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.

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.

Chinese infrastructure investments shift economic activity, reduce spatial inequalities, finds new paper

The paper shows that Chinese projects relocate economic activity from city centers to peripheries.

U.S. contributions to Kenya estimated at over $3 billion annually, according to new AidData research

The report is the first to provide a whole-of-society view of U.S. contributions to Kenya’s economy and development.

Making data work for refugee and migrant children

Overcoming blind spots in how we produce and use data about refugee and migrant children will help decision makers better direct resources to them.

Evaluating the impacts of a food security program in the face of climate shocks

A recent evaluation highlights how severe climate shocks hindered the long-term impacts of a USAID food security program in Malawi.

New report, dashboard captures Beijing’s influence in East Asia & the Pacific

New AidData report details how Beijing mobilizes media and students to bolster China’s image abroad.

Getting on target: A new approach for tracking financing to the SDGs

We tracked over $44 billion in donor financing to the SDGs in four countries, using an updated methodology for estimating SDG-related financing.

How Cambodia’s program to strengthen local governance built roads and saved lives

A new report on the long-term impacts of locally-led development projects provides insights for those who work in post-conflict settings.

Urban boundaries for 200 cities added to AidData’s GeoQuery tool

Users can now access more than 60 geospatial datasets for 200 metropolitan areas across the globe through GeoQuery.

What would it cost for our cities to be sustainable by 2030?

In partnership with UN-Habitat, AidData is developing the first methodology to help cities determine the funding needed to achieve SDG 11.

GeoQuery reaches 10,000 dataset requests

GeoQuery, AidData’s flagship platform for creating customized geospatial datasets, today fulfilled its 10,000th data request.

Asking the right questions: AidData to launch third global survey of developing- country leaders

In 2020, we plan to field a new wave of our Listening to Leaders Survey to over 55,000 decision-makers in 140 countries.

Back to basics: A stronger case for bednets to fight malaria

A new study in PLOS ONE by a team including AidData, William & Mary researchers finds that a bednet campaign in the DRC led to a 41% decline in child mortality rates.

Evaluating irrigation projects when survey data sources run dry

A USAID water management program in Afghanistan greened fields in ways that can be seen from space.

In fragile states, increasing citizen trust in democracy

AidData is surveying thousands of households in Niger to evaluate a USAID project that aims to strengthen government accountability.

The Cloudera Foundation awards AidData $1,152,000 to expand use of GeoQuery for social impact

Good news for rare birds: Development projects that don’t harm the environment

New research evaluating World Bank development projects, including those that pose the most environmental risks, finds no harm to important bird habitats.

Counting on statistics: What can data producers and donors do differently to increase use?

A new report from AidData surveys hundreds of government officials in developing countries to understand what they need to better produce and use official statistics.

AidData wins two-year Millennium Challenge Corporation award

The MCC awards AidData $400,000 to develop new methods using high-resolution satellite data to more accurately and frequently monitor the impacts of land reforms on poverty and land use.

Chinese infrastructure investments reduce inequalities in developing countries

A new AidData working paper analyzes Chinese infrastructure's impacts using the most comprehensive dataset of Chinese development project locations ever assembled.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

AidData releases first-ever global dataset on China’s development spending spree

Five years in the making, AidData’s data collection effort has captured more than USD $350 billion in foreign aid and other forms of state financing that China committed to five major regions of the world.

Papers selected for workshop on tracking international aid from emerging economies

Twelve teams of 27 authors will present their proposals at a workshop this September in Heidelberg, Germany.

From Williamsburg to the world: AidData Summer Fellows launch their journey

Announcing the Summer Fellows Class of 2017, and a new gift to support international experiential learning and research.

Fanning the sparks of corruption? A Chinese dragon haunts Tanzania

Chinese aid's lack of transparency leads to questions about whether it will contribute to or undermine other development efforts, particularly those of traditional donors like the World Bank.

Call for Proposals: Workshop on tracking international aid from emerging economies

Submit a one-page proposal to receive pre-publication access to unpublished datasets, including AidData's forthcoming China global dataset, and to present at Heidelberg University this September.

What are development corridor strategies, and do they work?

Liberia made foreign direct investment (FDI) the centerpiece of its development strategy. We examine how these natural resource concessions affected local economic growth.

Chinese-funded infrastructure in endangered forests: What is the data telling us?

The picture becomes clearer when breaking down the effects within each country.

Want to reform aid? Double down on impact evaluations

More investment in evaluation would determine which types of projects deliver the best results, and reassure American taxpayers that foreign aid can provide good value-for-money.

AidData launches new Listening to Leaders survey

The survey will collect data from thousands of leaders on which development partners they prefer to work with, and why.

Using machine learning to combat environmental degradation on a global scale

Leveraging machine learning algorithms to sift through terabytes of high-resolution satellite data, a new report by AidData and the Global Environment Facility has identified the factors that contribute to land degradation on a global scale.

Three insights into what data users demand: Are open data advocates listening?

In early 2016, the AidData Center for Development Policy interviewed close to 200 policymakers and practitioners in three countries about their demand for data in the sectors of education, health and agriculture. Here's what we heard.

Context matters in foreign aid’s effect on violence

Does foreign aid to conflict-prone countries make them more stable, and decrease the frequency and intensity of conflict? Research on the complicated nexus between aid and conflict has produced conflicting results, with no consensus on foreign aid’s true effects.

Aid to refugee camps brings help — and harm

Humanitarian aid has become an increasingly crucial component of the international community’s response to violent conflict. In some ways, it might be making things worse.

Debt, deals, and dictators: How Africa’s autocrats adapt to aid requirements

Do Western donors' aid recipient requirements really constraint autocrats' repressive abilities?

Aid and the intensity of violence: Can good intentions backfire?

Do foreign aid commitments to countries experiencing ongoing violent conflict affect the intensity of violence in different regions? One theory says "yes."

The changing tactics of aid when partisanship runs high

The U.S. distributes almost twice as much foreign aid as any other nation; in 2015 alone the U.S. spent about $27.4 billion on foreign assistance. What happens when an uncooperative Congress makes it difficult for the executive branch to allocate bilateral aid?

Suits on the ground: Does "ground game" buy influence?

Does “ground game” — the strength of a development partner’s local presence and direct engagement with recipient government officials — affect how in-country decision makers assess the performance of development partners?

Groundbreaking study on how developing world leaders view German aid

The study is the first to analyze Germany’s official development assistance activities based on the experiences, observations, and opinions of decision makers in the countries that German aid agencies seek to help.

Small but mighty: Denmark ranks highly as a development partner, according to report

Denmark is one of only six countries in the world to achieve the UN's development assistance target, though this is only part of the equation for development success. How do Denmark’s development efforts measure up from the perspective of its partner countries?

Viewing poverty more clearly — from space

Ground-breaking research by Stanford University scientists has combined satellite imagery taken from space and machine learning to bring better measurements of poverty and economic development within reach.

Sunlight for growth: AidData joins GODAN Action to open up data in agriculture and nutrition

GODAN Action will seek to leverage open data to increase crop yields, improve nutrition for consumers, and promote evidence-based policymaking.