The First Tranche

‍Using Facebook’s Social Connectedness Index to study social networks’ impact on the diffusion of agricultural technology in sub-Saharan Africa  AidData found that the use of improved seeds was higher in regions more socially connected to other regions that had previously adopted improved seeds. Rachel Sayers, Alex Wooley

Beyond saving lives, landmine removal in Afghanistan clears path to development, study finds AidData’s geospatial impact evaluation of a demining program in Afghanistan sheds light on the results of a decades-long effort to tackle the complicated and compelling problem of landmine removal. Soren Patterson, John Custer

Development that doesn’t deforest: Study points to path forward for local infrastructure projects A groundbreaking study of 40,000 local infrastructure projects in Cambodia finds the program by-and-large created economic gains while not hastening forest loss. Soren Patterson, John Custer

Is it possible for infrastructure not to hurt forests? A recently published study in JAERE finds that certain types of local infrastructure projects can improve rural livelihoods AND forest conditions, but important caveats apply. John Custer, Soren Patterson

New study shines a light on Beijing’s secretive international lending program An unprecedented cache of documents shows that Chinese loan contracts have unusual secrecy provisions, collateral requirements, and debt renegotiation restrictions. AidData

New insights into geospatial data at NYC Open Data Week 2021 How can innovative sources and applications of open geospatial data be used to empower insights at a global scale? Soren Patterson

Aid distributions to the most vulnerable remained equitable even after Nigeria crossed a key income threshold, study finds The country avoided one potential unintended consequence of a policy question that will affect nearly two dozen countries over the next decade. John Custer, Soren Patterson

Empowering global insights with geospatial data AidData’s new video series helps you get started with GeoQuery, our platform for creating customized geospatial datasets. Soren Patterson, Parker Kim

Listening for influence: AidData and African Population and Health Research Center partner to improve policy impact A joint survey yields insights on how research organizations in Africa like APHRC can collect and respond to feedback data from the policymakers they seek to influence. Tanya Sethi, Grace Kibunja, Soren Patterson

AidData wins two-year Hewlett Foundation grant to build research partnerships in Africa A new $600,000 grant from the Hewlett Foundation will help AidData bolster engagement with policy makers and influencers in Africa Alex Wooley

A “new” type of data for development AidData’s next-generation measures of important development outcomes use machine learning to help policy makers overcome data gaps. John Custer, Seth Goodman

AidData wins two-year Ford Foundation grant to close the evidence gap on China’s Belt and Road Initiative Ford Foundation grants AidData $200,000 to examine Chinese development finance. Alex Wooley