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CATALYZE INNOVATION

Evaluation and Learning about Funding Collective Action for Responsible Technology

Location: 

U.S.

Duration: 

Fall 2024 – March 2025
View Report for Funders

The Challenge

From 2021 to 2024, Omidyar Network invested over $8 million in The Tech We Want (TTWW), an initiative to build an alternative tech ecosystem that challenges the extractive models of the current sector. 

TTWW prioritizes equity, mutualism, sustainability, and responsible innovation by centering and shifting power to socially conscious tech leaders and entrepreneurs through community-building, trust-based grantmaking, and narrative change.

To assess the initiative’s impact, Omidyar Network commissioned Intention 2 Impact to evaluate TTWW’s evolution, collective action outcomes, and strategic opportunities for funders seeking to catalyze alternative tech ecosystems.

The APPROACH

I2I designed a retrospective evaluation to learn from the process and outcomes of the three-year initiative and drive future strategy. The evaluation included: 

  • Systematic review of strategy documents and existing data
  • Journey mapping to understand process, pivots, and emergent implications
  • In-depth interviews with grantees, ecosystem partners, Omidyar Network staff, and TTWW team
  • Participatory sensemaking

The IMPACT

  • Enabled Omidyar Network and TTWW to tell the story of the initiative, in a way that honors its evolution, and accelerates the work moving forward
  • Identified tangible lessons about emergent strategy and experimental approaches for collective action
  • Developed metrics that can be used for future strategy
  • Provided recommendations for funders seeking to transform the tech ecosystem that prioritizes equity, sustainability, and social good

Recommendations for philanthropy were shared at TTWW’s flagship event, The Light House during SXSW 2025.

DOWNLOAD THE SUMMARY HERE:

WHAT DOES IT TAKE FOR PHILANTHROPY TO FUEL AN ALTERNATIVE TECH ECOSYSTEM?