AidData: Aid Transparency in Action

This week has been very exciting for those of us here at Development Gateway, particularly the AidData team. After nearly seven years in development, the AidData web portal---along with its nearly 1 million development assistance activity records---was finally made available to the public. The beta version of the site allows users to search for detailed information on aid activities from 80 donor governments and multilateral organizations worldwide. AidData was revealed midway through the Aid Transparency and Development Finance: Issues and Insights from AidData conference that took place over three days at University College in Oxford. Participants engaged in lively discussion about the web portal, data standards, aid transparency, and the 24 papers and numerous presentations of cutting-edge research using AidData. Anyone interested could also attend a demonstration of how to use the tool to answer their own questions about development finance.

The best news for the team, however, has been the overwhelmingly positive feedback that AidData has gotten since going public. In its first week, the website had over 30,000 hits and AidData has been mentioned in dozens of high-profile blogs and news outlets as a positive influence on aid transparency and effectiveness.

To check out AidData, go to www.AidData.org.

Intern blog: Aid Information Challenge

If you've been following our Twitter, you may know that we're holding an unconference/bar camp, Aid Information Challenge, this month to discuss how data can used to improve aid efficiency. Development Gateway's databases compile information about international aid so that it's more accessible to international development professionals, but also the public. AidData, which is a database of extensive statistical data on international aid, will also be launched in March at Oxford in conjunction with BYU and William & Mary. So it's a pretty exciting time for Development Gateway!

In the process, I've been spreading the word and got to thinking about the core purpose of these events. There seems to be a general consensus now that transparency is crucial for development aid. Not only are we striving to do this with our programs and technology, but we are also trying to achieve this through the unconference. In a field or within an organization, encouraging dialogue and input is a great way to facilitate new ideas.  We're providing the statistics and data and you can help us come up with effective ways to use and implement it!

Tame the beast

A recent article in The Economist about data and transparency addresses the possible downsides of open government data. While the article sites some positive examples of efforts governments have made to make data more open, it acknowledges that, “whatever governments do, the presentation of endless facts can fall flat unless there are independent developers who know what to do with them.”

Even people used to dealing with data can be overwhelmed by all the raw stuff. In March Development Gateway is launching AidData, a repository that tracks more than 1 million projects spanning 81 donor agencies and totaling more than $4.1 trillion dollars over 40 years. Although clearly a rich source of information, one researcher who got a sneak preview of the database characterized it as an “unwieldy monster.”

Such a reaction didn’t surprise us. We know that it will take a variety of tools and a multi-disciplinary approach to make the data meaningful to a broad range of people. Toward that end, we are holding the Aid Information Challenge, an informal conference to bring together software developers and development practitioners to come up with applications that will make the data easier to access and more helpful to users. This event, held at the World Bank on March 12, is co-sponsored by AidInfo, ForumOne, and the World Bank. This video explains the purpose of the event. To register for the Aid Information Challenge, and help us tame the beast, click here.

The public launch of AidData will take place at the Aid Transparency and Development Finance conference in Oxford, U.K., March 22 – 25. Read more about AidData here.

Greetings for the New Year

As a tribute to all our friends and family, the first blog post of the new year features a photo of the participants at the annual knowledge-sharing workshop for AMP, held in Dakar during the first week in December. Without these stakeholders our aid management program would not be as robust. The participants impressed us with their spirit of collaboration and with the knowledge and experiences they shared. The workshop gave us insights into how different countries are addressing issues of aid management. It also gave us some ideas for add-ons to the system. More importantly, it showed us a real example of South-South collaboration. We thank all of the attendees for making the event a success.

The year ended in a rush of activity as the workshop came to an end and then we embarked on a strategic planning process. That process is now under way. We have much to look forward to in 2010. AidData, a user-friendly global repository of development activities, will be launched in March. The aid management program will open its Asian market with an implementation in Laos. And, we will host a follow-on to the Open Development camp. Look here for more details.