Stories, ideas, and updates from DGers around the world

Between January 31st and February 28th, thousands around the world voted on their favorite submissions to the World Bank Apps for Development Competition. The contest challenged software developers to create IT platforms that use World Bank data to address pressing development questions, particularly those related to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). AidData, with support from Esri, built the “Development Loop” for submission to the contest. It uses sub-national data from the World Bank and African Development Bank, overlaid with local development indicators and project success…

Bindu Venugopal, a Senior Technical Associate with Development Gateway who manages product development of the Aid Management Platform, shares her experience at the recent Knowledge Sharing Workshop: In early December, I traveled to Nairobi, Kenya, to attend Development Gateway’s annual Knowledge Sharing Workshop for countries implementing the Aid Management Platform (AMP). The workshop is an opportunity for AMP countries to get together once a year to learn from each other and share best practices. This year 14 countries sent delegations to the event. The workshop,…

Development Gateway has recently partnered with GlobalGiving, a non-profit that connects donors with non-profits around the world through their online marketplace. Through the GlobalGiving website donors are able to connect with projects and regions that interest them, and support the communities and ideas they find important. The GlobalGiving team also works with local partners to collect feedback from ordinary citizens on both GlobalGiving and non-GlobalGiving affiliated projects. Development Gateway and GlobalGiving intend to explore a number of projects together, including connecting local feedback to publicly…

PRESS RELEASE Washington, DC – Public voting is open through February 28 for the World Bank’s “Apps for Development” competition, which challenges development practitioners and technology professionals to develop innovative software applications that address the Millennium Development Goals. AidData, with technical support from Esri, created the “Development Loop” application for submission to the contest. The application demonstrates how geospatial technology can facilitate a rich dialogue between aid donors, beneficiaries, and other stakeholders. To vote or access a demo and prototype of Development Loop, visit the Apps…

Projects funded by development aid are complicated undertakings - they take many forms, financing different activities in different currencies over different periods of time. In order for development actors to use aid information for development planning, coordination, and monitoring, project-level data must be recorded in a standard, commonly-accepted language. For the past two years, the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) has partnered with donor and recipient governments, multilateral aid agencies, private organizations, and NGOs to develop, elaborate, and test a common aid language. At their meeting…

From Dec. 14-16, 2010, Development Gateway held the Third Annual Aid Management Platform (AMP) Knowledge Sharing Workshop in Nairobi, Kenya. AMP is a web-based software that builds capacity for aid information management, enabling countries to more easily and accurately gather, record, and report data on foreign aid flows.

In December 2010, development practitioners convened for European Development Days (EDD), a forum for discussion on and creation of new development policies and practices. Jean-Louis Sarbib, CEO of Development Gateway, was interviewed at the event by capacity4dev.eu, an online knowledge-sharing community for development practitioners. Mr. Sarbib speaks during the interview on the importance of promoting information and communications technologies (ICTs) in developing countries. According to Mr. Sarbib, “it is essential to share information” so that development actors can coordinate projects, gain access to vital resources,…

The government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) produced a short video describing its experiences using Development Gateway’s Aid Management Platform (AMP) (video in French, with English subtitles). AMP is a web-based software that builds capacity for aid information management, enabling host countries to more efficiently collect, report, and monitor data on foreign aid flows. In 2001, the DRC emerged from a devastating period of armed conflict, and has slowly recovered with the help of macroeconomic reforms and foreign aid flows.  According to…

Kosovo Although it is the youngest country to have implemented the Aid Management Platform (AMP), Kosovo became a model for aid transparency by making its AMP available to the public online. Vanessa Goas, part of the Development Gateway team working on AMP Kosovo, shares a summary of her time in Pristina: Since fall 2009, Development Gateway has been working closely with the government and other stakeholders in Kosovo to establish the first comprehensive process and system for tracking aid information in this newly independent country.…

PRISTINA, Oct. 21, 2010 – At an international donors’ conference in 2008, more than 50 countries and international organizations pledged support to Kosovo’s socio-economic development. On Oct. 11, 2010, the Government of Kosovo and the European Commission Liaison Office to Kosovo (ECLO) launched the Aid Management Platform (AMP) at a public event in Pristina as part of a new program to support aid transparency and donor coordination. As a result, the government, its partners, and the public are now able to access information—including maps and…