Sunbird AI
For General Operating Support
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Amount$750,000
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Program
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Date Awarded6/5/2021
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Term36.0 Months
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Type of SupportGeneral Support/Organization
Overview
Sunbird AI is a Ugandan organization that partners with African public sector and civil society organizations to develop practical AI systems to strengthen decision making, service delivery, and feedback loops between governments and citizens. It also works to strengthen public sector capacities and policies on the use of AI. Sunbird AI’s goals are to (a) create practical AI systems to help African organizations advance the Sustainable Development Goals; (b) develop an evidence base about the value and relevance of AI solutions for development; (c) collaborate with other African organizations in fostering an ecosystem of African-led development and governance of AI; and (d) strengthen Sunbird AI as it moves from startup to more established organization. This grant supports the Evidence-Informed Policymaking goal that governments in East and West Africa use data and evidence to improve policies, programs — and ultimately, lives. It also supports our program wide goal of strengthening African institutions to be leaders in the Hewlett Foundation’s fields of work.
About the Grantee
Grantee Website
sunbird.ai
Address
P.O. Box 11296, Makerere Hill Road, Kampala, Uganda
Grants to this Grantee
for practical and resilient data systems in Uganda’s new cities
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)
for general operating support
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)
for practical and resilient data systems in Uganda’s new cities
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)
