AidData Summer Fellows:  Students Forge New Partnerships for Development Effectiveness

W&M students Sara Rock and Carleigh Snead speak with Kathmandu University Dean Mahesh and Professor Megh Dangal at World Environment Day in Nepal.

Eleven student researchers from William & Mary and University of Texas-Austin deployed to Nepal, Uganda, Timor-Leste, Senegal, Haiti and Mexico this summer as AidData Summer Fellows. Embedded in local universities, civil society organizations, and research institutes, these fellows built capacity among local organizations to use the geocoded aid information produced by the AidData Center for Development Policy. Funded by USAID's Higher Education Solutions Network (HESN), the Center is a joint venture of the William & Mary, Brigham Young University, Development Gateway, the University of Texas at Austin and Esri. Read full story.

International Conference Explores IR Discipline

In May the Teaching, Research and International Policy [TRIP] project welcomed scholars from around the world to explore the state of international relations scholarship.  Entitled "Consensus, Progress and Change in the Study of International Relations," the conference sought to bring empirical evidence to bear on many of the longstanding assumptions and myths that dominate the field of international relations.  "The best workshops," Professor Quan Li of Texas A&M University noted at the conclusion of debate on his paper, "are the ones where you emerge with five new papers."  He rifled through what he said were five pages of comments on his paper, suggesting that he had "at least that many ideas for new paper topics." Read more.

AidData and UNU-WIDER Work to Demystify Chinese Development Activities

AidData is partnering with Cape Town University in South Africa and the United Nations University - World Institute for Development Economics Research (UNU-WIDER) to build upon the Tracking Chinese Development Finance to Africa dataset released by AidData in April. Researchers will design field experiments using geocoded information on Chinese development finance and develop a new methodology to improve the quality of data.

Professor Mike Tierney is working with AidData's Austin Strange and Professor Daniel Nielson to guide a team of researchers analyzing Chinese development activities in Uganda and South Africa. From this country-specific research, investigators plan to design future data collection and survey experiments. 

Chinese aid to Africa: the true (but not final) picture: Tierney discusses the broader relevance of the China in Africa dataset at UNU-WIDER's June conference in Sweden. "Every time we talk about non-OECD donors, everyone - whether its development practitioners or whether it's folks on Capitol Hill - they want to know what the Chinese are doing," Tierney said.

Annual Report Highlights ITPIR's Research Projects, Campus Programming and Future Direction 

PIPS Launches New E-Internship 

TRIP − In-And-Outers and Moonlighters: An Evaluation of the Impact of Policy-making Exposure on IR Scholarship

Using a difference-in-differences estimation strategy, Brad Parks and Alena Stern evaluate whether and to what extent direct exposure to the policymaking process influences how International Relations scholars select publication outlets.  Their paper is published in the most recent issue of International Studies Perspectives. Read this and other recent publications using the TRIP data.

Students Intern at TRADOC

Three William and Mary undergraduates are spending the summer as PIPS interns at the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) at Fort Eustis, Virginia:

• Amanda Brazzel - Human Dimension
• Chris Coelho - Future Warfare
• Eric Sawchak - Science and Technology

"My internship at the Future Warfare Division provided me with unparalleled exposure to the full range of National Security issues. The work I was given contributed directly to briefings given to Senior Army Leaders, including the Army Chief of Staff. It was an amazing experience that taught me how to think critically about real world issues, and helped me develop both academically and professionally. "  -- Chris Coelho

Elizabeth Hennemuth '13, a former research fellow of the PIPS project, has earned a Fulbright scholarship to work as a Teaching Assistant in Germany.

Alex Miller '13, a former AidData Research Assistant, is currently living in Geneva where he works the United Nations Financial Tracking Service.  Next year he will return to W&M to pursue an MA in Public Policy.

William Shimer '13, a former PIPS Intern, recently briefed U.S. Air Force Headquarters Air Combat Command at Langley Air Force Base.

Benjamin Buch '12, a former AidData Research Assistant and PIPS Fellow, is currently a Ph.D. student at Stanford University and is spending his summer doing research with the U.S. Air Force in Texas.

Lindsay Hundley '12, a former PIPS Research Fellow and current TRIP Post Bacalaureate Fellow, will pursue a Ph.D. in Political Science at Stanford University beginning fall of 2013.

Kedar Pavgi '11, a former AidData Research Assistant, is currently working in Washington, D.C. as a journalist for Defense One.

Morgan Figa '10, a former RA for the TRIP project, is currently finishing her MA in Education at Harvard.

Jonathan Chan '09, formerly in charge of collecting data on non-traditional donors for AidData, now lives in Vero Beach Florida (and Haiti) where he works for Haiti Partners.

Tommy Jones '09, a former AidData RA, is currently living in Arlington, VA and works as a statistician at the Institute for Defense Analyses.

Raj Trivedi '09, a former RA for the TRIP project, is currently a Special Assistant at the Millenium Challenge Corporation working on the Open Data Initiative.

Brandon Stewart '07, a former RA at both VIPCAT and TRIP is currently studying for his PhD in Political Science at Harvard University.

Allison Biggs '06, a former RA for the Negotiating With Evil Project, now serves as executive assistant to CEO of ONE.

Jessica Sloan '05, a former PLAID Research Assistant and AidData Project Manager currently works for the World Bank in the Office of African Regional Integration.

Mike Weissberger '05, the former Director of IT at the Institute and, along with Ryan Powers '09, the man who built the original public version of the AidData dataset in 2010, is now in his second year of medical school at MCV. 

During her tenure as co-director of the Institute over the past six years, Sue Peterson has seen the program grow from a brainstorm into a world-class research incubator. With the charge to bring academia and policymaking together to address real-world challenges around the world, the Institute for the Theory & Practice of International Relations today places researchers into the farthest corners of the globe, consults with national and international leaders, creates new policy relevant knowledge and cultivates the leaders of tomorrow. Read more.