Mapping Development | WRI's "Funnel the Money"

The World Resources Institute, a global environmental think tank based in Washington DC, is providing maps that allow a visual comparison of data for the countries in the South Caucasus. Called "Funnel the Money", it seeks to chart development within countries, and also track allocation of resources from the central government by providing regional comparisons. The intended users are decision-makers, development specialists and informed citizens, and this interactive tool tries to help them "allocate resources to reduce poverty".

The project remains in draft form, and, we hasten to add, is only as good as the source data. The interface is a little clunky, too.

Still, it is an entertaining way to explore what is going on. You were wondering about the number of Georgian centenarians (those over 100 years old), and how they are distributed across the country?

Here are the male centenarians according to the 2002 census:

And here are the female centenarians. Note that there are many more female centenarians, i.e. that the colors should not be compared to the illustration above.

So apparently there are as many female centenarians in Imereti as there are males in the entire country. And Adjaria has a high proportion of both male and female centenarians.

This is just one of many maps you can extract. What is particularly useful is that even the default shows three maps at the same time, allowing for a good visual comparison.

What would we like to be added? A slightly friendlier interface, an opportunity to compare countries, and maybe a disclaimer regarding data quality. As it is, this still seems to be designed from the data end, rather than from the perspective of the users.

The website notes that they are welcoming comments, a WRI team was just out to visit the Caucasus, so we are hoping for an updated version soon. For now, find the site here.