Inclusive Growth and Recovery Challenge
In early 2020, we launched the $10 million Inclusive Growth and Recovery Challenge as part of our commitment to building the field of data for social impact.
Overview
With support from the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth and The Rockefeller Foundation, the data.org Challenge called for breakthrough ideas that harness the power of data to help people and communities thrive, especially in the wake of COVID-19’s health and economic impact. In early 2021, we awarded $10 million in funding and technical assistance to eight exemplary awardees from a pool of over 1,200 applications. The Paul Ramsay Foundation, focused on philanthropy in Australia, funded a ninth award.
Areas of Focus
The Challenge invited proposals in the focus areas named below, but also welcomed submissions for using data to advance shared prosperity, and help ensure inclusive recovery.
Leave no worker behind
Low wage workers are among the most vulnerable in today’s economy. In times of economic stress, current trends toward automation and job displacement could accelerate. How can we use data to help workers remain secure in precarious times? Can data insights predict trends in the labor market and connect and prepare workers for the jobs of tomorrow?
Leave no entrepreneur behind
Unleashing the spirit of grassroots entrepreneurs can help communities rebound by creating much-needed jobs and growing local economies. Yet, in times of recession, the flow of credit to micro and small businesses tends to slow down. How can data enable microentrepreneurs to gain access to capital? How can data help us identify micro and small businesses with the potential to grow? How can data insights rethink creditworthiness and unlock capital for high potential business owners?
Leave no place behind
An economic recession will hit some places harder than others. As public and private sector investments flow into cities and towns to stimulate the economy, how can leaders use data-driven insights to make the right decisions to ensure economic security in underserved communities? How can data and analytics help connect neighborhoods to the resources and networks they need to access opportunity, including quality education, affordable housing and childcare, decent jobs, and transportation? We see opportunities for data to fuel economic growth and empower communities to thrive without further exacerbating inequality.
Harnessing the Power of Data
Inclusive Growth and Recovery Challenge Impact Report
These awardees show the range of opportunities that exist to use data to drive social impact for workers, entrepreneurs, and communities.
Awardees
Meet the Inclusive Growth and Recovery Challenge Awardees
We looked all over the world for projects harnessing the power of data science to help people and communities thrive. These proposals emerged as outstanding examples of data for social impact.
Webinar
Learnings from the Inclusive Growth and Recovery Challenge
Ginger Zielinksie, former Chief Strategy Officer at data.org, led a discussion on key findings & learnings that came out of the Inclusive Growth and Recovery Challenge Report and features perspectives of both Challenge creation and participation.
Challenge Judges
To garner critical feedback on recommended awardees for the Challenge, we gathered 12 prominent leaders in the fields of data and social impact to serve as Expert Judges.
Bayo (Olubayo) Adekanmbi has over 24 years of executive and technical experience, he brings deep expertise in Artificial Intelligence, geospatial data science, digital transformation, and inclusive innovation.
Read moreRaj Chetty
William A. Ackman Professor of Economics/ Director of Opportunity Insights
Harvard University
Raj Chetty is the William A. Ackman Professor of Economics at Harvard University. He is also the Director of Opportunity Insights (formerly the Equality of Opportunity Project), which uses “big data” to understand how we can give children from disadvantaged backgrounds better chances of succeeding.
Read moreMike Froman is president of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He previously served as vice chairman and president, of Strategic Growth for Mastercard.
Read morePanthea Lee is the former co-founder and Executive Director of Reboot. She is a pioneer in designing and guiding multi-stakeholder processes to address complex social challenges, with experience doing so in 30+ countries, with partners including CIVICUS, Wikimedia Foundation, Open Government Partnership, MacArthur Foundation, and governments at the national, state,…
Read moreLead on tech social impact and ethical AI development, Laura Montoya is the founder and Managing Partner of Accel Impact Organizations, including Accel AI Institute, Latinx in AI (LXAI), and Research Colab.
Read moreHimanshu Nagpal leads the Gates Foundation’s efforts towards utilizing digital infrastructure and digital tools to eradicate malaria.
Read moreEnrica Porcari is Chief Information Officer at CERN, a role she took up in January 2026—making her the first CIO in CERN’s history. Her responsibilities span digital strategy, data governance, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), quantum technologies, and open science. She joined CERN in 2021 as Head of the Information Technology…
Read moreJake Porway loves seeing the good values in bad data. As a frustrated corporate data scientist, Porway co-founded DataKind, a nonprofit that harnesses the power of Data Science and AI in the service of humanity by providing pro bono data science services to mission-driven organizations.
Read moreCassie Robinson is Co-Founder of Wealth Currents, a publication for women navigating significant wealth, and runs the Wealth Design Studio, working with foundations, family offices, and wealth holders to reimagine the private wealth system.
Read moreBruno Sánchez-Andrade Nuño is Co-Founder and Chief Scientist of LGND AI and co-founder of Clay, focused on building artificial intelligence (AI) at planetary scale.
Read moreDavid Sangokoya is Head of Civil Society and Responsible Governance at the World Economic Forum in Geneva, where he leads the Forum’s engagement and inclusion of nonprofits, marginalized communities, labor unions, activists, religious and faith-based organizations, indigenous leaders, and social movements across its Centres and multi-stakeholder initiatives.
Read moreDr. Shah serves as President of The Rockefeller Foundation, a global institution with a mission to promote the well-being of humanity around the world. The Foundation applies data, science, and innovation to improve health for women and children, create nutritious and sustainable food systems, end energy poverty for more than a billion people worldwide, and enable meaningful economic mobility in the United States and around the world.
Read moreVera Songwe is a nonresident senior fellow in the Africa Growth Initiative at the Brookings Institution. She is currently Chair of the Board of the Liquidity and Sustainability Facility. Before that, she was an Under-Secretary-General at the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa,…
Read moreDrew Zachary is Deputy Chief Innovation Officer at the U.S. Census Bureau.
Read moreStay Connected
Receive latest news, upcoming events, and opportunities across the data for social impact community.
By submitting your information and clicking “Submit”, you agree to the data.org Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions, and to receive email communications from data.org.
