Alex Wooley

Belt and Road bounces back, as Beijing seeks to future-proof its flagship global infrastructure initiative

New AidData flagship report and dataset show China is refocusing time and money on troubled projects, distressed borrowers, and sources of public backlash in effort to de-risk its portfolio and out-maneuver G7 competitors.

Looking back at the GeoField 2023 Convening, and ahead to a Call for Papers for two academic journals

Emerging from the successful GeoField Convening in September in Rome, two prestigious academic journals have issued calls for papers at the intersection of climate change, and agriculture.

AidData’s China data wins 2023 Best Dataset Award from IPES

A team including AidData and William & Mary researchers will receive the award from the International Political Economy Society at this year's conference in October.

Small irrigation projects helped farmers in Mali adapt on a large scale to extreme weather

As climate change threatens agriculture across the parched Sahel, a new AidData study reveals that gains from small irrigation projects persisted for more than a decade.

Belt and Road bailout lending reaches record levels, raising questions about the future of China’s flagship global infrastructure program

A new study finds Beijing has dramatically expanded emergency rescue lending to countries in financial distress.

“一带一路”救助贷款达到创纪录水平，引发对中国旗舰全球基础设施计划前途的质疑

AidData launches new series of analysis, data on Russia’s ongoing efforts to influence countries in Europe & Eurasia

A three-year research project culminates in a trove of dozens of country reports, indexes, and hundreds of indicators quantifying the Kremlin's influence.

Inside Russia’s long game to project influence and undermine Ukraine: Lead-up to the 2022 invasion

Russia's tactics in Ukraine are a template for influence operations elsewhere in Russia’s periphery.

One year in, lessons from the war in Ukraine—and Ukrainians’ resilience

Investments in a strong civil society are key to countering foreign influence in times of peace and war.

AidData wins grant from the Ford Foundation to track latest trends in China’s overseas development program

The support enables AidData to expand its global Chinese development finance dataset, the most comprehensive of its kind.

Hands-on training empowers journalists in Pakistan for data-driven reporting

The AidData-led training responds to the media’s need for better data and evidence to understand how foreign lending and government economic policies are impacting citizens.

Shining a spotlight on global inequality in the fight against HIV/AIDS: the view from Somaliland

On World AIDS Day, a look at ongoing work to overcome stigma, close information gaps, and strengthen health information systems in Somaliland.

New report on a global survey of developing country leaders reimagines aid

In late 2020, nearly 7,000 leaders weighed in on the state of reforms in their countries, key barriers to progress, and what they most want from development partners.

As Mali weathers climate change, can irrigation projects help farmers adapt?

A new geospatial impact evaluation by AidData examines the complicated impacts of irrigation interventions in the context of Mali’s ongoing armed conflict.

Banking on Beijing: The Aims and Impacts of China's Overseas Development Program

A new 400-page book from five leading scholars chronicles China’s transformation—in the space of a generation—from a net recipient to a dominant provider of international development finance.

Global insights with national implications: AidData’s policy engagements on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor

A new AidData policy brief explores the growing debt sustainability challenges of CPEC, a portfolio of Chinese-funded infrastructure projects in Pakistan worth $62 billion.

AidData publishes a controversial $200m Chinese loan contract for Uganda’s main airport

A source of international concern, the loan contract shows China Eximbank does not have any legal grounds to seize Entebbe International Airport—but it has required the Government of Uganda to keep cash collateral in an escrow account that can be seized in the event of default.

AidData’s new dataset of 13,427 Chinese development projects worth $843 billion reveals major increase in ‘hidden debt’ and Belt and Road Initiative implementation problems

The analysis, based on a massive new dataset four years in the making, includes a special focus on China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Climate change, the environment, and oceans rank near the bottom of leaders’ priorities, according to global survey

As global carbon emissions bounce back post-pandemic, a new AidData report finds climate action and environmental goals are among the least important issues for leaders.

China rises sharply in influence among developing-country leaders, but does not yet surpass the US and G7 countries, according to new report

A survey of nearly 7,000 leaders by AidData finds an increasingly contested development cooperation field.

Amidst calls to decolonize aid, what issues do developing-country leaders prioritize and what do they say they want from partners?

New report finds policy makers in the world’s poorer countries prioritize education, jobs, and strong institutions, and give high marks to donors that embrace locally-led development.

New report on a global survey of leaders scores donors’ performance in an era of contested cooperation

Multilaterals such as the IMF and World Bank perform highly; China rises in influence, but the US and other G7 donors hold their own.

‍Using Facebook’s Social Connectedness Index to study social networks’ impact on the diffusion of agricultural technology in sub-Saharan Africa 

AidData found that the use of improved seeds was higher in regions more socially connected to other regions that had previously adopted improved seeds.

AidData wins two-year Hewlett Foundation grant to build research partnerships in Africa

A new $600,000 grant from the Hewlett Foundation will help AidData bolster engagement with policy makers and influencers in Africa

AidData wins two-year Ford Foundation grant to close the evidence gap on China’s Belt and Road Initiative

Ford Foundation grants AidData $200,000 to examine Chinese development finance.

AidData launches third Listening to Leaders Survey in 141 countries

The survey goes out to 100,000 in-country leaders, gauging attitudes on priorities, reforms, and partnerships.

Beijing's public diplomacy spending in South and Central Asia quantified and evaluated

AidData, a research lab at William & Mary, today released new data and analysis capturing the results of the Chinese government's strategic public diplomacy efforts in 13 countries.

The Cloudera Foundation awards AidData $1,152,000 to expand use of GeoQuery for social impact

Chinese public diplomacy in East Asia and the Pacific: Is it working?

A new report from AidData chronicles the nature and impact of China’s diplomatic programs.

New report reveals how donors perform in “customer satisfaction survey” of foreign aid

Report: Climate change among least important issues according to developing countries

AidData's Listening to Leaders 2018 report finds climate action and environmental goals are bottom priorities for both citizens and leaders.

Report: China, India winning friends in the developing world, but lag far behind U.S.

Tuned-in or tone-deaf? Leaders and citizens agree, diverge on priorities for poorer countries

AidData/William & Mary awarded two-year grant to study data on refugee, migrant and trafficked children

The two-year, nearly $500,000 grant funds research to improve the data needed for assistance programs seeking to help children on the move.

AidData releases first-ever global dataset on China’s development spending spree

Five years in the making, AidData’s data collection effort has captured more than USD $350 billion in foreign aid and other forms of state financing that China committed to five major regions of the world.