AidData
AidData is a William & Mary research lab producing granular, project-level data and analysis on international development finance — particularly Chinese overseas lending — for governments, multilateral institutions, bilateral donors, and academic researchers worldwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2000
- HeadquartersWilliamsburg, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What AidData does
AidData is an international development research lab embedded within the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, that produces and disseminates granular, project-level data on global development finance — most notably Chinese overseas lending, collateralized debt, and grants — alongside policy briefs, flagship surveys, and impact evaluations. Its primary audience comprises policymakers in donor and recipient governments, multilateral institutions (World Bank, IMF, UNDP), bilateral aid agencies (USAID, FCDO, BMZ), and academic researchers studying international development, foreign policy, and global finance. The organization was established in 2000 (per company history) and operates a team of approximately 30 program evaluators, policy analysts, and communications professionals.
Core products include interactive dashboards and geospatial tools (GeoQuery covering 165 countries; China's Global Development Footprint tracking $2.2T across 200 countries; China's Seaport Financing; China Contracts Search; China Public Diplomacy Dashboard), flagship survey programs (Listening to Leaders canvassing 100,000+ Global South policymakers), and downloadable datasets on Chinese development finance. Underlying technology combines geospatial analysis, machine learning for project classification (notably coding 2.7 million ODA projects to Sustainable Development Goals), satellite imagery analysis, and proprietary methodologies such as the Tracking Under-Reported Financial Flows (TUFF) approach. Training programs are delivered through William & Mary's Studio for Teaching & Learning Innovation in a hybrid online/in-person format.
AidData is structured as a non-commercial research lab embedded in a public university and does not generate revenue through traditional product sales. Funding flows from research grants and philanthropic awards (Hewlett, Gates, Ford, Oak, Humanity United, Tides), bilateral government donors (USAID, FCDO, Denmark MFA, Germany's DEval, PEPFAR), and multilateral institutions (World Bank, IDB, IMF, UNDP). Training programs delivered through William & Mary's Studio for Teaching & Learning Innovation generate ancillary revenue. Nearly all datasets are placed in the public domain free of charge, with academic citations, media coverage (The Economist, NYT, Reuters, Nature), and direct policy engagement (Senate Foreign Relations Committee testimony) functioning as the primary flywheel for attracting subsequent grant funding.
AidData firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- AidData
- Legal name
- AidData at William & Mary
- Website
- https://aiddata.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2000
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- AidData is a William & Mary research lab producing granular, project-level data and analysis on international development finance — particularly Chinese overseas lending — for governments, multilateral institutions, bilateral donors, and academic researchers worldwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
AidData industry classification
Industry- Product category
- International Development Research and Data
- NAICS
- Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)
- SIC
- Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Development Cooperation & Foreign Aid Administration (BPAIAIAG)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Official Development Assistance (ODA) Program Management (BPADAOAC), Economic Growth, Trade & Private Sector Development Programs (BPADABAF)
Keywords
Where AidData is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Williamsburg
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
AidData business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Research Grants and Foundation Funding: AidData receives substantial funding from private philanthropies including the Ford Foundation, Gates Foundation, Hewlett Foundation, and others. This supports their core research operations and data collection efforts.
- Government and Multilateral Funding: Funding from bilateral and multilateral donors including U.S. Department of State, USAID, World Bank, IMF, UNDP, Inter-American Development Bank, UK's FCDO, and Germany's DEval.
- Training and Professional Education Services: AidData offers hybrid training programs combining foundational online courses with in-person workshops and policy dialogues for professional development.
- Public Domain Data and Research Publications: Nearly all data produced by AidData is put into the public domain for free, informing policy-relevant and scholarly research. This establishes thought leadership that attracts funding.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free public datasets and publications |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
AidData product offering
Product offeringCore offering
AidData is an international development research lab at William & Mary that produces rigorous datasets, interactive dashboards, and policy-relevant research on global development finance. It specializes in tracking official development financing flows (particularly China's overseas lending), SDG financing, and surveying Global South leaders on development priorities. The organization publishes nearly all data into the public domain and offers professional training programs in data-driven development methods.
Product overview
AidData is an international development research lab at William & Mary that operates as both a collector and producer of development data. The organization offers a portfolio of specialized research programs focused on China's global development activities, sustainable development goals, agriculture and climate, migration, and foreign policy influence. Its core product suite includes interactive dashboards and geospatial tools (GeoQuery, China's Global Development Footprint, China's Seaport Financing, China Contracts Search, China Public Diplomacy Dashboard), flagship survey programs (Listening to Leaders), and professional training services. AidData also publishes numerous datasets including the Global Chinese Development Finance Dataset, How China Collateralizes Dataset, and Financing the 2030 Agenda Dataset, nearly all of which are made publicly available for free.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- GeoQuery A geospatial data platform providing access to over 70 spatial datasets mapped to appropriate geographic boundaries for 165 countries worldwide, enabling researchers and policymakers to analyze and visualize development data geographically.
Quantifiable outcome
- Dataset of 20,985 Chinese development projects including 1,383 climate-related initiatives totaling $421 billion
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use AidData
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
AidData technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability4 records
Feature8 records
AidData partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
19 partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.
- International Growth CentremajorProduced the 'From Cash to Capital' report on Yemen remittances in partnership, combining IGC's growth research with AidData's financial flow analysis.
- William & MarycoreAidData operates as a research lab within the College of William & Mary, a public university in Virginia. This institutional relationship provides academic credibility, access to talent, and infrastructure support.
- William & Mary's Studio for Teaching & Learning InnovationcoreAidData's training programs leverage the Studio's platform and expertise for delivering hybrid online and in-person professional education courses.
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)majorUN agency partnering on development data initiatives and SDG tracking.
- International Monetary Fund (IMF)majorMultilateral partner on sovereign debt and debt restructuring research.
- Rwanda National Institute of StatisticscoreCollaborating on piloting methodology to link the global SDG framework with Rwanda's national development plans, mapping national priorities alongside SDG indicators.
- Brookings InstitutionmajorCo-published 'Toward data-driven education systems' report and co-hosted panel discussion on education data and decision-making.
- Paris21corePartnership on data systems and statistical capacity building in developing countries.
- OpenDataWatchcorePartner on development data transparency and statistical systems.
- Data2XcorePartner focused on gender data and statistics in development.
- Global Partnership for Sustainable Development DatacorePartner in multi-stakeholder initiative for better data to achieve SDGs.
- Ministry of Health of Côte d'IvoirecorePartner on health data systems, including Open Data Center for Health to improve HIV program coverage.
- National AIDS Council of ZambiacorePartner on HIV/AIDS data and program monitoring in Zambia.
- Government of UgandacorePartner government on development data and statistical initiatives.
- JSI Research & Training InstitutemajorHealth and development research partner on data systems and program evaluation.
- Development GatewaycorePartner on development data and information systems.
- DREAMS PartnershipcorePublic-private partnership on adolescent HIV prevention supporting data-driven approaches.
- CEPEIcorePartner on international development data and policy initiatives.
- DIIS - Direction de l'Informatique et de l'Information SanitairecoreHealth statistics and informatics institute partner on data systems.
Scale indicators17 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
AidData competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Rhodium Group: Independent research provider producing proprietary datasets on Chinese outbound investment and climate finance — overlapping thematic focus but with a commercial-analytics business model that contrasts with AidData's grant-funded approach.
- Publish What You Fund: Aid-transparency NGO producing the Aid Transparency Index — a comparable niche player in ODA transparency and donor-performance benchmarking that competes for the same funder dollars.
Direct peers
- Development Initiatives: UK-based organization producing global data and analysis on development finance, ODA flows, and aid transparency — operates a comparable data-and-research model serving the same multilateral and bilateral funder ecosystem.
- Boston University Global Development Policy Center: University-based research center producing rigorous data on Chinese sovereign lending, debt sustainability, and climate finance — directly competes with AidData in the China-development finance research category.
- Center for Global Development: DC-based think tank producing rigorous research on development finance, aid effectiveness, and China overseas lending — the closest direct peer to AidData given overlapping research output, funder profile (Open Society, Gates), and policy-engagement model including Congressional testimony.
- Development Gateway: Nonprofit builder of data systems for international development, named as an AidData partner — directly comparable in mission scope around development data platforms and analytics.
- China Africa Research Initiative (CARI): Johns Hopkins SAIS research initiative producing datasets on Chinese engagement in Africa, directly comparable to AidData's Global Chinese Development Finance work in scope and methodology.
Broad incumbents
- Overseas Development Institute (ODI): Long-established UK development think tank with broader thematic scope, but directly comparable on research output, funder profile (FCDO), and policy-briefing distribution model.
- Brookings Institution: Larger policy-research institution; co-publishes with AidData on data-driven development topics and represents the broader think-tank 'peer set' AidData competes with for philanthropic and policy-briefing mindshare.
- Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS): Bipartisan policy research organization with a major China and development-finance program — a broader-incumbent peer on great-power-competition research that consumes and cites AidData data.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
AidData social profiles
Digital presenceAidData financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
AidData leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles7 records
AidData funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
AidData M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about AidData
What does AidData do?
AidData is an international development research lab at William & Mary that produces rigorous datasets, interactive dashboards, and policy-relevant research on global development finance. It specializes in tracking official development financing flows (particularly China's overseas lending), SDG financing, and surveying Global South leaders on development priorities. The organization publishes nearly all data into the public domain and offers professional training programs in data-driven development methods.
Is AidData a public or private company?
AidData is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was AidData founded?
AidData was founded in 2000. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is AidData based?
AidData is headquartered in Williamsburg, United States, in the North America region.
How does AidData make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Research Grants and Foundation Funding is the primary driver. The others are government and Multilateral Funding, training and Professional Education Services and public Domain Data and Research Publications.
Who are AidData's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Rhodium Group and Publish What You Fund. Direct peers are Development Initiatives, Boston University Global Development Policy Center, Center for Global Development, Development Gateway and China Africa Research Initiative (CARI). Broad incumbents are Overseas Development Institute (ODI), Brookings Institution and Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Does AidData have an API?
No public API is recorded for AidData.
What industry is AidData in?
AidData's product category is International Development Research and Data. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAIAIAG, Development Cooperation & Foreign Aid Administration, with a secondary code of BPADAOAC, Official Development Assistance (ODA) Program Management. Its NAICS code is 541720 and its SIC code is 8700.