The Data Tank contributes to EU policy reflections on impact and access in research funding
On 10 June 2025, The Data Tank took part in the workshop “Funding and Licensing for Impact and Access: The Philanthropic Funder Experience”, co-hosted by the Impact Licensing Initiative (ILI) and the Medicines Patent Poolat the European Commission in Brussels.
This high-level workshop brought together leading philanthropic organisations, policymakers, and impact-driven institutions to reflect on how public and philanthropic funding can better serve societal outcomes. As the European Commission prepares the next Research and Innovation Framework Programme (FP10), participants were invited to contribute lessons learned and policy recommendations grounded in real-world experience.
The Role of Philanthropy in Impact and Access
The workshop addressed a growing policy concern: how can publicly and philanthropically funded research be translated into equitable access, affordable innovations, and contributions to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?
The discussions centred on:
- How to design impact-oriented licencing agreements;
- How to link upstream investments with downstream social impact;
- And how to leverage data to guide, monitor, and improve the outcomes of philanthropic action.
The Data Tank on Data’s Role in Philanthropy
Our colleague Natalia participated in the panel “Philanthropic Perspectives on Data’s Role in Enhancing Impact”, where The Data Tank explored how philanthropic organisations are using data to maximise the social value of their investments and projects.
We were honoured to welcome:
- Hilel Dridi, Data Programme Manager at Compagnia di San Paolo, who presented how the foundation’s Data Strategy (launched in 2017) has helped improve trend analysis, outcome tracking, and resource allocation.
- Phil Reckermann, Head of the Executive Office at Mercator Foundation, who highlighted the challenges of measuring qualitative change (such as shifts in societal narratives), and the need for more nuanced, non-standardised approaches to evaluation.
The session led by The Data Tank focused on how data reuse, sharing, and stewardship can help close the gap between intention and outcome in philanthropy. We also discussed the untapped potential of underutilised data, and what funders can do to unlock greater impact across their portfolios.
Contributing to EU Policy on FP10
The workshop contributed directly to an ongoing consultation process with the Directorate-General for Research and Innovation (DG RTD) of the European Commission. The objective is to integrate principles of socially responsible and impact licencing into FP10 in a way that balances innovation incentives with equitable access.
Recommendations and input gathered during the session will feed into a working paper developed by ILI and its partners, including The Data Tank, to inform future EU funding frameworks.
About the Initiative
The Impact Licensing Initiative (ILI), with the support of partners such as Eurice, RISE, University of Cambridge, The Data Tank, and others, aims to create strategic policy tools for the valorisation of innovation in alignment with the SDGs. ILI’s mission includes advising the European Commission on policy design and supporting capacity-building efforts across Europe.
The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP), another key player in the workshop, presented its experience in negotiating licencing agreements that enable generic manufacturing and access to life-saving medicines in low- and middle-income countries — providing valuable insights into equitable access in practice.
The Data Tank’s Role
As part of the ILI consortium, The Data Tank leads the education and capacity-building dimension of the project. We are developing a toolkit on data, AI, and data-driven applications, and designing a train-the-trainers programme to support public and philanthropic funders in adopting responsible data practices and embedding impact licencing principles into their projects.
Our continued engagement in these discussions reflects our mission to promote responsible data reuse that benefits the many — not just the few.
Want to learn more?
Visit www.impactlicensing.eu and www.medicinespatentpool.org, or explore our work at www.datatank.org.
