Philea and Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo are conducting a survey on data work in philanthropic foundations with the aim of mapping out what activities European foundations are currently undertaking when it comes to data. Philea currently hosts a community of practice on data science, which is a safe space for data scientists and enthusiasts from the sector to exchange different practices and knowledge.

The survey, which is divided into three sections; data management, data science and artificial intelligence, and data philanthropy, will be jointly analysed by Philea and Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo, with the publicly available, jointly published report utilising aggregated responses from the survey. Gartner, a leading international ICT consulting firm, will critically assess the final draft of the report and the aggregated data providing interesting insights and also benchmarking with the for-profit sector.

Additionally, the Philea Forum, hosted by the National Foundation for Civil Society Development – Croatia, will take place this year in Šibenik between 23–25 May. The forum will address issues such as climate change and social inequity, as well as how philanthropy can play a role in the future direction of Europe. This diverse and inclusive forum will host over 700 delegates and will seek to extend the dialogue on how to shape a forward-looking Europe from international, regional and local perspectives.

The programme for the forum will be structured around four functional tracks of crucial importance for philanthropy:

• Strategy
• Philanthropy toolbox
• Collaboration
• Policy and data

This functional approach will allow for a critical analysis of how philanthropy can fully play its part.

Philea nurtures a diverse and inclusive ecosystem of foundations, philanthropic organisations and networks in over 30 countries that work for the common good, uniting over 10,000 public-benefit foundations that seek to improve life for people and communities in Europe and around the world.

The survey on data work in philanthropic foundations can be found here: Data work in philanthropic foundations – Data Science Survey: Philea and Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo.

Registration for the Philea Forum 2023 can be found here: Philea Forum 2023 – Philea.

Simon Hungin is a freelance writer that supports Alliance magazine.