Danny Walker
Professional Data Scientist and Researcher
International Development/ Humanitarian Aid
Research Highlights
Burundi
UN PBF Projects
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This project was a critical look at the UN's Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) projects in Burundi. As part of this evaluation, I worked with a research team to compile data from numerous sources in order to match villages using a quasi-experimental design. Surveys were then conducted on the ground in "control" (non-PBF) and "treatment" (PBF) locations. Research showed several differences between PBF and non-PBF villages including increases in social cohesion and trust of local institutions.
Village-level violence predictors
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This project was meant to determine the causes of violence in Indonesian villages. Using several data sources, including Uppsala University's renowned Conflict Data Program (UCDP), I worked with two Professors from Brigham Young University (Joel Selway and Josh Gubler) to see if violence can be predicted based on cross-cutting cleavages at the micro level.
Aid Management Platform (AMP)
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In Laos PDR, Development Gateway, in collaboration with UNDP, set out to launch the Aid Management Platform (AMP), an online system for tracking Official Development Assistance (ODA) in order to make aid more transparent and accountable to local populations. I oversaw the implementation of this system in Laos by interfacing with government agencies and the country's largest aid donors.
Indonesia
Laos PDR
NGO Scorecards
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This project was an in-depth look into the world of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), particularly their evaluation methods and practices. This can be a difficult field to navigate for development stakeholders such as NGO donors since capacity and credibility are not often comparable across organizations. To study the possible benefits of standardized evaluation techniques, I secured a partnership with Uganda's two largest NGO networks -- DENIVA and NGO Forum -- and developed the NGO Scorecard to standardize information gathered through the NGO Quality Assurance Certification Mechanism (QuAM).
Uganda scorecards
U-Report
During Summer 2014, I worked with UNICEF Uganda, AidData, and Development Gateway to gather crowd-sourced data and study whether it would be useful to local political or development decision-makers. This was part of UNICEF’s new U-Report program which is just now starting to employ rigorous quantitative methods to analyze data from its almost 300,000 subscribers.
Uganda U-Report
Colombia
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Impact Evaluation - USAID Peacebuilding
Working with Professors Mike Findley and Joe Young, I'm participating in an impact evaluation of USAID peacebuilding initiatives in Colombia. I compiled data from 50+ sources in order to employ a propensity score matching pseudo-experiment. As surveys and more data comes in, we will be able to compare peacebuilding vs. non-peacebuilding municipalities to see the effect of USAID's work.
Results Data (RDI)
Results Data Initiative
I worked with Development Gateway and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to explore trends and roadblocks in results data gathering, disseminating, and use. Employing the newest data science methods, we were able to combine monitoring data from disparate bilateral and multilateral agencies including the World Bank, USAID, DFID, and many others. Additionally, we visualized this research and created a scorecard to display quality data practices.