Sunbird AI

As part of Uganda’s Vision 2040 and related National Development Plans, the government of Uganda has focused on urbanization as key to economic growth. This requires regional and strategic cities beyond Kampala, and to that end, since 2020, the government has been reorganizing the administration of several existing major towns into “new cities.” This will create new opportunities, but it will also put a strain on infrastructure and services. As a result, data and evidence use in decision making at this urban level, together with sound governance of that data and evidence, will be critical to these new cities’ success. To prepare for this, three current Hewlett Foundation grantees based in Uganda — Sunbird AI, UN Global Pulse Lab Kampala, and ToroDev — have been working together with the new city authorities in Fort Portal and Jinja to identify these cities’ core data and evidence needs; train city officials on how to use data and evidence to make decisions; support the institutionalization of data use at the city level; and pilot new data and AI technologies to aid in decision making. This supplemental grant is for Sunbird AI’s portion of the collaboration, and (among other activities) will support the pilot projects that demonstrate the potential of AI and other data-driven technologies for improving decision making at the urban level in Uganda. (Strategy: Evidence-Informed Policymaking)

Sunbird AI is a Ugandan organization that develops open-source artificial intelligence-based solutions and research to advance sustainable development across Africa. Efforts include AI-driven African language technologies; developing and deploying practical AI tools for cities in local policymaking; AI data governance research; and numerous complementary partnerships and collaborations. Through its work, Sunbird AI contributes to the growth and strengthening of the AI ecosystem in Africa and beyond, and shows how AI and data technology can improve planning, policy, and decision making, as well as strengthen the feedback loop between citizens and policymakers. This grant renews our general operating support to Sunbird AI. (Strategy: Evidence-Informed Policymaking)

The government of Uganda is planning to create 15 new cities from existing towns by the end of 2023. This will create new opportunities, but it will also put a strain on infrastructure and services. As a result, data and evidence use in decision making at this urban level, together with sound governance of that data and evidence, will be critical to these new cities' success. To prepare for this, three current Hewlett Foundation grantees based in Uganda — Sunbird AI, UN Global Pulse Lab Kampala, and ToroDev — will work together with the new city authorities in Fort Portal and Jinja to identify these cities' core data and evidence needs; train city officials on how to use data and evidence to make decisions; support the institutionalization of data use at the city level; and pilot new data and AI technologies to aid in decision making. This grant is for Sunbird AI's portion of the collaboration, and (among other activities) will support the pilot projects that demonstrate the potential of AI and other data-driven technologies for improving decision making at the urban level in Uganda. (Strategy: Evidence-Informed Policymaking)