United Nations Foundation

The United Nations Foundation serves as the institutional host of the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development Data (GPSDD), which brings together government, private-sector, civil society, and international institutions to harness new and traditional sources of data to better understand and address development challenges. This grant renews support for the implementation of the partnership’s strategic plan, which seeks to solve three major problems: (a) how to harness up-to-date data to ensure decisions are informed by current and changing contexts; (b) how to safely include and represent all people in data and the data value chain; and (c) how to govern data fairly and safely. It will also support the partnership’s expansion into related, but newer areas — including artificial intelligence (AI), a more comprehensive approach to capacity building, and a deepening of the country partnership model through its Power of Data initiative. (Strategy: Evidence-Informed Policymaking)

The Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL) at the United Nations Foundation works to understand what drives national digital transformations, helps countries accelerate access to life-changing technology and trusted innovations for all, and does so by identifying compelling evidence of what works. It finds the best digital solutions, passes them on to trusted country partners, and advocates for policies and practices that put people at the center of a country's digital transformation journey. As DIAL enters its second decade, its work continues to have a strong focus on the African continent. As a result, DIAL intends to be more fully staffed by people from the African continent, and partnering with Africa-based institutions. To that end, this organizational effectiveness grant will help DIAL understand pathways to having an Africa presence that cements its relationships between its internal human resources based in Africa and its external partners, particularly governments. In doing so, DIAL will also examine which pathway is least disruptive to its long-term operational and institutional health.

Data2X, an alliance housed at the U.N. Foundation, seeks to improve the quality, availability, and use of gender data to make a practical difference in the lives of women and girls. Data2X works with partners to improve the production and use of gender data through advocacy, collaboration, communications, and research. During this grant period, Data2X will work toward ensuring that gender data guides smart policymaking and promotes accountability in the effort to improve the lives of women and girls in countries around the world. This will include improving investment in gender data systems, improving the usability of gender data for policy, catalyzing policy demand for gender data, and creating an enabling environment for gender data use. (Strategy: International Women’s Economic Empowerment)