Mapping App Enables Global Dialog Around Aid Projects

REDLANDS, Calif., Feb. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Public voting closes today, February 28, 2011 for World Bank's "Apps for Development" competition, which includes an innovative mapping tool created by AidData with support from Esri. AidData's Development Loop application presents a visual story of assistance, need, and impact driving the complex flow of development funds around the globe. To vote or access a demo and prototype of Development Loop, visit the Apps for Development website.

AidData—a joint initiative of Brigham Young University, the College of William and Mary, and nonprofit organization Development Gateway—captures and interprets development data to support aid activities. Development Loop integrates project data from the World Bank and African Development Bank with success stories, development indicators, and relevant local information on an interactive map. Future enhancements, such as social media integration and free mobile offerings, will facilitate place-based feedback loops among donors, development professionals, and aid recipients.

Through the app challenge, AidData hopes to encourage donor organizations to collaborate in building a comprehensive picture of development efforts and a dynamic platform on which to plan, analyze, and evaluate projects.

"Development Loop goes far beyond depicting where and how funds are being spent," says Stephen Davenport, senior director for business development at Development Gateway. "It can open the lines of communication and track funding as it moves from one organization to another to the intended beneficiary. It makes projects more empowering and efficient and establishes a platform for sustainable workflows that can be incorporated into existing reporting processes."

The Development Loop prototype is built on Esri's ArcGIS API for Microsoft Silverlight/WPF and ArcGIS Server technology. World Bank and African Development Bank activity data was geocoded through the Mapping for Results project, a partnership between AidData and the World Bank.

Organizations interested in integrating project information into Development Loop may contact AidData at [email protected] or Salim Sawaya of Esri at [email protected]. To learn more about Esri, visit esri.com. For information on AidData, visit aiddata.org.

About Esri

Since 1969, Esri has been giving customers around the world the power to think and plan geographically. The market leader in GIS, Esri software is used in more than 300,000 organizations worldwide including each of the 200 largest cities in the United States, most national governments, more than two-thirds of Fortune 500 companies, and more than 7,000 colleges and universities. Esri applications, running on more than one million desktops and thousands of Web and enterprise servers, provide the backbone for the world's mapping and spatial analysis. Esri is the only vendor that provides complete technical solutions for desktop, mobile, server, and Internet platforms. Visit us at www.esri.com.

Esri, the Esri globe logo, GIS by Esri, ArcGIS, www.esri.com, and @esri.com are trademarks, registered trademarks, or service marks of Esri in the United States, the European Community, or certain other jurisdictions. Other companies and products mentioned herein may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective trademark owners.

SOURCE Esri

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