The First Tranche

A volley of words—and new data—on China’s diplomatic reach

A recent report by AidData informed and incited discussion of China’s growing public diplomacy activities in East Asia and Pacific.

Chinese public diplomacy in East Asia and the Pacific: Is it working?

A new report from AidData chronicles the nature and impact of China’s diplomatic programs.

New report reveals how donors perform in “customer satisfaction survey” of foreign aid

Report: Climate change among least important issues according to developing countries

Report: China, India winning friends in the developing world, but lag far behind U.S.

Tuned-in or tone-deaf? Leaders and citizens agree, diverge on priorities for poorer countries

Linking the SDGs with national development planning for better coordination

AidData is piloting a new methodology in Rwanda to connect financing for and progress on the SDGs with national development.

AidData wins $2.95 million to track HIV/AIDS in Côte d’Ivoire

The project is designed to enhance the use of health data by the government of Côte d’Ivoire, civil society organizations and local communities.

Breaking boundaries

The GeoBoundaries team at AidData has now made over 600 sets of administrative boundaries freely available for 196 countries across the globe.

Enhancing statistics for the SDGs: A new project to increase use and impact of official statistics

AidData is polling producers of national statistics as part of a new collaboration with Open Data Watch and PARIS21.

Russia’s foreign aid re-emerges

Little is known about Russia’s foreign aid. We examine the evidence to see what makes Moscow's spending different.

China’s financial statecraft: Winning Africa one Yuan at a time?

Teasing out the nexus of money and influence in China’s development activities in Africa with a recent global dataset and a forthcoming report on leaders’ perceptions.

Minding the gap in data on migrant, refugee and trafficked children

Understanding what data is available about children on the move will help decision-makers better direct resources to them.

AidData/William & Mary awarded two-year grant to study data on refugee, migrant and trafficked children

The two-year, nearly $500,000 grant funds research to improve the data needed for assistance programs seeking to help children on the move.

Data to fight disease: A new partnership to improve HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment data in Zambia

We’re partnering with Zambia’s National AIDS Council to build new tools to sift through reams of official data on HIV/AIDS, and apply it for better outcomes.

Listening to leaders on education data: A new report

What data do education leaders want and need to improve learning outcomes? AidData and Brookings evaluate two new global surveys on decision-makers’ use of data and evidence.

Filling the missing middle: A method for impact evaluators on a budget

Faster and cheaper than a randomized control trial but more rigorous than a performance evaluation, Geospatial Impact Evaluations (GIEs) fill the “missing middle” for organizational learning.

Rogue agent or team player? Beijing’s motivations for aid provision

A new study in ISQ pinpoints the factors that motivate Beijing to provide aid and other forms of government financing to Africa.

Six deep dives into China’s checkbook diplomacy

AidData’s release of the most comprehensive dataset yet on Beijing’s spending abroad prompted a flurry of media coverage and policy analysis. See our top five picks for articles and interviews that provide new insight.