Note: This library is under development and in Beta status.

OKFN IATI XML Handler

A Python library for working with IATI XML data according to the IATI 2.03 standard.

Features

• Data models that represent IATI XML elements with validation
• XML generator to create valid IATI XML from Python objects
• Multi-CSV converter for easy data editing in spreadsheet tools
• Support for IATI 2.03 standard
• Enums for standardized code lists
• Data validation to ensure compliance with the standard

Installation

pip install okfn-iati

Usage

Option 1: Multi-CSV Workflow (Recommended)

The easiest way to work with IATI data is using the multi-CSV approach, which splits data into manageable spreadsheet files:

from okfn_iati import IatiMultiCsvConverter

# Create converter
converter = IatiMultiCsvConverter()

# Generate CSV templates with examples
converter.generate_csv_templates(
    output_folder="./my_iati_data",
    include_examples=True
)

# Edit the CSV files in Excel/LibreOffice, then convert to XML
converter.csv_folder_to_xml(
    csv_folder="./my_iati_data",
    xml_output="output.xml",
    validate_output=True
)

This creates multiple CSV files:

• activities.csv - Main activity information
• participating_orgs.csv - Organizations involved
• budgets.csv - Budget information
• transactions.csv - Financial transactions
• locations.csv - Geographic locations
• sectors.csv - Sector classifications
• documents.csv - Document links
• results.csv - Results and indicators
• contact_info.csv - Contact information

Option 2: Programmatic Creation

Create IATI activities directly in Python:

from okfn_iati import (
    # Main models
    Activity, Narrative, OrganizationRef, ParticipatingOrg, ActivityDate,
    Location, LocationIdentifier, DocumentLink,
    Budget, Transaction, IatiActivities,

    # Enums - use these constants instead of strings
    ActivityStatus, ActivityDateType, TransactionType, BudgetType, BudgetStatus,
    OrganisationRole, OrganisationType, LocationID, DocumentCategory,

    # Generator
    IatiXmlGenerator
)

# Define reporting organization identifier (following IATI standard format)
reporting_org_id = "XM-DAC-12345"

# Create an IATI Activity
activity = Activity(
    # The activity identifier should begin with the reporting org identifier
    # followed by a hyphen and a unique string: {org-id}-{activity-unique-id}
    iati_identifier=f"{reporting_org_id}-PROJECT001",
    reporting_org=OrganizationRef(
        ref=reporting_org_id,  # Must match the prefix of the activity identifier
        type=OrganisationType.GOVERNMENT.value,
        narratives=[Narrative(text="Example Organization")]
    ),
    title=[Narrative(text="Example Project")],
    description=[{
        "type": "1",
        "narratives": [
            Narrative(text="This is an example project description")
        ]
    }],
    activity_status=ActivityStatus.IMPLEMENTATION,
    activity_dates=[
        ActivityDate(
            type=ActivityDateType.PLANNED_START,
            iso_date="2023-01-01",
            narratives=[Narrative(text="Planned start date")]
        )
    ],
    participating_orgs=[
        ParticipatingOrg(
            role=OrganisationRole.FUNDING,
            ref="XM-EXAMPLE-FUNDER",
            type=OrganisationType.GOVERNMENT.value,
            narratives=[Narrative(text="Example Funding Organization")]
        )
    ],
    recipient_countries=[
        {
            "code": "KE",
            "percentage": 100,
            "narratives": [Narrative(text="Kenya")]
        }
    ],
    sectors=[
        {
            "code": "11110",  # Education policy and administrative management
            "vocabulary": "1",  # DAC vocabulary
            "percentage": 100
        }
    ],
    budgets=[
        Budget(
            type=BudgetType.ORIGINAL,
            status=BudgetStatus.INDICATIVE,
            period_start="2023-01-01",
            period_end="2023-12-31",
            value=100000.00,
            currency="USD",
            value_date="2023-01-01"
        )
    ],
    default_currency="USD",
)

# Create an IATI Activities container
iati_activities = IatiActivities(
    version="2.03",
    activities=[activity]
)

# Generate XML
generator = IatiXmlGenerator()
xml_string = generator.generate_iati_activities_xml(iati_activities)

# Save to file
generator.save_to_file(iati_activities, "example_activity.xml")

Command-Line Tools

The library includes command-line tools for working with CSV and XML files:

# Generate CSV templates with examples
python -m okfn_iati.cli multi-template ./my_data --include-examples

# Convert XML to multiple CSV files
python -m okfn_iati.cli xml-to-csv-folder data.xml ./csv_output

# Convert CSV folder back to XML
python -m okfn_iati.cli csv-folder-to-xml ./csv_output output.xml

# Convert with validation
python -m okfn_iati.cli csv-folder-to-xml ./csv_output output.xml --validate

Working with Existing XML

Convert existing IATI XML to editable CSV files:

from okfn_iati import IatiMultiCsvConverter

converter = IatiMultiCsvConverter()

# Extract XML to CSV files for editing
ret = converter.xml_to_csv_folder(
    xml_input="existing_data.xml",
    csv_folder="./editable_data"
)

if not ret:
    print("Errors during XML to CSV conversion:")
    for error in converter.latest_errors:
        print(f"  {error}")

# Edit the CSV files as needed, then convert back
ret = converter.csv_folder_to_xml(
    csv_folder="./editable_data",
    xml_output="updated_data.xml",
    validate_output=True
)
if not ret:
    print("Errors during CSV to XML conversion:")
    for error in converter.latest_errors:
        print(f"  {error}")

Validation with IATI Validator

The XML generated by this library follows the IATI schema and ruleset requirements. To validate your XML:

1. Generate your XML file using this library
2. Upload it to the IATI Validator
3. Check that it passes both schema validation and IATI ruleset validation

You can validate IATI XML using the built-in IatiValidator class:

from okfn_iati import IatiValidator

# Create a validator
validator = IatiValidator()

# Validate XML string
with open("example_activity.xml", "r") as f:
    xml_string = f.read()
    is_valid, errors = validator.validate(xml_string)

    if is_valid:
        print("XML is valid!")
    else:
        print("XML validation errors:")
        for schema_error in errors['schema_errors']:
            print(f"  Schema error: {schema_error}")
        for ruleset_error in errors['ruleset_errors']:
            print(f"  Ruleset error: {ruleset_error}")

Organisation Files

In addition to activity files, the library supports IATI organisation files:

from okfn_iati import (
    IatiOrganisationMultiCsvConverter,
    IatiOrganisationXMLGenerator
)

# Generate organisation CSV templates
org_converter = IatiOrganisationMultiCsvConverter()
org_converter.generate_csv_templates(
    output_folder="./org_data",
    include_examples=True
)

# Convert organisation CSV to XML
ret = org_converter.csv_folder_to_xml(
    csv_folder="./org_data",
    xml_output="organisation.xml"
)

if not ret:
    print("Errors during organisation CSV to XML conversion:")
    for error in org_converter.latest_errors:
        print(f"  {error}")

Start your IATI project

You can start by creating a CSV file and this library will process it to generate valid IATI XML files. Read the docs here.