An Introduction to Aid Data

Curriculum

6 Sections
35 Lessons
Lifetime

Expand all sectionsCollapse all sections

Introduction to aid data
Welcome to the world of aid data! In this first module, we’ll be starting from first principles: what do we actually mean when we say ‘aid’, and why is looking at aid data important?
5
A guide to IATI data
One major source of aid data is made available through the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI). There are a few different ways that you can access raw IATI data, so here’s a quick run through of what you can get, and where it is, including IATI data itself as well as data about IATI data (metadata).
6
Cleaning IATI data with OpenRefine
So once you've got the raw IATI data, what next? Often it might need 'cleaning' - here, we'll use a sample IATI dataset to learn how to use a powerful cleaning tool, OpenRefine.
5
An introduction to OECD-DAC data
Another major source of data available about international development data, is the OECD. Here, we run through a few ways that they make this data available, and where to find what you're looking for.
8
Inspiration module: how is aid data used in the media?
We've seen a few ways of where to find aid data, how to clean it and use it - but how is this applied in the real world? Here are a couple of examples of 'reverse engineering' aid data that we might come across in the media - maybe it will give you some ideas!
6
Jargon busting the world of aid
This module is intended as a reference point while you're going through the other modules. In each case, the relevance of the term to working specifically with data is highlighted to try and make it clear what you should be looking out for when you come across the term in your work.
5

Introduction

We’ve talked about the accessibility of data, but what about the accessibility of language? As with many sectors, international development is full of acronyms and complex terms which might have different meanings to those you’re used to.

This is intended more as a reference point while you’re working through the Aid Data curriculum, rather than to be read or worked through from start to finish. Each specialist term, in bold, is listed in the glossary, and has two sections: its definition, and an explanation of why it might be relevant while you’re working with aid data.

Inspiration for this glossary has been drawn heavily from others – wherever possible, we try to explain them in accessible language, and they are listed in the Further Resources section.

Objectives:

Get familiar with some common words you’ll see while looking into aid data

Prerequisites/before you get started:

None!

Further resources

An Introduction to Aid Data

Curriculum

Introduction

Objectives:

Prerequisites/before you get started:

Modal title