Data and Innovation in Education Philanthropy

Whether or not data are "the oil of this century's economy", they are without question fuel for the preparation of the workforce that must manage and grow that economy. In education, these data provide the energy to drive discussions about resource allocation, increase the impact of grant portfolios, and retrospectively evaluate "what works" and what needs work. Yet barriers remain—that data to answer our essential questions remains costly and inaccessible, that the culture and tools of smart data use have not developed with education to the extent they have within other fields, and that without a guiding vision, the major investments GFE members are making in results might sum to less than their parts.

This meeting will convene several dozen leaders for a conversation on how funders work with each other and their grantees to make the best investments in data and more specifically to:

• Highlight how the use of information within education philanthropy is evolving and will continue to evolve into the future.
• Explore strategies that deliver more and better quality data to increase the impact of GFE members’ investments.
• Identify how education funders might work together over the next year within a GFE Impact Group to invest in data for better results for all learners.

If you're interested in joining Data and Innovation in Education Philanthropy in Dallas, Texas, please visit our event page here, or contact programs@edfunders.org.