The OECD works with the International Monetary Fund as joint guardians of international definitions of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and collects statistics to assist policy making in member and non-member countries. Based on these statistics, OECD publishes regular reports on trends and recent developments.

The OECD Benchmark Definition of Foreign Direct Investment, provides operational guidelines on how foreign direct investment activity should be measured according to internationally agreed standards.  

The Workshop on International Investment Statistics (Workshop) assists the OECD Investment Committee to monitor and develop recommendations relating to the OECD Benchmark Definition of Foreign Direct Investment and to analyse trends in international investment, including multinational enterprises.

The Workshop provides a forum for member countries to share their experiences and promote best practices for the implementation of international standards and to facilitate the availability of timely, reliable and comparable statistics.  It also acts as a network of experts to exchange views and experiences with non-member economies.