Development Monitors — Plan. Develop. Monitor.

Bridge Project · Badakhshan, Afghanistan · 36.99°N 70.28°E

Established2017

HeadquartersArlington, Virginia, USA

SectorsAI - Unmanned Systems - Global Health - Agriculture - Infrastructure - Disaster Risk Management

Plan. Develop. Monitor.

Development Monitors is an interdisciplinary consulting company that designs and implements sustainable solutions across multiple fields and sectors. We leverage low-cost and open-source hardware and software that can be maintained by our local partners.

18 implementations · 6 countries · 5 institutional partners Scroll

01 About the firm Est. 2017

A development engineering firm built around fieldwork.

Development Monitors is a US-registered company founded in 2017 by two experienced international research and development specialists, Dr. James Weeks and Mr. Umesh Tiwari.

Development Monitors is a development engineering company focused on tailoring and applying innovative technologies — including artificial intelligence and machine learning, geospatial asset risk management, autonomous drones and weather stations, and remote sensing and high-resolution aerial and satellite imagery — to solve research and development challenges across a wide range of fields and sectors.

Since 2018, the firm has partnered with The Washington Center to host over 70 undergraduate and graduate students majoring in computer science, engineering, and international relations from ten countries for three- to four-month full-time internships.

Team

Engineers · Social scientists · Health specialists · Developers

Dr. James Weeks Founder & President USA
Umesh Tiwari Co-Founder & Vice President India
Richard Ellert Senior Advisor, Water Sector Germany
David Hinkle Senior Advisor, Applied Technology USA
Alma Anaam Advisor, Data Science Yemen
Larry Weeks Senior Advisor, Infrastructure USA
Professor Robin White Advisor, Agriculture and Livestock USA
Professor Kevin Kochersberger Advisor, Drone Technologies USA

02 What we do Nine core activities

Capabilities span research, software, and field engineering.

01

AI Agent Development

AI agents using large language model reasoning to automate research workflows, including the Gates Foundation Evaluation Preparation AI Agent that generates structured briefing content for reviewers.
02
Rapid Landscape Assessment, Agronomy & Crop Science
Crop-science landscape assessment for Gates Foundation work, synthesizing agronomy evidence and identifying citation-anchored patterns across sub-Saharan Africa, India, and Nepal.
03
Rapid Landscape Assessment, Livestock Research
Livestock research landscape assessment for Gates Foundation work, using publicly accessible studies and trials to surface practical evidence patterns and research-quality concerns.
04
Rapid Review of Questionable Research Practices in the Lives & Livelihood Sector
Forensic-style rapid review of questionable research practices in publicly available Lives & Livelihood evidence, translating findings into concise vignettes for decision makers.
05
Clinical Trial Site Selection for CMNN Diseases
Evidence-based analysis of clinical trial site selection for CMNN diseases in sub-Saharan Africa and India, considering economic, methodological, infrastructure, and technology factors.
06

Geospatial Asset Management & Risk Mapping

Open-source asset registry and threat mapping platforms (QGIS, PostGIS, KoBoToolbox) integrated with satellite imagery and piloted in Nepal and India for watershed and water supply applications.
07

Unmanned (Drone) Hardware & Software

Low-cost autonomous drones and image-processing pipelines, developed with the Virginia Tech Uncrewed Systems Lab, for digital elevation modeling, flood analysis, and damage assessment.
08

Climate-Resilient Infrastructure

Climate risk reviews, pre-feasibility analyses, and investment plans for resilient infrastructure in seven Yemen cities, plus Afghan government engineering capacity building.
09

Disaster Risk Management

Community-based disaster risk management (CBDRM) life-cycles implemented in six vulnerable Afghan communities, covering hazard assessment, risk profiling, and community-driven mitigation.
10

Third-Party & Remote Monitoring

Remote monitoring, sensing, and verification approaches for donors in fragile and conflict-affected areas, with strategic guidance and field tools developed for the German Development Bank (KfW).
11

Decision Support Systems

Georeferenced diagnostic and decision support tools for planning, maintaining, and restoring water supply systems in high seismic risk zones, with knowledge-sharing across South Asia.
12

Infrastructure, Water & Sanitation Evaluations

Functional, technical, and economic evaluations of 55 water and sanitation schemes, 42 schools, and solid waste systems across Yemen and Afghanistan.
13

Value Chain Analysis

Rapid mapping and assessment of sector value chains in fragile contexts, covering Yemen's construction, agri-food, and low-carbon development sectors.

03Software platformARTMS

Asset Register & Threat Mapping System

Decision support for resilient water systems.

ARTMS combines a georeferenced asset register, hazard overlays, water-quality evidence, and dashboard analytics so utilities can see where assets are, how they are performing, and which investments should come first.

Discuss implementation View dashboard concept

ARTMS water supply system asset register

01 / Register

Build a verified asset inventory.

Import utility data and field observations for sources, intakes, pumping stations, mains, reservoirs, treatment plants, distribution pipelines, and other water supply components.

02 / Map

Connect assets to place.

Display every asset in an interactive map environment with OSM or satellite basemaps, administrative boundaries, utility layers, and project-specific geographies.

03 / Prioritize

Turn diagnostics into decisions.

Overlay landslide, flood, earthquake, and watershed risk layers, then rank assets by condition, criticality, and exposure to guide maintenance and resilience investments.

Dashboard concept

From desktop GIS to a utility-facing dashboard.

The dashboard concept brings the asset register, asset criticality level, map view, and water-quality table into a single utility-facing workspace. The updated Lekhnath view shows how field-verified infrastructure data, map-linked assets, maintenance priorities, and water-quality records can sit together for planning, monitoring, and financial planning.

LekhnathAsset registerMap windowAsset criticality levelWater quality

Asset register

Keep the verified register visible next to the map, with asset type, material, ward, installation year, and condition filters.

Map window

Make hazards work like interactive layers so landslide, flood, and other exposure data can be toggled against the selected asset.

Asset criticality level

Use the standard red, yellow, and green scheme to communicate high, medium, and low criticality assets at a glance.

Water quality

Compare standard values with tested values and flag compliant or non-compliant results for operational review.

Map to chartsSelecting an asset updates bar and pie charts for asset condition, type, zone, ward, DMA, material, and installation year.
Hazard layersRisk layers appear in the map context so exposure can be assessed visually alongside asset condition.
Decision supportThe same data supports diagnostics, business planning, performance evaluation, service monitoring, and financial planning.

01Water supply system diagnostics
02Disaster-risk and vulnerability analysis
03Watershed and source protection planning
04Resilience investment prioritization

04Software platformRIGORA

Research Integrity in Global Open Review Agent

Rapid landscape assessment for research integrity.

RIGORA triages research landscapes for questionable research practices, combining structured user inputs, academic-source retrieval, evidence extraction, source curation, and expert review into an AI-assisted briefing workflow.

Discuss RIGORA View agent workflow

Purpose-built AI agent designed to support expert reviews of research landscapes, not replace them.

Sufficiency validation

Checks whether the user supplied enough scope to run a useful review and asks follow-up questions when the prompt is incomplete.

Search and curation

Generates targeted queries, retrieves sources, classifies relevance, and builds a curated source list for the next stage.

Evidence extraction

Extracts report-tailored evidence from each source, with review screens for accepting, rejecting, or refining the extracted material.

Structured memo

Generates a concise briefing memo from accepted evidence, with AI-generated labeling and explicit verification requirements.

Expert review

Keeps domain experts in the loop for judgment calls, methodological interpretation, and final sign-off before dissemination.

ModelsSupports selectable model use across agents, including local Gemma workflows and cloud-hosted ChatGPT options when appropriate.

Search enginesDesigned around mixed source retrieval from Google Scholar, Crossref, Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, and user-provided materials.

ReasoningUses structured reasoning, branch review, and retrieval-augmented evidence paths to make intermediate decisions inspectable.

ControlsSupports semi-automated operation with checkpoints for query approval, source selection, evidence review, and final memo review.

Example Questionable Research Practice lenses.

In crop science and agronomy testing, the platform can surface recurring methodological risk patterns for expert review.

Overgeneralization from narrow environment coverage
Opaque or misspecified analysis models
Weak replication and error control
Noncomparable pooling and design drift
Confounded or bundled treatment structures
Fragmented methods and incomplete outcomes
Selective filtering of problematic trials

Output / Structured Briefing Memo

From screened evidence to a review-ready briefing.

RIGORA is being developed to produce an assessment memo that summarizes the research landscape, anchors findings in selected sources, identifies Questionable Research Practice indicators,

FormatExecutive summary and main assessment

EvidenceSource-specific vignettes and methods flags

ReviewHuman validation before use

06 In the field 11 frames · Four countries

Engineering, ground-truthed.

A working archive of fieldwork - watersheds and water mains, asset registries, coastal baselines, analytical maps, and partner consultations captured on assignment from around the globe.

Workers installing water supply pipes in a mountain valley — F·01 ARTMS water supply system asset register

Forest stream with georeferenced field-capture overlay — F·02 Watershed asset registry · georeferenced field capture Surkhet · Nepal

Dry rocky riverbed in mountainous landscape — F·03 Wadi documentation for community-based disaster risk management CBDRM · Afghanistan

Workers in stone-walled construction excavation site — F·04 Construction sector field assessment · stone retaining works Sana'a · Yemen

Custom autonomous drone weighing 234 grams on a kitchen scale — F·05 234 g autonomous drone · Virginia Tech collaboration USA · Lab

Excavated trench with newly installed water main pipe — F·06 Water main installation · trenching Yemen

Pile of solid waste on a Yemeni street — F·07 Solid waste cycle assessment · Bani Bahlul Sana'a · Yemen

Four people in a meeting room with one giving a thumbs up — F·09 Partner consultation · field office Stakeholder engagement

3D-printed fixed-wing drones on a workshop table — F·103D-printed, fixed-wing drones for risk mappingDrone technology

Mapping and analytics

M·01 Watershed flood risk mapping in Aden, Yemen Geospatial output

Automated building detection and flash flood risk analysis web map — M·02Automated building detection and flash flood risk analysis in Blacksburg, VirginiaGeospatial output

07 Where we work Six countries · Four partners

From the Hindu Kush to the Red Sea coast.

Implementation countries Interactive map · Six countries · Eighteen prime contracts

Yemen YEM 6 +
- World Bank Agriculture Productivity Assessment Investigated agriculture productivity and food security in Yemen, focusing on domestic agri-food production potential and the sector's role in improving nutrition. Yemen
- World Bank Low-Carbon Development Assessment Collected sectoral data for the World Bank CURB tool and conducted gender-segregated community consultations to revalidate prioritized low-carbon development interventions in Yemen. Yemen
- World Bank Construction Sector Value Chain Assessment Rapid mapping of Yemen's construction-sector value chain — manufacturing, contracting, and service firms relevant to reconstruction demand — with options to strengthen domestic firms' capabilities. Yemen
- World Bank Solid Waste Management Evaluation Designed an output-based aid project to expand primary collection to underserved areas, improve city-wide collection, and enhance conditions for women and marginalized workers in the waste cycle. Yemen
- World Bank Water Supply & Sanitation Evaluation Assessed the functionality, performance, sustainability, and resilience of 55 rehabilitated water supply and sanitation schemes in a fragile context compounded by climate change. Yemen
- World Bank Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Pre-Feasibility & Investment Planning Reviewed climate risk assessments for seven Yemen cities, identified resilient infrastructure solutions, and prepared pre-feasibility and investment plans covering technical and environmental aspects. Yemen
Afghanistan AFG 3 +
- World Bank Climate-Resilient Infrastructure Planning & Design Capacity Building Scaled climate resilience efforts across multiple Afghanistan government ministries, building engineering staff capacity to plan, design, screen, and prioritize resilient infrastructure projects. Afghanistan
- World Bank School Infrastructure Evaluation Technical and economic analysis on the retrofitting of 42 schools, leveraging multi-hazard risk assessments and government data, with retrofitting guidelines and client capacity building. Afghanistan
- World Bank Community-Based Disaster Risk Management Implemented a CBDRM life-cycle in six vulnerable Afghan communities — assessing hazards, developing community risk profiles, and identifying community-driven mitigation measures. Afghanistan
India IND 1 +
- World Bank Water Supply Diagnostic & Decision Support Developed and piloted a georeferenced diagnostic and decision support tool for planning, maintaining, and restoring water supply systems in the high seismic risk zones of Aizawl and Shimla. India
Nepal NPL 1 +
- World Bank Water Resource Management Analyzed multiple watersheds in Birendranagar municipality and the neighboring Surkhet valley, mapping water sources with an open-source georeferenced asset registry to design risk-mitigation steps. Nepal
Germany DEU 1 +
- German Development Bank (KfW) Remote Monitoring, Sensing & Verification Informed German Development Bank (KfW) management on strategic opportunities and limitations of remote monitoring approaches in fragile and conflict-affected areas, and produced staff guidance for tools and methods. Germany · Field
United States USA 1 +
- Virginia Tech Uncrewed Systems Lab Drone-Based Community Assessment & Disaster Risk Recovery Developed a low-cost drone with the Virginia Tech Uncrewed Systems Lab to capture and process aerial imagery, producing digital elevation models for flood modeling and damage assessment. USA · Field
Cross-regional research SSA · IND · NPL 5 +
- Gates Foundation Evaluation Preparation AI Agent Demonstrated the feasibility of generating structured, external-context briefing content for evaluation reviewers using an AI agent leveraging large language model reasoning tools. Global
- Gates Foundation Clinical Trial Site Selection for CMNN Diseases Evidence-based analysis of clinical trial site selection practices in sub-Saharan Africa and India — examining economic, methodological, infrastructure, and technological dimensions, including AI. SSA · IND
- Gates Foundation Rapid Review of Questionable Research Practices in the Lives & Livelihood Sector Identified, from publicly available observational studies and trials, concrete vignettes of questionable research practices that would not pass forensic metascience examination. Global South
- Gates Foundation Rapid Landscape Assessment, Livestock Research Vignette-based identification of questionable research practices in publicly accessible livestock research in the Global South, sourced entirely from open observational studies and trials. Global South
- Gates Foundation Rapid Landscape Assessment, Agronomy & Crop Science Concise, crop-relevant taxonomy of questionable research practices observed in publicly accessible crop-science studies from sub-Saharan Africa, India, and Nepal — illustrated with citation-anchored vignettes. SSA · IND · NPL

Counts reflect prime contracts. Cross-regional row covers Gates Foundation research projects spanning sub-Saharan Africa, India, and Nepal. Total: 18.

08 Research output Peer-reviewed

Peer-reviewed work in Remote Sensing.

Research paper 30 April 2021

Drone-based Community Assessment, Planning, and Disaster Risk Management for Sustainable Development

doi.org/10.3390/rs13091739

Read paper

Research paper 04 October 2022

Fast Flood Analysis for Damage and Restoration Assessment Using Drone Imagery

doi.org/10.3390/rs14194952

Read paper

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Headquarters Arlington, Virginia, USA Satellite office Delhi, India Established 2017

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