This Saturday, @AidData and partners IIC, Whole of Government, and @CGA_WM welcomed 100+ friends to a @williamandmary Homecoming bash! Our last before moving to Gates Hall, we can’t wait for what’s next in our new home! 🎉 Learn more: wm.edu/sites/aiddata/

Yesterday, AidData staff past and present joined 250+ guests to dedicate Gates Hall at @williamandmary, our upcoming home. We can’t wait to see what we build together here. 👀 news.wm.edu/2026/10/22/wm-de…

@AidData is delighted to see our newly collected data on Chinese debt refinancings and restructurings being used in the @RockefellerFdn's new “Growth and Investment Reset” policy proposal. See more 👉rockefellerfoundation.org/re…

Once it went public, Uganda’s Parliament called for the Finance Minister to resign and face prosecution. W&M undergrads get to do research of consequence like this with 2,100+ media citations to show for it. Join us for Homecoming, Sat Oct 24, at Swem Library 👉docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F…

The Daily Show called China’s loan for Uganda’s main airport “debt-trap diplomacy.” Our director, Brad Parks, knew something sounded off. @AidData researchers dug in, found the key loan document, and published it with @FT. 🧵

AidData began as an honors thesis at @williamandmary in 2003. Since then, 2,000+ W&M students have joined our team, and our research has been cited 2,100 times by outlets like the @BBC. Join us Sat Oct 24, 12:30pm! Free music, drinks + appetizers 🎶🍴 docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F…

China is a dominant maritime power, but where does Beijing direct overseas port financing, and to what end? @AidData researchers tackle it in a new chapter of "Traversing the Belt and Road" (@Harvard_Press), drawing on “Harboring Global Ambitions.” 👀 hup.harvard.edu/books/978067…

“I kept thinking about how we could take what we were learning beyond interviews and data.” @williamandmary undergrad Tajalla Moslih reflects on a year of student research on Afghan migration. 👉 aiddata.org/blog/from-resear…

Join @AidData Sat, Oct 24 for W&M Homecoming at Swem’s Conservation Patio! Food, drinks, music & a look at what’s next 👀 RSVP here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F…

Droughts are getting longer, and farmers feel it most. Irrigation helps, but does it last? With @IFAD, @AidData is using satellite imagery to track long-term impact in Cape Verde, Ethiopia, and the Philippines. aiddata.org/blog/aiddata-par…

The EU will soon require proof that coffee and other commodities imported to the EU were not grown on deforested land. @AidData + COSA worked with Honduran smallholder coffee farmers to test approaches for data collection and deforestation monitoring.

Now, with USAID gone, BenYishay says "it's hard to even know what's happening" with much development aid. Read the full piece: insideclimatenews.org/news/1…

He also noted USAID shared more data on its programming than peer multilateral banks or governments, allowing researchers like himself to scrutinize what worked, and what didn't.

A USAID post-mortem flagged real inefficiencies — but BenYishay's own research on aid effectiveness consistently found USAID's programs delivered results.

Prior to its closure, USAID was one of the world's largest funders of conservation work — per a recent @insideclimate piece featuring @AidData Chief Economist @ariel_benyishay . 🧵

On Sept 22, join @AidData, @global_wm, & @wmwgc for a conversation on Afghan experiences in the U.S. grounded in our evidence-based research on how different immigration pathways shape outcomes. 📍 Williamsburg, VA | Sept 22, 5:15pm 🔗 RSVP: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F…

💡 @WilliamAndMary students looking for paid research this fall? @AidData & the @global_wm are hiring 2 Research Assistants to use geospatial & earth observation data for climate & food security. 10 hrs/wk, fall semester. Apply by 9/18 aiddata.org/join-the-team/re…

This is Reimagining Development Data (RD²), and your input helps shape it. Have feedback? Fill out the form before Sept 15: 👉wmsas.qualtrics.com/jfe/form…

Next at @AidData, we're grouping each data system by funding source, interviewing leaders and those who use/produce data worldwide, and synthesizing it all to make the next generation of development data more sustainable and responsive.

🎓 Universities & multilaterals quietly run a lot of this infrastructure, not just NGOs or private firms. Examples: @Columbia, @UniOslo, and @WorldBankGroup all maintain major development data assets.