Press Release: New grant from CRAF’d to maintain global conflict monitoring and amplify local data solutions

Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) is pleased to share that the partners behind the Complex Risk Analytics Fund (CRAF’d) will continue to support ACLED’s core operations and advance its global conflict data collection and analysis efforts over the next two years. This second phase of CRAF’d support for ACLED, underscores the critical importance of real-time conflict data and analysis for the international community.

The renewed support will allow ACLED to sustain and enhance its role as a leading provider of real-time data on political violence and protest, while pursuing key initiatives, including:

1. Maintaining core operations – Continuing the production of real-time data, analytical reports, and maintaining ACLED’s suite of analytical tools.
2. Expanding data collection efforts – Integrating new data sources and forming new partnerships with local data collection organizations in conflict-affected regions.
3. Advancing data literacy – Providing data literacy training to build the capacity of users to effectively utilize ACLED’s data and tools.
4. Improving accessibility and interoperability – Ensuring ACLED data and tools remain accessible, scalable, and usable by policymakers, humanitarian actors, and other key stakeholders.

The ultimate goal of these efforts is to contribute to a sustainable, well-governed data ecosystem that supports evidence-based policymaking and operational planning in conflict prevention and resolution. 

ACLED’s global impact

ACLED’s data is a cornerstone of global efforts to monitor political violence, support conflict mitigation, and promote development in fragile settings. In 2023, an estimated 14% of the global population lived within 5 kilometers of a violent conflict, and in 2024, an estimated one in six people globally will have been exposed to political violence. The demand for reliable, real-time conflict data continues to grow as conflicts escalate globally, with a 12% increase in violent incidents from 2022 to 2023 and a 22% increase over the past five years. 

During the initial phase of the CRAF’d grant, ACLED nearly doubled its registered user base, surpassing 60,000. Of these, 3,650 are staff of CRAF’d partners or contributors—a figure that itself has doubled since the grant began. As ACLED’s user community grows, our data increasingly reaches key decision-makers, helping to inform better decisions. The growing use of ACLED data across the CRAF’d ecosystem highlights the critical need for sustainable, timely, high-quality, and interoperable data on global political violence and demonstrations.This new round of funding will enable ACLED to continue addressing critical gaps and provide high-quality, locally informed data for decision-makers worldwide.

“This grant represents a crucial investment in the power of real-time data to shape effective responses to the world’s most pressing crises,” said Clionadh Raleigh, President and CEO of ACLED. “With CRAF’d support, we can deepen our collaboration with local partners, expand our data collection efforts, and ensure that decision-makers worldwide have the information they need to act swiftly and effectively in conflict settings.

Kersten Jauer, who leads the CRAF’d Secretariat, added: “The continued support from the CRAF’d partners for ACLED reflects our shared commitment to advancing data-driven crisis action. Thanks to the CRAF’d partners, ACLED remains freely accessible to organizations and actors worldwide, providing essential data to those working to alleviate suffering in conflict-affected regions.”