Title

Accelerating data-driven innovation across the grant making cycle

When

Tuesday 6 February 2024 (Australia)

10:00am - 11:00am AEDT (NSW, ACT, VIC), 9:30am – 10:30am (SA), 9am – 10am (QLD)

Monday 5 February 2024 (North America) 

6:00pm - 7:00pm (EST), 3:00pm - 4:00pm (PST)

Location

Online event - details will be provided after the registration is submitted

Overview

How might philanthropies harness the power of data in their grant making strategies? What new approaches can be used to define the questions that matter most, build new programs, and evaluate the impact of grant making decisions? 

Join representatives of The Paul Ramsay Foundation and The GovLab at New York University on Tuesday 6 February, 2024, for an in-depth discussion on how the latest data-driven methods and tools can help transform grant making decisions. Learn more about the growing potential of data for philanthropy and become part of a new network of responsible data leaders across the philanthropic sector. 

The webinar will include the launch of a new global platform connecting philanthropic foundations and data innovators. The launch and overview of the digital platform and initial case studies will be followed by a panel discussion with Australian innovators and philanthropists who have applied novel data-driven approaches in their work (panelists to be announced in January). 

Speakers include Jack Heath (CEO of Philanthropy Australia), Kai Graylee (Head of Innovation and Integration at the Paul Ramsay Foundation), Alex Fischer (Former Head of Research at the Paul Ramsay Foundation/Honorary Research Fellow at the ANU School of Cybernetics), Stefaan G. Verhulst (Co-Founder & Chief R&D at The GovLab) and more. 

We hope to see you there!

Background

Data-driven methods are advancing across sectors at rates difficult for most organisations to effectively leverage when trying to address complex societal challenges. The Paul Ramsay Foundation partnered with The GovLab and Philanthropy Australia to consider how data and its associated methods and tools could support philanthropies to collaborate, sharpen funding decision-making processes across the grant cycle, and accelerate the impact of funders’ investments. The collaboration seeks to inform and inspire philanthropic networks to share their approaches, connect with data and evidence networks in new ways, and leverage greater value and actionable ideas from data. 

To reach this, the GovLab created a new platform, DATA4Philanthropy, that features a series of resources on how to leverage cutting-edge data-driven methods and tools across the grantmaking decision cycle. Some of the methods featured include: digital ethnography, participatory sourcing of questions, and living evidence. The platform is a starting point for discussion, and eagerly invites philanthropists for input to develop further case studies and mechanisms to connect them with the expertise often siloed or outside of immediate view.

Audience

This event is open to Philanthropy Australia members and the general public in Australia and internationally.

If you want to find out more about the philanthropic work in this area, please reach out to programs@philanthropy.org.au.

Presenters 

Jack Heath AM - CEO, Philanthropy Australia

Jack sees philanthropy as a driving force for good in a time of diminished trust in institutions and huge societal challenges. He advocates for a philanthropy that is big-hearted, clear-headed and joyful.

After graduating from the University of Melbourne in Honours Arts and Law, he served in government as a diplomat, speechwriter and senior adviser to federal ministers including Prime Minister Paul Keating. Then, following the suicide of his young cousin, Jack led the establishment of the ReachOut youth mental health organisations in Australia, Ireland and the USA before serving as CEO at SANE Australia for over 8 years.

He has sat on a number of advisory boards and committees and received awards for his contributions in mental health, including a Centenary Medal.

Robert McLean AM - Director of Paul Ramsay Foundation

Rob is a private equity investor and company director. He had a 25 year career with McKinsey and Company where he was Managing Partner for Australia and New Zealand, and most recently as a Senior Adviser to the firm. Rob has contributed to the firm’s strategy practice and served on its Directors Committee. In business Rob served on the boards of CSR, Pacific Dunlop and Elders. He recently completed a second term on the Reserve Bank Payment Systems Board. He is an alternate director of Maths Pathway and a member of the Advisory Board of 5V Capital. In education, Rob was Dean and Director of the Australian Graduate School of Management at the University of New South Wales. In the community, Rob serves as Chair of The Nature Conservancy Australia Board and as a director of The Centre for Independent Studies. He was the founding Chairman of Social Ventures Australia and a former President of The Benevolent Society. The McLean Foundation, a PAF established by Rob and his wife Paula, funds initiatives in conservation, literacy and education. Rob obtained a first class honours degree in Economic Statistics from the University of New England, and an MBA from Columbia Graduate School of Business, where he was a Fulbright Scholar. In 2011 he became a member of the Order of Australia for his contributions to social welfare, conservation and to business.

Kai Graylee – Head, Innovation & Integration at The Paul Ramsay Foundation

Kai leads the team responsible for strategic programs and partnership development at the Paul Ramsay Foundation.

Before joining the Foundation, Kai worked in management consulting and across non-profit organisations and government.

In consulting, she advised public, private, and social-sector organisations on strategy and operations, with a focus on organisation. In government, she worked to provide policy advice in economic development, employment, and environment.

Kai’s non-profit work has spanned strategy and operations for international organisations involved in community infrastructure and agriculture. She has also led the establishment and growth of non-profit organisations focused on education and employment.

Stefaan G. Verhulst - Co-Founder & Chief R&D at The GovLab

Dr. Stefaan G. Verhulst is an expert in using data and technology for social impact. He is the Co-Founder of several research organizations including the Governance Laboratory (GovLab) at New York University and The DataTank base in Brussels. He was Head of Research for the Markle Foundation for almost 15 years where he remains a Senior Advisor.  He focuses on using advances in science and technology, including data and artificial intelligence,  to improve decision-making and problem-solving. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of the open-access journal Data & Policy and has served as a member of several expert groups on data and technology, including the High-Level Expert Group to the European Commission on Business-to-Government Data Sharing and the Expert Group to Eurostat on using Private Sector data for Official Statistics. Dr. Verhulst has been recognized as one of the 10 Most Influential Academics in Digital Government globally. He has published extensively on these topics, including several books, and has been invited to speak at international conferences, including TED and the UN World Data Forum. He is asked regularly to provide counsel on data stewardship to a variety of public and private organizations.

Hannah Chafetz - Research Fellow at The GovLab

Hannah Chafetz is a Research Fellow at The GovLab. At The GovLab she has worked on a range of projects focused on how data can be used to improve societal health and wellbeing. She holds a Master of Design in Strategic Foresight and Innovation from the Ontario College of Art and Design University (OCAD U) and a Bachelor of Commerce (Honors) from Queen’s University in Canada. She presented her graduate project on Open Government Data in Canada’s Cities at the Sixteenth International Conference on Design Principles and Practices. While at OCAD U, she was a Foresight Analyst at Policy Horizons Canada, a foresight organization within the Government of Canada, and a design thinking Teaching Assistant.

Alex Fischer - Former Head of Research at the Paul Ramsay Foundation/Honorary Research Fellow at the ANU School of Cybernetics

Alex Fischer is an Honorary Research Fellow with the ANU School of Cybernetics. Alex was previously the Head of Research at the Paul Ramsay Foundation. Prior to that, he help codesign SafePani, a community owned rural water service leveraging blended public-private finance by using smart monitoring technologies for performance-based payments to improve safety and reliability of public and private water points in Bangladesh. He is a member of the United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s expert group on Thematic Research on Data and Statistic.

Sally Cripps - Professor of Mathematics and Statistics at the UTS

Sally Cripps is an internationally recognized scholar and leader in Bayesian Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI). In addition to her role as Director of Technology at the Human Technology Institute, she is a Professor of Mathematics and Statistics at the UTS. Sally was also cofounder and co-director of the University of Sydney’s Centre for Translation Data Science (CTDS), founder and Director of the Australian Research Council’s Industrial Transformation Training Centre (ARC ITTC) Data Analytics for Resources and Environments (DARE). Most recently Sally was Research Director of Analytics and Decision Science and Science Director of the Next Gen AI Training Programme in CSIRO’s Data61.  Sally’s research focuses on the development of new foundational methods in AI to address global challenges. In recognition of the quality of her research, Sally was awarded an ARC Future Fellowship and a visiting scholar fellowship to the Alan Turing Institute in the UK.

John Sukkar - Head of Fire and Flood Mission and A/Director, Data and Insights - Minderoo Foundation 

John Sukkar is one of Australia’s leading data innovators trying to leverage technology to improve our resilience to natural disasters.  John is the Head of Fire and Flood Mission and acting Director of Data and Insights. In his previous role, John has developed and applied globally significant innovations in data analytics and real-time assessment tools to change how we prepare for, and respond to natural disasters. His insightful data approaches reflect the complex and multifaceted multiple domains of building disaster resilience. His expertise cuts across data sources and tools as well as across impact areas from climate change to mental health to community wellbeing to water security and land management.  

John is the former director of Engineering and Design at CSIRO’s Data61, the data and digital specialist arm of Australia's national science agency. He was formerly a leading product manager at Microsoft. He is a firefighter with NSW RFS and volunteers with a number of NGO's and community organisation.

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