Shared Infrastructure for Impact Reporting in the AI Era
About the session
Despite major advances in how organisations collect and manage data, impact reporting still looks much as it did a decade ago.
Each year, millions of hours are spent compiling reports manually, often duplicating effort across different formats for funders, donors, and boards. The result is a system that is time-consuming, error-prone, and difficult to learn from. At the same time, interest in using AI for impact analysis is growing, yet most organisations lack the standardized, interoperable data needed to make this possible.
This session explores a different approach.
Centered around CommonGround, a new shared impact data infrastructure, the conversation will examine how collaboratively developed data models, open APIs, and integrations with existing tools could reduce reporting friction and unlock more meaningful use of data across the sector.
Participants will engage directly with a working prototype and contribute to a discussion on what it would take to make shared infrastructure viable in practice, from governance and incentives to adoption challenges and safeguards.
The session is designed as an interactive dialogue, inviting participants to help shape how impact reporting could evolve in the AI era.
Who this is for
This session is for funders, nonprofit leaders, MEL practitioners, technologists, and anyone interested in improving how impact data is structured, shared, and used.
What you will get out of it
A clearer understanding of the limitations of current impact reporting systems
Insight into how shared data infrastructure could reduce duplication and improve learning
Exposure to emerging approaches that enable practical AI use in impact analysis
The opportunity to engage with and shape a live prototype and its future direction
A chance to connect with others exploring more efficient and interoperable data systems
Speakers
Zak Kaufman, Co-founder & CEO, Vera Solutions
Katrina Seidel, Chief Growth Officer, Vera Solutions
Philip Kao, Co-founder & Executive Director, Appleseed Impact
This session invites participants to rethink not just how we report impact, but how we structure the systems that make meaningful learning and collaboration possible.