News & Events

Making information about aid spending easier to access, use and understand

iMENTORS has opened its data to all unregistered users in its last six months of operation. It is important that donors provide information about the aid they give. More important though is for the information to be publicly available in a way that people can easily understand. iMENTORS (www.imentors.eu) is the most comprehensive data map on ICT investments in Africa and contains data across a multitude of entities, classified as organisations, research infrastructures, fibre networks and projects.

iMENTORS is mapping terrestrial networks in Sub-Saharan Africa.  The goal is to identify areas on the map underserved by network operators and providers.  These areas also represent good opportunities for governments and the private sector to invest in e-infrastructure projects. 

Image courtesy of ddpavumba / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

The dawn of the final launch of a new and comprehensive database on einfrastructures across Africa is steadily approaching. After a successful initial round of data extraction and recording, the iMENTORS team has now embarked on the validation of the information, in addition to further data collection regarding any infrastructures that are not yet recorded in the system.

Image courtesy of Victor Habbick / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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iMENTORS statistics have now been completed for all data recorded up until Dec. 15th!  During the last recording period, we added a total of 1398 new organizations and 413 new projects to our database, an increase over the last recording period of approximately 67% and 290%, respectively.  In addition, we recorded 330 research infrastructures - a brand new category of information now uploaded and available for search in the iMENTORS database. 

Is your organization among the new additions to the iMENTORS database?  Check our map today!

Image courtesy of David Castillo Dominici / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

According to an article published on Devex, the world’s largest and most influential providers of aid reaffirmed their commitment to transparency this year. A United Nations panel advising on the framework to follow the Millennium Development Goals called for a “data revolution,” and G-8 members specifically committed to implement the International Aid Transparency Initiative, the only internationally agreed standard for publishing aid information.

According to an article published on the World Bank Data blog, data on Millennium Development Goals (MDG) indicator trends for developing countries and for different groups of countries are curated in the World Development Indicator (WDI) database.  Each year the World Bank uses these data in the Global Monitoring Report (GMR) to track progress on the MDGs. 

According to an article published on SciDev Net, A UN panel's report indicates an unfamiliarity with scientists, but there are various ways to develop collaboration.

The biggest current conversation in global development is the one about what follows the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015.