Interview with Dan Sutch
Sakina Hansen and the Conversations with Practitioners Working Group.
Dan Sutch is the co-founder and director of CAST, the Centre for Acceleration of Social Technology, where he works with charities and third-sector organisations to use and adjust to digital technologies to address big social challenges. Our EAAMO-Bridges working group, Conversation with Practitioners, had the pleasure of interviewing Dan in January 2024. In this blog post, we record insights and lessons we learned from the interview for our audience of researchers.
Dan Sutch explains how CAST helps charities adapt to digital technologies. CAST supports various organizations, including trusts and foundations, by addressing their data needs and incorporating digital design into their processes. One initiative involves a network of 35 trusts exploring generative AI in their work. CAST also helps charities develop digital solutions, such as improving tools for asylum seekers in Manchester, and manages technological challenges to ensure charities can continue their work.
Dan highlights the skills gap within the charity sector. Charities often struggle with limited resources, directing funds to frontline services rather than investing in skills or innovation. CAST collaborates with digital agencies to bridge this gap, though integrating engineering practices with charity work can be difficult. The increasing demand for charity services in the UK, coupled with rapid technological advancements, has widened the gap between support and demand.
Charities also face the harmful consequences of technology. These challenges often require intervention from researchers and data scientists. Dan emphasizes the need for more collaboration between charities and researchers to ensure academic efforts are practical. CAST's survey on AI's impact on charities reveals concerns about governance and economic models, highlighting the need for specific research and knowledge sharing to support the charity sector's digital transformation.
Read more about Dan’s work in the Medium article.