01 We're living in an unprecedented time

The data revolution is unleashing a torrent of frontier innovations, thought impossible only a few years ago, at breakneck speed. Data on virtually every facet of our lives are being unlocked through big data, the Internet of Things, and artificial intelligence. Thanks to technology, social entrepreneurs are able to create novel solutions faster and more easily than ever before.

Yet global crises, like climate change and COVID-19 continue unabated. Time to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals is running out, and we’re not on track.

02 Why haven’t we fully harnessed the data revolution for sustainable development?

For one thing, potentially transformative solutions often arrive too late, stymied by bureaucracy or organisational inertia amidst rapidly evolving crises or societal changes.

For another, those at the forefront of technological innovation usually inhabit a very different world than the sustainable development community. This has starved cutting-edge technological solutions of the on-the-ground insights that they need to become viable, and robbed governments and development organisations of the innovation that they need to bring transformative change.

Yet new innovative solutions to development data challenges are cropping up all over the world. Indigenous-led drone mapping of deforestation, efforts to transform government data efficiency through interoperability, or a project that uses comedians to build trust in data among remote islands are but a few examples.

Projects like these have tremendous potential. With the right expertise and networks, we can bring them to scale, tailoring them to the specific needs of communities all over the world and optimising them to deliver the SDGs.

03 We need to disrupt traditional ways of thinking

The PARIS21 Foundation represents the best and brightest minds from three worlds—frontier technology, sustainable development, and national statistical organisations. We bring them together to incubate, accelerate and deploy cutting-edge solutions from startups, social entrepreneurs and civil society organisations.

Together, we provide mentorship and guidance, identify suitable countries for deployment, and connect innovators to the right networks to pilot their solutions, bring them to scale, and crowd-in political and financial support.

We place special emphasis on projects from women innovators, from marginalised groups and those that originate in low- and middle-income countries.

The foundation builds on PARIS21’s extensive network of development experts, government officials and national statistical offices in more than 100 countries, which it has built up over twenty years of country support.