Philanthropic actors play a key-role in addressing societal challenges in the era of digital transformation
In a recent webinar organized by SwissFoundations in collaboration with the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, the spotlight was on the transformative journey of the Hewlett Cyber Initiative, a groundbreaking 10-year, $163.6 million investment in the tech policy field. Eli Sugarman, a Senior Fellow at the Special Competitive Studies Project, a Schmidt philanthropy and former Director of the Hewlett Cyber Initiative, and Sherry Huang, Hewlett’s Special Projects Fellow and Advisor to the President on AI, shared valuable insights and lessons learned, shaping the future of cyber policy globally.
The Cyber Initiative addressed three critical gaps in the cyber policy landscape: a lack of clear governance, a scarcity of experts with both tech and policy knowledge, and the absence of a cohesive community for collaboration.
Strategies and learnings from the Hewlett Foundation in the tech-policy fields
The webinar emphasized the pivotal role foundations play in addressing societal challenges, particularly in the era of digital transformation. No field remains untouched by this transformation, and the implications extend to political, social, economic, geopolitical and cybersecurity challenges. Funders are key contributors in addressing these issues. They can, for example, strengthen civil society actors and experts, which are needed to translate the complexities of digital transformation, including AI, to empower citizens, so that society can shape it proactively. The speakers highlighted the need for better collaboration between funders, the government, and the private sector. From their experience, funder collaboration is critical, but very hard to achieve.
Future Areas of Action
As the digital landscape continues to evolve, AI emerges as a hot topic. The webinar highlighted the necessity for joint efforts among all stakeholders, recognizing that regulation alone cannot solve all issues. All actors and foundations are in some way, or another affected by technological changes and need to apply it to their body of work. SwissFoundations is actively engaging with the issues surrounding digitalization and AI, exploring initiatives like the „AI in Everyday Philanthropy“ Learning Journey, together with StiftungSchweiz.
The Hewlett Foundation Cyber Initiative has not only filled critical gaps in the cyber policy field but has also set a precedent for collaborative, multidisciplinary approaches. As the initiative concludes, the philanthropic sector, also in Switzerland, can draw inspiration from these learnings to address the challenges posed by digital transformation and contribute meaningfully to shaping the tech-policy field. The journey continues. Now it’s up to the foundations in Switzerland to tackle the issue together and unlock unexploited potential.
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