder. Most documents supplied by DFID will have been produced by government officials and will be Crown Copyright. You can find details on the arrangements for re-using Crown Copyright on HMSOnline at:

http://www.hmso.gov.uk/copyright/licences/click-use-home.htm.

Information you receive which is not subject to Crown Copyright continues to be protected by the copyright of the person, or organisation, from which the information originated. You must ensure that you gain their permission before reproducing any third party (non Crown Copyright) information.

If you have any queries about this letter, please contact me quoting reference F2009-186.

If you are unhappy with the service we have provided and wish to make a complaint or request a review of our decision, you should write to Openness Unit at the address shown above or email [DFID request email]

If you do make a complaint and are not content with the outcome, you may apply directly to the Information Commissioner for a decision. Generally, the Information Commissioner cannot make a decision unless you have exhausted DFID's complaints procedure. You can contact the Information Commissioner at the following address:

The Information Commissioner's Office,

Wycliffe House,

Water Lane,

Wilmslow,

Cheshire, SK9 5AF.

Yours sincerely

John McGinn

Openness Unit

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