US Archives

Introducing our new research program to track USAID funding to local organizations

By Sally Paxton | Oct 10, 2022 | Blog

In November 2021, US Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power threw down a challenge for her organisation: by 2025, 25% of USAID’s funding would go to local organisations. The details of how to measure this important metric, however, remains an open question. Given our experience with open data sources, we decided to try to develop a replicable methodology using available data that USAID already publishes. In this blog, Sally Paxton summarises what our exploratory analysis has shown, and how our new methodology can help to track progress towards locally led development.

Ten years of the Aid Transparency Index—How has the US fared?

By Sally Paxton and Guest | Aug 3, 2022 | Blog

Following the launch of the 2022 Aid Transparency Index, Sally Paxton and George Ingram reflect on the performance of the top US agencies, the progress that has been made on transparency and the importance of using data to improve future development outcomes.

Say goodbye to the dueling dashboards

By Sally Paxton and Guest | Sep 28, 2021 | Blog

In a world where we are facing such dire news, we were delighted to see an outcome that shows that sometimes good government prevails. This concerns the resolution of an issue that we – and others – have devoted considerable ink and effort, which we coined “the dueling dashboards.”

Movement on transparency at the Development Finance Corporation

By Sally Paxton and Guest | Dec 3, 2020 | Blog

The US International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) recently invited public comments on its draft transparency policy and draft policy on public engagement by the DFC Board of Directors. The draft policies are a step in the right direction, but additional actions can be taken to improve the transparency and accessibility of the DFC’s data. George Ingram and Sally Paxton highlight steps that could help the DFC reach its commitment to be the gold standard for transparency among development finance institutions.

The next transparency challenge for US aid agencies: Moving from publication to engagement

By Sally Paxton and Guest | Jul 9, 2020 | Blog

Sally Paxton and George Ingram reflect on the performance of the five US donors in the 2020 Aid Transparency Index, and the next steps needed to improve their transparency and accountability. They also lay down the challenge of how we move towards the more important goals of doing development differently.

MCC ranks as top bilateral agency globally in 2020 Aid Transparency Index; USAID has biggest improvement to date

By Sam Cavenett | Jun 24, 2020 | News

The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) has come out as the top bilateral aid agency globally in the 2020 Aid Transparency Index. The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) also showed significant improvement, increasing its score to put it near the top of the “good” category for the first time.