We at Data-Pop Alliance (DPA) are happy and honored to announce the continuation of our partnership with the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation (PJMF) through a $400,000 grant. 

Over the next twelve months, this continued support from PJMF (following a $300,000 grant provided last year for our Data Feminism work) will help to support three key areas of work and goals:

• Extending our Data Feminism work aimed at advancing intersectional, data-driven research, capacity building, advocacy, and policy efforts to foster gender equality, including activities and events of the Data Feminism Network, which was recently acquired by DPA; 
• Deepening our Technology and Democracy work to better understand and address the risks and mechanics of dis- and misinformation in the age of generative AI during upcoming elections, including through Eureka, an innovative methodology leveraging popular education, cultural content; and, 
• Building up OPAL for Humanitarian Action and the SDGs to allow Mobile Network Operator (MNO) data, Earth Observation (EO) data, and other sensitive data (such as financial transactions and microcensus data) to be accessed and analyzed safely and ethically through privacy-preserving and participatory systems, with a focus on a few priority countries including Senegal, where we recently helped develop the country’s first National Data Strategy. 

This continued partnership between our organizations reflects and helps advance our shared vision of a world where technology and data are leveraged for and by the Global Majority to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time, including gender-based violence and inequality, threats to democracy, and the effects of climate change and economic shocks on poor communities. 

According to Anna Spinardi, Director of DPA’s Data Feminism Program,“the PJMF grant will allow us to continue leveraging feminist, intersectional and LGBTQI+ inclusive knowledge and awareness to identify pressing gender-related issues, how they are connected, and how they can be overcome with evidence-based recommendations.” 

Furthermore, “as generative AI promises to reshape our information ecosystem, the PJMF grant will allow us to tackle its implications for democracy – particularly in the context of upcoming elections in Mexico and Brazil; through research and innovative civic engagement strategies”, reckoned Julie Ricard, Director of DPA’s Technology and Democracy Program.  

Finally, according to Talla Ndiaye and Nigora Isamiddinova, respectively Directors of DPA’s Just Digital Transformations and Resilient Livelihoods and Ecosystems programs who presented OPAL for Humanitarian Action at the World Food Programme (WFP) Humanitarian Innovation Accelerator event in Luxembourg, “this support from PJMF will allow OPAL to enter a new phase of its development and deployment, including by combining multiple data sources and strengthening OPAL’s participatory governance mechanisms for greater accountability and impact, focusing on climate-induced migration in Senegal in the next few months.” 

“It is both deeply humbling and hugely motivating for us all at Data-Pop Alliance to receive a renewed grant of $400,000 from the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation. Large, flexible grants of that nature are essential to our work in an overall very challenging funding environment resulting from post-COVID fiscal tightening of major donors and competing demands with crises on multiple fronts, which themselves show the urgency of correcting the course of the world. This grant is a testament to the recognition of the relevance and quality of DPA’s work by one of the leading foundations in the space of technology, AI and data science for social good, and the trust between our organizations, said Emmanuel Letouzé, Director and Co-Founder of Data-Pop Alliance. 

“Over the past decade, Data-Pop Alliance has made critical progress in protecting our most vulnerable, defending democracy, and advancing meaningful climate solutions for the global majority. At the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, we’re committed to partnering with DPA to leverage data and AI tools to create a more inclusive and sustainable world.” said PJMF President Vilas Dhar.

Learn more about DPA’s Data Feminism Program in a blog post by Program Director Anna Spinardi: https://bit.ly/3EW5E0A

Learn more about our Technology and Democracy Program in a blogpost by Program Director Julie Ricard: https://bit.ly/3yDjTne

Learn more about OPAL: https://bit.ly/46mSaXg