An Impact Intelligence White Paper:
Why AI-Enabled Process Redesign
Is Now Essential for Foundations
WHY WE WROTE THIS
Application volumes at some foundations have doubled or tripled in recent grant cycles. Grantee cohorts keep expanding. Portfolio data keeps piling up faster than teams have time to make sense of it.
Most foundations respond in one of two ways: bolt generic AI tools onto processes that were never built for them, or hold back entirely over valid concerns about transparency and oversight. One creates new problems. The other leaves the old ones untouched.
We think there's a third option, and it starts with the process, not the technology. Redesign the specific workflow causing the friction. Keep human judgment at the center of every decision that matters.
This white paper shows what that looks like in practice, with real foundations already running it.
"Beyond efficiency, the AI brought consistency: by applying the same eligibility criteria uniformly across all applications, it harmonized the review process and ensured every submission was evaluated against the same standard — strengthening the fairness of our selection."
WHAT'S INSIDE
What you'll walk away with
Real Case Studies
How Sanofi Foundation, Bayer Foundation, and Zayed Sustainability Prize redesigned their highest-friction processes.
A Four-Step Framework
Find the friction. Pick the pilot with the biggest potential. Test it, learn, and scale what works. No data science team. No six-figure budget.
Where the Gaps Hide
From ecosystem scanning to portfolio learning, where automation surfaces the patterns your team hasn't had time to find.
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