Overview
Data systems are like plumbing; you only notice them when something goes wrong. As funding for development collapses, data systems are among the first to go. But without effective development data ecosystems, perishable inventory for healthcare doesn't get delivered, humanitarian crises aren't responded to, and development goes backwards.
So how can development data systems adapt to become more resilient, better suited to an age of resource constraints, and increasingly aligned with the specific needs of in-country policymakers and service providers?
AidData has a long track record of innovation in development data challenges, and brings nearly two decades of independent research experience to this critical moment. In collaboration with a community of the urgent, we are working to reimagine a world where more data systems designed to meet evolving needs catalyze more effective development.
Reimagining Development Data
Collaborating with data producers, users, and funders to rethink the systems supporting data assets and to make them more sustainable over the long term
Many don’t realize the critical role that stable data systems globally have played over the past several decades in tracking and responding to poverty, diseases, deforestation, food shortages, natural disasters, and more. Data has saved and improved lives. It is relied upon not only by aid agencies but also by governments and civil society who are often working on the front lines.
But if many of the world’s established data systems are now facing their own life-and-death struggle, there may also be an opportunity. Such is the premise of a new 30-month, $1 million research award from the Hewlett Foundation to AidData, a research lab at William & Mary. The grant will support an ambitious, far-reaching effort to rethink how development data systems are funded, built, maintained, and used.
This project, RD², will prioritize data assets from five sectors, including those that have historically received the largest volumes of ODA and philanthropic support.
- Governance
- Health & Education
- Agriculture / Food Security
- Environment / Conservation
- Disaster & Humanitarian Response
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Upcoming Research
- Data Asset MemoIn June, AidData will publish an inventory of development data assets to identify those that can be credibly categorized as the most used and influential in their sectors. This short memo will speak to characteristics such as user base, country ownership, overall frequency of use in country programming, monitoring and evaluation exercises, UN reporting frameworks, and academic publications.
- Global SurveyLeveraging AidData’s Listening to Leaders survey infrastructure, AidData seeks to learn from leaders about their recent experiences with data assets amid aid cuts. The survey seeks to hear from a global sample of leaders in government, development, nongovernmental organizations, civil society, the private sector, think tanks, and universities. In the forthcoming survey report, AidData will pay particular attention to data producers and users across national statistical offices (NSOs), think tanks, and academia: what data sources they rely on for monitoring, evaluation, and decision-making; how aid cuts have affected the availability of these sources; and what types of support are most helpful going forward in a sustainable way.
A decade of independent thought leadership on data and development
Listening to Leaders Surveys
Unique 360-degree feedback from a broad cross-section of leaders in government, civil society, and the private sector who make and shape development policy in the Global South
AidData triangulates information from its surveys, snap polls, and interviews to produce public reports and custom analysis that help development agencies be more responsive to partner priorities and maximize their impact. Our research regularly feeds into agency-wide evaluations and strategy reviews, as well as international standard-setting bodies, such as MOPAN, Paris21, and the OECD. Our team advises both bilateral and multilateral development agencies on how they can better target limited resources to improve development outcomes and policy influence..
Fielded every 3-4 years, our Listening to Leaders survey captures the perspectives of public, private, and civil society leaders in 148 low- and middle-income countries on development priorities, donor performance, and more. AidData has fielded four waves of the survey in 2014, 2017, 2020, and 2024—providing a comparative view across stakeholder groups, sectors, and geographic regions. Our research has been featured in NPR, Bloomberg, Foreign Policy, The Washington Post, and The Guardian, among others.
Research Team
For technical or research inquires, contact:
