What are activity elements?

Activity elements are contributing factors on any activity that allows you to provide details and information related to the respective element (title). 

IATI has laid out a set of elements as 'core' elements (known in AidStream as basic elements). Core elements allow to include the bare minimum information for the data to be usable. Core elements needs to be included in order for the publisher to be able to publish their data to the Registry. 

Explanation of the core elements are: 

1. Basic Activity Information

   1. 1. Title: This is the title of the project whose data you are providing. This will be the official title of the activity and can be provided in the language of your choice. This is a mandatory field and cannot be skipped.

      2. Description: In this field, a narrative or overview of the activity can be provided. There is no limit to the length of the description, however, it is advised to provide a short description for the benefit of the reader. 

         1. 1. Description Type: Select the type you want to provide your description in. Multiple descriptions can be added, however, the type of the description cannot be repeated.

            2. Narrative: Narrative should be provided as a brief explanation about the project. Narratives can be repeated in different languages. (See: Description Type - iatistandard.org)  

      3. Activity Status: Activity status is the status of the activity as it is being reported. (See: Activity Status - iatistandard.org)  

      4. Activity Date: Activity date should be specified as on the project. Multiple dates can be added.

      5. Contact Info: Multiple contact information can be added in this field. To understand the types of contact info., see:Contact Type - iatistandard.org 

      6. Activity Scope: Select the scope of the project from the dropdown menu. See: Activity Scope - iatistandard.org

2. Participating Organisation: These are organisations that have been involved in the particular project. The roles (Funding, Accountable, Extending, Implementing) cannot be repeated. (See: Organisation Role - iatistandard.org)
   

   Note: 

   • The participating organisation identifier should be mentioned. If not, provide a narrative about the organisation that is being mentioned. 

   • The role of your organisation can be repeated in case you are fulfilling the said roles. 

3. Geopolitical Information: This field provides geographic information of the activity. 

   1. 1. Recipient Country: The country which is associated with the project. Recipient country can be repeated.
         Note:
         

         • If there is more than one recipient country, the percentage of commitment allocated to a particular country should be provided. In case of multiple countries, the percentage of allocation should add up to 100. 

         • Recipient country can be specified either at transaction level or at the activity level. It cannot be specified at both.

      2. Recipient Region: The region or area associated with the project.
         Notes: 

         • More than one region can be specified. 

         • In case of multiple regions, the sum of the percentage should add up to 100. 

      3. Location: Location should be the sub-national geographical identification of the target location of the project. This can be specified by gazetteer reference, coordinates, administrative areas or a textual description. 
         Note:

         • There can be multiple locations

4. Classifications
   

   This field helps to identify the types, statuses, scopes of the project.

   1. 1. Sector: This refers to the sector the project is being conducted in. 

         1. Sector Vocabulary: Sector codes change according to the vocabulary. (See: Sector Vocabulary - iatistandard.org )

         2. Sector Code: See: DAC 5 Digit Sector - iatistandard.org 

            Note: 

            • Sector code can be mentioned either at activity level or transaction level.

            • Multiple sectors can be provided.

            • Sum of sectors under the same vocabulary should add up to 100.

      2. Policy Marker: Policy marker element must be used only when the vocabulary is 99-RO (the reporting organisation’s own marker vocabulary).

      3. Collaboration Type: This element has been explained in AidStream Settings under the ‘Default Values’ section. 

      4. Default Flow Type: This element has been explained in AidStream Settings under the ‘Default Values’ section. 

      5. Default Finance Type: This element has been explained in AidStream Settings under the ‘Default Values’ section. 

      6. Default Aid Type: This element has been explained in AidStream Settings under the ‘Default Values’ section. 

      7. Default Tied Status: This element has been explained in AidStream Settings under the ‘Default Values’ section. 

      8. Country Budget Items: Country Budget Items elements encode the alignment of activities with both functional and administrative classifications used in the recipient country’s chart of accounts. This applies to both on and off budget activities. (See: Budget Identifier Vocabulary - iatistandard.org
         Note:- This element should not occur more than once within each parent element.

      9. Humanitarian Scope: This element is reserved for emergencies, appeals, and other humanitarian actions.  

5. Financials: This section consists of all financial information of the project. 

   1. 1. Budget: Budget is the allocated fund for the activity.
         Note: 

         • The activity’s budget allocated for each financial quarter or yearly over the activity’s lifetime. 

         • The total budget for the activity should be reported as a commitment in the Transaction element. 

         • Depending on the publisher’s business model and legal frameworks, the sum of budget need not necessarily match the sum of commitment.

      2. Planned Disbursement: This element should be used only to report specific planned cash transactions. They are to be reported for a specific date or a predictable period. 
         Note: 

         • Planned disbursement should be reported in addition to the budget.

      3. Transaction: Transaction can be added manually or can be uploaded. The uploading method has been explained in the uploading section. (See:  Transaction Type - iatistandard.org) 
         Note:

         • Recipient country/region needs to be specified here, but if it has been included in activity level, it does not need to be specified here. 

6. Related Documents: Related documents are any documents that support the information provided in the activity or documents related to the project which will make it easy for the reader to interpret the information provided.  

7. Relations (Related Activity): Any other activity that has been published to the registry and is also related to the activity being published. 

How do I know if I’ve missed an element? 

If you have missed any information, when you try to mark your activity as ‘Complete’, the elements you have missed out will be listed out in a pop-up. (See picture below)