I work at the Development Gateway, where I coordinate the AIDA (Accessible
Information on Development Activities) database. I am responding to the
query by Peter Burgess in which he welcomes the database but asks how it
is designed and how it will achieve its expected goals.
Many organizations have their own databases and web sites with information
about the development activities (including projects) that they fund,
implement, or manage. AIDA (http://www.developmentgateway.org/idml/ui)
adds value to these existing development activity databases by bringing
them together in one, easy-to-search platform. This will reduce
transaction costs involved in finding reliable information about
development projects and activities in any given country. AIDA provides
descriptive information on who is doing what, where, and with what
results. This kind of information can be useful to a wide range of people,
including government officials, NGO policy advocates, consultant
companies, and donor agency managers -- who need to carry out diagnostic
studies, identify development needs, find operational partners, and
monitor project results. AIDA can also help to reduce duplication of
efforts on the ground, promote donor and government transparency and
greater collaboration between institutions.
AIDA is primarily an annotated directory that provides a snapshot of
completed, ongoing, and planned projects. Users can search for information
in AIDA by any one or a combination of the following criteria -- country;
sector, or sub-sector; topic; status of activity; funding organization or
data source; or through a free text search of selected attributes.
Information from eight databases are currently included in AIDA -- there
are over 177,000 activities that are funded by over 280 agencies, which
range from large infrastructure loans to small research grants.
Participating organizations use extensible markup language (XML) to share
information through AIDA. AIDA is designed to provide the following
information for a given activity -- title; country; project identification
number; start and end dates; status of activity; names of organizations
involved and their roles; level of funding; description of activities;
sector or subjects covered; keywords and names of person or unit to
contact for more information. Many entries also have links to more
detailed information, which can consist of background information and/or
reports on specific projects and/or sources where these reports may be
obtained.
While having this basic information on so many activities is already a
step in the right direction, we are working with participants to provide
more up-to-date information on operational implementation, budgets, and
programmatic results. AIDA does not provide data for financial, cost
benefit, and impact analysis directly. However, AIDA will link users to
sources such as the Creditor Reporting System (CRS), which is managed by
the Development Assistance Committee of OECD
(http://www.oecd.org/dac/htm/crs.htm). CRS contains data on donor
financial flows.
The AIDA database is a product of the partnership approach it is
attempting to foster. It builds on the work of the International Network
for Development Information Exchange (INDIX) and International Development
Mark-up Language -- two initiatives that address standards and tools for
information sharing among organizations with common objectives and
information needs. The Development Gateway is working with Bellanet, the
Development Assistance Committee of OECD, and the World Bank to develop
and implement this project. We are also guided by a core working group
that currently includes representatives from USAID, UNDP, and FAO.
AIDA would like to continue to expand, to include other agencies, civil
society organizations, and governments, to reflect a broader range of
development activities. These groups would then be represented in the core
working group. To facilitate participation of more organizations, AIDA is
also developing a data management tool using MS Access to assist
organizations without capacity to produce information in XML so they can
also share information through AIDA.
The Gateway is committed to improving the coverage and quality of
development information provided through AIDA since it is potentially a
powerful tool to improve development effectiveness. AIDA is a work in
progress -- being built in phases -- that will improve and become more
useful as more organizations participate and respond to needs expressed by
the development community. We welcome your participation and feedback on
AIDA. For more information, please visit the AIDA site
(http://www.developmentgateway.org/idml/ui) or contact me at
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>.
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