Development Gateway

As AI becomes increasingly embedded across nearly every facet of life, there is growing interest in how to make these technologies more practical, affordable, and sustainable. This has contributed to a shift toward Frugal AI: an approach to designing and deploying AI systems that prioritizes doing more with less.

In our latest blog, Mihai Postelnicu, DG’s Deputy Director of Software Development, explores how Small Language Models (SLMs) are emerging as one practical example of this shift, why they matter in resource-constrained or low-connectivity environments, and how they can help organizations keep sensitive data within their own infrastructure.

Mihai argues that the future of AI is likely to be hybrid: combining the broad capabilities of large models with the efficiency, privacy, and adaptability of smaller, locally deployable systems.

Read the full blog here: https://developmentgateway.org/blog/why-the-future-of-generative-ai-is-local-and-specialized/

Why the Future of Generative AI is Local and Specialized – Development Gateway: An IREX Venture – Data and digital solutions for international development. As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly embedded in daily life, there is growing interest in how to make these technologies more practical, affordable, and sustainable. This blog discusses a shift toward Frugal AI, an approach to designing and deploying AI systems that prioritizes doing...

🚨Development Gateway has just launched the strategic plan for 2026-2028, a reflection of how we are responding to the dramatic shifts in global power dynamics and technological innovations. As governments face growing pressure to do more with fewer resources, the rapid adoption of new technologies also risks widening the digital divide, as our partner institutions grapple with models and tools they neither own, control, nor often fully understand.

For over twenty-five years, DG has navigated multiple technology trends and development funding disruptions. Throughout, we have remained committed to our mission: supporting the use of data, technology, and evidence to create more effective, responsive, and trusted institutions.

Our strategy for the next three years is grounded in four key pillars:
✦ A time-tested foundational philosophy of working with institutions to cut through the noise of technology to support them in choosing a path that is ethical, sustainable, and able to be practically implemented.

✦ Integrative methods that bridge research and evidence into policy making, ensuring that new tools are sustainable and responsive to changing environments to avoid becoming quickly obsolete.

✦ A focus on high impact sectors such as agriculture, health, education , public financial management, and digital governance, where we have a unique ability to cut through complex stakeholder ecosystems and deliver technology that drives better service delivery, governance, or social welfare outcomes.

✦ A cross sectoral approach to AI which helps institutions build their existing data systems in a way that makes it easier to implement AI, design plans that address the needs of their specific contexts, and conduct hands-on experimentation in a safe environment before solutions are rolled out to the public.

Read the full strategy here: https://developmentgateway.org/publication_landing/strategic-plan-fy-2026-2028/