What is Helicopter?
Helicopter is an interactive data platform. It is used within Christian Aid to provide quick access to data taken directly from Christian Aid’s internal systems. This version of Helicopter is a public version of the same tool, providing access to the same data as long as it is not excluded under the terms of the Open Information Policy.
Helicopter was developed internally and will continue to evolve over time and so your views will be very helpful. Please let us know what you think by using the form here.
Why ‘open data’?
Christian Aid works for and with people of all faiths and none to fight injustice and pursue our vision of a world without poverty. We use our resources to work to improve the lives of marginalised people. We believe that those who intervene in the lives of marginalised people should be transparent about what they are doing, and Helicopter helps us to live up to that standard.
How accurate is the data?
As an open data platform with a live link to Christian Aid databases, Helicopter gives access to some of the information that Christian Aid uses to make decisions on a day to day basis.
In our systems, data is continually updated and improved, with the day to day use of the data now and again uncovering things that need to be tweaked. When using Helicopter, you may sometimes be looking at data that will subsequently change. This is different from some of our other published resources, which are only released once we have gone through multiple further levels of checking and reconciliation. For instance, our annual report and audited accounts document is compiled once a year and is published at the end of a long process of auditing. This is the nature of ‘live open data’ and we believe that there is a benefit to making this kind of information available alongside more polished resources.
How do we decide what is included and what is excluded?
Information that is included in the internal version of Helicopter is only excluded from the public version if it meets one or more of the criteria in the Open Information Policy. For example, we exclude some projects that are sensitive from a security or privacy point of view. We have also tried to maintain the public benefit of Helicopter by excluding information that can only be properly understood if you have knowledge of our internal systems and structures.
Is it possible to access the raw data?
Christian Aid publishes data in International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) reports. Much of the data that is included in Helicopter is also available in those reports. You can access this by visiting our page on the IATI Registry or by making use of the IATI API.
What is planned for the future?
As our internal tool evolves, the amount of information available publicly will increase. If you have any thoughts about types of Christian Aid information that would be useful to you, or features that you would like to see in Helicopter, then please provide us with feedback.
