Background Note

The future of measuring development finance

TOSSD and donor contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals


Over the past years OECD has worked on the development of a new measure of development finance (Total Official Support for Sustainable Development or TOSSD), in close collaboration with the UN.

This Background Note provides an accessible introduction to the ongoing international discussions on TOSSD and the future of development finance. The Note explains the rationale for developing the new measure and explores a series of key discussions surrounding it. These key discussions include whether TOSSD will complement or replace existing measures like ODA and eventually undermine existing international commitments, what kind of financial flows the measure should and can capture, and who should govern TOSSD. The Note shows how these discussions, while being very technical in nature, have potential significant political implications for both the form and mobilization of development finance.

DIIS Experts

Ole Winckler Andersen
Sustainable development and governance
Senior Analyst
+45 3049 5320
Adam Fejerskov
Sustainable development and governance
Senior Researcher
+45 3269 8779
The Future of Development Finance
A Short Introduction to TOSSD