Co-sponsored by AidData (the Project-Level Aid dataset and

Development Gatewayʼs Accessible Information on Development

Activities, AiDA), the AidInfo Consortium, and the Global Economic
Governance Program, University College, Oxford

draft agenda (subject to change)

as of 06 January 2010

Aid Transparency and

Development Finance:
Lessons and Insights from AidData

University College, Oxford

March 22-25, 2010

AidData is a new joint initiative merging the Project-

Level Aid (PLAID) and AiDA (Accessible information on
Development Activities) databases. AidData strives to
capture the universe of development finance, increase
the value of data by providing more accurate and
descriptive information, and strengthen efforts to
improve donor and recipient strategic planning and
coordination.
Draft as of 06 January 2010 (subject to change) All Participants Confirmed Unless Noted 2


Aid Transparency and Development

Finance: Lessons and Insights from AidData

 Day 1: Monday, March 22nd

12:00pm – 4:00pm Arrival and Registration

(Location TBA)

4:30 – 6:30pm Welcome, Public Panel Discussion: “Corruption, Transparency and the
st
Future of Aid in the 21 Century.”
(The Examinations School, Room TBA)
Moderator: Judith Randel, Development Initiatives
Panelists:
 Kawusu Kebbay, Development Assistance Coordination Office, Sierra Leone (TBC)
 Rodney Bent, Booz Allen Hamilton
 David Roodman, Center for Global Development
 Ngaire Woods, Global Economic Governance, Oxford University

6:30 – 7:00pm Reception

(The Examinations School, Room TBA)
Hosted By Oxford Universityʼs Global Economic Governance Programme

Day 2: Tuesday, March 23rd

8:00 – 8:45am Breakfast in the Great Hall

8:45 – 9:00am Welcome (90 High Street Lecture Room)

 Michael Tierney, College of William and Mary
 Ngaire Woods, Oxford University/GEG

9:00 – 10:30am Session 1: Working Together For a Step Change in Foreign Assistance
Information: AidData Public Release
(90 High Street Lecture Room)
 Owen Barder, Development Initiatives
 Stephen Davenport, Development Gateway
 Aaron Gladders, 2Paths
 Robert Hicks, College of William and Mary

10:30 - 11:00am Coffee & Tea Break

11:00 – 12:30pm Session 2: Uses of AidData

(90 High Street Lecture Room)
• Daniel Nielson, Brigham Young University
• Sven Wilson, Brigham Young University

12:30 – 1:30pm Lunch in the Great Hall

Draft as of 06 January 2010 (subject to change) All Participants Confirmed Unless Noted 3


1:30 – 3:00pm Session 3: Corruption and Transparency in Development Assistance

(90 High Street Lecture Room)
Presentations:
 Comments on Transparency, Corruption and Aid Information
-Richard Calvert, Department for International Development, United Kingdom (TBC)
 Corruption, Geopolitics, and the Credibility and Impact of Foreign Aid (title TBC)
-Daniel Kaufmann, Brookings Institution (TBC)
 Aid and Corruption: Do Donors Use Development Assistance to Provide the “Right”
Incentives?
-Alessia Isopi, University of Nottingham,

3:00 – 3:15pm Coffee & Tea Break

3:15 – 4:45pml Session 4: Measuring the Impact of Aid: New Possibilities and Lingering
Problems
(90 High Street Lecture Room)
Presentations:
 The Curse of Aid? Re-Examining the Impact of Aid on Regime Change
-Sarah Bermeo, Duke University
 Aid Effectiveness in an Era of Economic Uncertainty (title TBC)
-Homi Kharas, Brookings Institution
 Knockinʼ on Heavenʼs Door: International Aid Flows and the Demand for Asylum
-David Leblang, University of Virginia

4:45 – 6:15pm Session 5: Non-DAC Donors, How Much Do We Really Know?

(90 High Street Lecture Room)
Presentations:
 Are New Donors Different? Comparing the Allocation of Aid Projects between New
and Old Donor Countries
-Axel Dreher, University of Goettingen,
 The Experience of a New Donor and the Prospects of Better Information (Title TBC)
-Neydi Cruz Garcìa, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mexico
 Chinaʼs Development Cooperation with Southeast Asia
-Margot Schüller, German Institute for Global and Area Studies
 What Happened to Arab Foreign Aid? Examining the Changing Dynamics of Aid from
Wealthy Arab Countries to Poor Ones
-Debra Shulman, College of William and Mary

6:30 – 8:00pml Dinner in the Great Hall

Day 3: Wednesday, March 24th

8:00 – 8:30am Breakfast in the Great Hall

8:30 – 10:30aml Session 6: Who Is Giving What Types of Aid, to Whom, and Why?
(90 High Street Lecture Room)
Presentations:
• Exploring Spatial Dependence in Bilateral and Multilateral Patterns of Aid Giving
-Fabian Barthel, London School of Economics
 Conditionality, Donor Motives, and the Impact of Aid on Economic Growth (title TBC)
-Christopher Kilby, Villanova University
 Donor Discretion and International Development Aid
Draft as of 06 January 2010 (subject to change) All Participants Confirmed Unless Noted 4


-Macartan Humphreys, Columbia University

 Does Aid Follow Need? Humanitarian Motives in Aid Allocation
-Richard Nielsen, Harvard University

10:30 – 11:00am Coffee & Tea Break

11:00 – 1:00pml Session 7A: Aid-ing the Environment

(90 High Street Lecture Room)
Presentations:
 Aid, the Clean Development Mechanism, and Developing Country Action on Climate
Change (title TBC)
-Katharina Michaelowa, University of Zurich
 Recipient Country Leverage and the Allocation of Foreign Aid for Biodiversity
Conservation, 1980-2008
-Daniel Miller, University of Michigan
 The Revised Financial Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol and the UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change: On Adequacy and Governance (title TBC)
-Benito Müller, Oxford Institute of Energy Studies
 Trends in Official Climate Finance: Evidence from Human and Machine Coding
-Timmons Roberts, Brown University

11:00 – 1:00pml Session 7B: Foreign Assistance for a Healthier Tomorrow?

(Swire Semniar Room)
Presentations:
 Evidence, the Digital Divide, and Health Finance (title TBC)
-Tessa Edejer, World Health Organization (TBC)
 The Ineffectiveness of Health Sector Foreign Aid on Infant and Child Mortality, 1975-
2005
-Sven Wilson, Brigham Young University
 One more speaker TBD

1:00 – 2:00pml Lunch in the Great Hall

2:00 – 4:00pml Session 8: Information and the Evaluation and Effectiveness of Foreign
Assistance
(90 High Street Lecture Room)
Presentations:
 Aid Quality and Donor Rankings
-Stephen Knack, World Bank
 American Legislators and the Domestic Politics of Aid: A Potential Role of Information?
(Title TBC)
-Dustin Tingley, Princeton University
 Fixing Failed Foreign Aid: Can Agency Practices Improve?
-Claudia Williamson, New York University
 To Empower or to Impoverish? The Sector-by-Sector Effectiveness of Foreign Aid
-Michael Findley, Brigham Young University

4:00 – 4:20pm Coffee & Tea Break

4:20 – 6:00pml Session 9: New Ways to Visualize Aid Flows

(90 High Street Lecture Room)
Presentations:
 Mapping Aid: GIS and Major Trends in Aid Using AidData
-Stuart Hamilton, College of William and Mary
Draft as of 06 January 2010 (subject to change) All Participants Confirmed Unless Noted 5


 Visualizing Climate Aid? Utilizing AidData for the Global Adaptation Atlas
-Nisha Krishnan, Resources for the Future
 The Geography of Foreign Aid and Violent Armed Conflict
-Daniel Strandow, Uppsala University

6:00 – 7:00pml Closing Discussion

(90 High Street Lecture Room)
Forward thoughts on possible edited volume and special issue of World Development.
Wine and cheese at end, followed by an evening on the town.

Day 4: Thursday, March 25th

Optional Follow-on Sessions (Concurrent)

8:00-8:45aml Breakfast in the Great Hall

9:00-11:30aml How to Use AidData

(90 High Street Lecture Room)
Led by Judith Randel, Development Initiatives

9:00-12:30pml Planning meeting of authors for special issue of World Development

(Swire Seminar Room)
A working meeting of the authors to present and discuss possible articles.

1:00pml Lunch in the Great Hall