CPA is the proportion of aid that is subjected to multi-year programming at country level, and hence represent a subset of ODA outflows. It takes as a starting point data on gross ODA disbursements by recipient but excludes spending which is: (1) inherently unpredictable (humanitarian aid and debt relief); or (2) entails no flows to the recipient country (administration costs, student costs, development awareness and research and refugee spending in donor countries); or (3) is usually not discussed between the main donor agency and recipient governments (food aid, aid from local governments, core funding to NGOs, aid through secondary agencies, ODA equity investments and aid which is not allocable by country). (4) CPA does not net out loan repayments, as these are not usually factored into aid allocation decisions. CPA is therefore a gross concept. CPA figures for the previous year and for the future are based on data reported to the latest OECD/DAC Survey on Forward Spending Plan.

Creditor Reporting System Aid Activity database and the OECD-DAC Survey on Forward Spending Plans.

CRS Aid Activity database and the OECD-DAC Survey on Forward Spending Plans.

CPA is derived by subtracting non-CPA expenditures (e.g. humanitarian aid, debt relief, administrative costs etc.) from gross ODA figures reported by recipient in the table DAC2a. Non-CPA expenditures are identified in DAC2a (e.g. humanitarian aid is reported as DAC2a column 216) and in the CRS activity database (e.g. using sector/purpose codes, channel codes of delivery, agency codes and/or description fields). The non-CPA flows are: Debt relief (DAC2a: col 212), Re-scheduled debt (DAC2a: col 214), Other forms of debt relief (DAC2a: col 221), Humanitarian aid (DAC2a: col 216), Developmental food aid (DAC2a: col 213), Promotion of development awareness (CRS), Imputed student costs (CRS), Administrative costs (CRS), Refugees in donor country (CRS), Aid from local governments (CRS), Core support to national, international and local NGOs (CRS), Export subsidies (CRS), University subsidies (CRS), Equity investments (CRS), Aid not from main agencies as notified by the donor (CRS), Aid that is not country or regionally allocable (DAC2a: ODA reported as bilateral unspecified, recipient code 998). Preliminary CPA data for the previous year and CPA projections for the future are based on aid providers' most recent plans as reported to the latest OECD-DAC Survey on Forward Spending Plans (for more information please visit: http://www.oecd.org/dac/aidoutlook).

Since 2007, CPA data are more robust compared to earlier years due to improved quality in donors' reporting to the CRS activity database. CPA compilation for most non-DAC donors is only partial as these donors do not report detailed expenditures on administrative costs and imputed student costs to the CRS Aid Activity database. CPA may therefore be overestimated. The non-DAC donors concerned are: Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Israel, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Malta, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, and Turkey.