1. How does the foundation use technology to improve internal operations and processes?

Te 2 of 15 critical role at the foundetion. The Dels hold a fundamental belaef in the power of technology, not only as a tool with which to scale up social programs, whether in education in the Linited States of microfinasce ia India, but also as a means of increasing iefernal operational efficiency, cnabling the organization to have maximum impact. "Technology is part of our DNA," said Stwan. Michael and Susan's backgroand in business, 1echnology, and innovation played a significant part in shaping the foundation's approach to pooblem solving. As entrepreneurs, they knew the importance of thoroughly underitanding issues on the ground before designing solutions to address the root causes of a problemil. Moreover, what motivated them to start and build besinesses-a desire to find a better way of doing things-was fundamental to the strategies they would everitually deplisy at the foundation. "We knew that [the issae of] children living in urban poverty was most important to us, bet we needed to focus," aid Susan. "As I had done in my besiness, 1 had to woek out nhat would be our main focus. We decided on education and bealth, because to becak the cycle of poverty, clocation and health are the most important building blocks" The way they approached tackling these issues also reflected their backgroand as entrepreneurs. "At their coes, entrepreneurs are all about solving peoblems," Michact had written in a 2014 blog post." Susan agreed:- We run the foundation soencatiat like a business." she said. However, their strategy was sot to tackle every problem that faced ehildren wodidwide, but to look for problems that, given their ikills and resourees. presented the foundation with the biggest opportumity to make a difference. This was a principle Michael had applied when he created Dell Ine. Michacl was inspired to found his coerpasy when, in 19k3, he took apart an IBM deskop coenputer and discovered two things - other companies had manufactured all of the components, and the system, which sold for $3,000, actually cast roughly $600 in parts. He believed that there had to be a better way to make and sell computers. At Dell lisk. Michael pionectod a radically new way of designing matrufacturing and sciling personal computers (PCs). In 1984, as a 19. year-old college freshman, he startiod a new computer company with just 51,000 . Disassembling and sperading his PC had shown him that he could build and market PC s by buying components and selling them directly to customers for is percent less than products sold by big trands. As the Cuty 5,20151 company grew, he introdaced other innovations, sach as a 24-hour hotline and guaranteed shipment of replacement parts.' Instead of wing dealers, the coenpary sold PCs directly to customers over the phone, cutting resellers' markups and avoiding the need to carry large imventories of finished goods. Using a convumer feedback model (finst via phone and later via the Imemet), the company was able to obtain direct and detailed information on the tangible problems customers had been experiencing. fret isty 5,23141 compusy grew, be intredued other insevations, such as a 24.bost hodine and guar aleced shipenent of ecplacemerit puts.' cutting pesellers' maekses and aveding the need to carry large imeriteries of finiesed grods. Using a consumer feodhack model (first vis phone and later va the Inermeti, the customers had toos coppriencing Kitown a Dell Diect, this butises model was to have a peofcend influence ener the custoesers was a way of improvisg prodacts and peocesec. In the Dethe philarthropy. communicatioes) of what wat and was not working provised the inciglet nended to increase the effectiveness of social prograses. This also moant being humble whon considering how to tackle social probbicme. The foundation's wetrine tanted: Juct berause we have reseurces, like moncy or technology er mainowed. and a lofty poal, it doesn't mean we knew bow to mect the specific needs of eut aublence. Before we cath perveale ofers alwouk hos we can help them to ingreve their lives, we have to lides to whan they eruty nawd. . with buckgroends in the eoperate world. Tor cuample, befice joining the foundation in 2603, Evecuitive Datector Jaser Moumain, a Harvant MAM, had bece as ovecutive af Dell lite. managitg tusinews anits, inytading its U.5. consimer tivisine, and servete as a compary vice pecsideat. From this ouporicnee at Dell Inc, Moentein develepod an understanding of innoration and technology that she was atle wapply to her work at the Geundation. Working with the Dells. Mountain posinized on-the-grousd efforts is achieving the actallly tappens en the gound is what creabes change," she seid. "ta the dhsence of undervanding that, you ability to evke chanpe is limited. -? (Nay 21, 3014\} Deconher 11, 2014, and 1 etruary 12, 2015 4 0f 15 the Linited States) with offices on the ground at vary double In their decire lo tracsfores the these of childran by tackling urban peverty, the Docllis tad an ambitious visicn. Hut despite the fousdation's considerable financial resources, its fousders recognized they aceded so find additional ways to effect ahasge an atite the Deils woupht bo chatpe the underlyite systeme that indluetcell the actexs to atd partoers wo establich a becchmark against which the perfocmanse of any student, school, of egrion could be mapped. This uotk crabled ley stakehclders tit measure and assers which arcas weve performing well and which required vepport." In these kinds of itiifiatives, sechsology and data pruved la be powceful lexis. Thas was because all the weters an which the fountation worked- education, ctildhond health, and family economic sabitiry - involved two things: a lafge number of thaman imeractices edacatoes to the boundation's program offioess - bo ypend move time using their soee sheths to efiect change Programs at the foendetian ia which lechnology and daca played this ley rele inchaded urban misofinance in India, Lata aralysis in the U.S. public schocel system, and colloge degree completon rates in the Waited States and South Africa. Uleban Microfianance in lndia Because of the ptoven soctal appact of nural microfitance in develonang countries, the in India would be artes mictofinanse. Since the t970s. whicn Bangladeshe cococenist and banker Muhammad Yuma developed the concept of providing strall loans to lowinceete indiridaals (maiefy aceseri). mictofinance had emetged as a loy sool in the hamile 1o well their powession, giving them the fituacial capital neodod to expand ther matrition. Houcver, when the Defls started looking ail magrofinance as a way in help ary roedertis improve their lives. urtan migrofinance was almost nonckistent. Most imveston and entrepencars believed that groug lending - the doetinant microfinance thodel, in which. could not be cransienced to a mose transient urben setting so in 2000 , the foensiative institations secking to creast an effective urban model in lnafia. Because of the cont of managing lages numhers of very small loats, micrufituate institutions generally novded to charge fur bigher intercsi raies than these nfiered by the The forndativen watted bo vqpoet erganizaticas that wed lechnology to enhance the Puttiog Data to Work for Education ia the United States Wberi tackling weaknesses in the U.S. publee school sysien, the Dells ketew froes their experiences in businces that insights about what worked and what did not were cosential to vaseess. Applying this principle to the education seclor, they recegntred that evidence of what was and was not werking. The Dells had seen this phesonsenon at woek when they supported the decelopment of wetweol and district data dashboards is Texas. In zoco, the forndation had funded a plantitid project with the Teuas Filucatice Agency (TEA) to help them awsess the mont effective ways to upgrade its Publis Fducation Information Managemeat System (PEIMS\}. The following year, the foundation made an initial 510 millson grath duractly to the TEA to create the Texas Stodent Data System. This statewide system enabled educaters to bave daxhboards and snapshots of students, with both hislorical and updaied information about stodent performance, saving teachers large amounts of time and mabling ectucators with betaer aceess to information as shadents moved between campuses and districte. This week lod the foundation to fund a national effior to mable easy-te-acecss inficmation abost students for 1eachers across the Uwited States. While vast amounts of data were beite peoduced and collected by U.S. shacels, very liekle of the data was eavily accessible as the majerity of it existed in disparate and incompatible data systems. Moreover, the daks was being used largely for stase and folcral acovartability reporting. The daca rentained inacecesuble to teachers in a form that could allew them to erake quick and accurate diagnoses of the strengths and weaknesses of their stralents and 10 adage their clacsroom stratcgies accordingly, Nos could school administrators casily aceces this information, which might prove useful for budgsting purposes, and help schools make the most of their lintiatd resouress. In order to change this seceario, the foundation spent time and money-imvecting about 5150 million-working with large urban sthool districts to help them make sense of the data they were already eollectieg. Taking this expert knowlodge gained from on-theground experience, the foumdation hired a technology developmeet firm to tranufoem this knomiedge into a ncw national oducatice data standard ealled the Ed-Fi Data Standard , relcased in 201I