Global Fund creates new Data Service web pages consolidating information on grants, donor contributions, allocations, etc.
Author:
Aidspan Staff
Article Type:Article Number: 7
ABSTRACT The Global Fund Secretariat has created a new segment on its website entitled “Data Service” where information on grants, donor contributions, allocations, etc. has been consolidated. The information is accessible through direct downloads and through the Fund’s application programming interface. Meanwhile, the Fund is replacing its Grant Portfolio pages with a new Data Explorer interface.
The Global Fund Secretariat has created a new Data Service segment on its website to make Fund data as accessible as possible.
“The idea is that anyone interested in data from the Global Fund has a ‘one stop shop’ to get data either through an application programming interface (API) or through downloadable files, all of which are backed by data which is refreshed on a nightly basis,” said Murad Hirji, Senior Digital Architect in the Global Fund Secretariat, who is responsible for the project.
The Data Service segment contains two sections: Downloads and API.
Downloads
The Downloads section lists “pre-packaged data sets and reports” available for download for information or analysis. This section has three tabs: Reports, Data Sets, and Archive, each of which contains data on several topics which can be downloaded in one or more available formats (PDF, Excel or CSV, depending on the topic).
The topics are shown in the table below.
Table: Reports and data sets available for download on the Global Fund’s Data Service pages
| Title | Description |
| REPORTS | |
| Approved Component Funding | Breakdown of approved funding by component |
| Country Coordinating Mechanisms | Eligibility and performance assessments |
| Pledges and Contributions | Pledges and contributions by government, private sector, non-government and other donors |
| Grant Details | Information on all grants |
| Disbursements | Lists of disbursements for each grant |
| DATA SETS | |
| Reported Results | Results by indicator for the most recent year (all grants) |
| Pledges and Contributions | For each replenishment period for each donor |
| Allocations | Allocation amounts, program splits and allocation utilization periods for 2017–2019, per component |
| Grant Agreements | High-level information, by grant agreement, for all grants |
| Grant Agreement Implementation Periods | High-level information, by implementation period, for all grants |
| Grant Agreement Commitments | High-level information, by commitment, for all grants |
| Grant Agreement Disbursements | High-level information, by disbursement, for all grants |
| Grant Agreement Progress Updates | High-level information, by progress update, for all grants |
| ARCHIVE | |
| Reported Results 2005–2016 (data set) | Self-explanatory |
| Incentive Funding 2014–2016 (data set) | Incentive funding awarded in 2014–2016 |
| AMFm ACT order summary 2011–2013 (report) | Summary of orders for ACT in 2011–2013 |
| Funding Decisions (data set) | Information for 2014–2016 allocation period |
API – application programming interface
This section contains raw data on the Fund’s portfolio through the Fund’s API (application programming interface). The API allows software developers to build applications while maintaining a live connection to the Fund’s database.
Aidspan uses the API to provide the data contained on its Data Analytics pages. Other organizations also use API; the Global Fund Secretariat does not know precisely how many because users are not required to register in order to access the API. However, Hirji told Aidspan that a number of international organizations, universities and think tanks doing advocacy or research have contacted the Secretariat concerning their use of the API.
The current version of the API software is 2.1; at least two more updates are planned for the rest of 2019. The API page’s description says that it supports OData v4, which allows analysts to connect directly to the API through Excel.
All of the data available from the Downloads section of the Data Service pages is also accessible through the API.
++++++++++++++++
New Data Explorer pages
Meanwhile, the Global Fund has also launched Data Explorer, a new segment of its website to replace the Grant Portfolio pages which contain information on country portfolios and individual grants and which have been very widely accessed by users.
Not all of the information has been transferred yet to the Data Explorer pages, so the Fund’s website still contains its Grant Portfolio pages. However, the transfer should be complete by June 2019, when the Fund says it plans to remove the Grant Portfolio pages.
There is a link on the Data Explorer landing page to a page were users can provide feedback on the new site.
