In 2026, ONE Data, in partnership with Google.org and The Rockefeller Foundation, will launch the Development Finance Observatory. This new initiative aims to address a growing challenge in global development: declining international funding to low- and middle-income countries. Backed by $4 million in total funding, the platform will serve as an interactive, AI-powered data collaboration to improve access to and analysis of development finance data.
Designed to reduce data fragmentation and increase accountability, the Observatory will offer a more complete picture of financial flows into and out of developing economies. It is being developed by ONE Data with technical infrastructure support from Google’s Data Commons.
Vision
The Development Finance Observatory’s core goal is to maximize the impact of every dollar flowing into development. The platform will integrate fragmented datasets related to official development assistance (ODA), debt, private capital, remittances, and domestic finance. It will allow users to track inflows and outflows at the country level and across sectors.
Unlike traditional databases, the platform will support natural-language queries, enabling users to ask specific questions and receive instant data-driven responses. This capability is expected to benefit a wide range of stakeholders, from policy-makers and researchers to investors and civil society.
Funding
The Observatory is supported by a combined $4 million in funding, with major contributions from Google.org and The Rockefeller Foundation:
| Funder | Amount | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Google.org | $3 million | Platform development and technical support |
| Rockefeller Foundation (via RF Catalytic Capital) | $700,000 | Data integration and stakeholder engagement |
| Total | $4 million | Infrastructure and system development |
This investment will enable the creation of a scalable, open-access data infrastructure for the development finance ecosystem.
Problems
Development finance data is currently fragmented, inconsistent, and siloed across institutions. Different sources track different metrics, optimized for different audiences. This makes it difficult to understand overall trends or answer simple questions like how much aid a specific country received in a given year.
The Observatory addresses this by combining both inflows and outflows, enabling a comprehensive view of net finance. Inflows include ODA and new lending to governments, while outflows account for repayments and debt servicing.
Trends
The Observatory’s first analysis reveals major shifts in development finance over the last decade:
| Key Trend | 2010-2014 | 2020-2024 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bilateral Net Flows | – | $19 billion decrease | 6% drop |
| Private Finance (Net) | $115 billion | $7.3 billion | 94% collapse |
| Chinese Finance | +$48 billion provided | -$24 billion extracted | $72 billion reversal |
| Africa (China-specific) | +$30 billion | -$22 billion | $52 billion swing |
| Multilateral Finance Share | 28% | 56% | 124% increase |
China, once a key source of development lending, has become a net extractor of capital from developing countries, especially in Africa. In contrast, multilateral institutions such as the World Bank have significantly increased their share of net financing, now accounting for more than half of the total.
Approach
The Observatory is not a standalone project but part of a broader ecosystem of partnerships. ONE Data is working with several organizations, including Climate Policy Radar and ISGlobal, to integrate AI-driven analysis and model the health and climate impacts of development finance trends.
The platform will use Google’s Data Commons as its technical foundation, allowing data to be standardized, linked, and queried efficiently. Sources and methodologies will be transparent and auditable, providing credibility to the insights generated.
Impact
The goal of the Observatory is to provide timely, accessible, and accurate data to those who need it most. Governments can make better policy decisions, researchers can model impacts with higher precision, and citizens can demand accountability.
According to David McNair, Executive Director at ONE Data, “To make better decisions we need accurate, timely facts. This partnership is about harnessing the latest technology to build a public-good data backbone that reduces fragmentation and improves accountability.”
The Development Finance Observatory promises to enhance visibility into global financing efforts and ensure that every dollar spent is contributing to measurable progress.
FAQs
What is the Development Finance Observatory?
It’s a data platform tracking finance inflows and outflows in developing countries.
Who is funding the Observatory?
Google.org and The Rockefeller Foundation are funding the project.
When will the Observatory be launched?
The platform is expected to launch in 2026.
What makes this platform different?
It integrates multiple data sources and supports natural-language queries.
