This presentation focuses on the reinforced presence of private foundations in alliance with EdTech in educational governance, using knowledge as a source of influence. To this end, we will present an ongoing exploratory study about DigitALL, a Vodafone Foundation Portugal program for schools that aims to promote “new technologies to support the development of technical, behavioural and social skills” (DigitALL, 2023). Preliminary data, gathered by documental analysis and interviews, show that DigitALL seems a promising empirical study to discuss two features of contemporary education governance. The first feature refers to creating new networks, where non-state actors – such as private and philanthropic organizations – are becoming key actors in education governance (Ball, 2016). Moreover, after the Covid-19 pandemic, private foundations reinforced their presence in education in alliance with EdTech (Saura, 2020; Grimaldi, & Ball, 2021), exhibiting a significant capacity to influence policy, without constraints of national borders or regional and working directly with schools (Williamson et al, 2020). Data show that DigitALL was born from the Vodafone Group Foundation strategy to invest €20 million to expand “digital skills and education programmes” (Vodafone Group Foundation, 2023) and is identical to other ongoing programs in seven European countries. These data will be explored to understand the creation of a new network that gathers national and supranational private foundations, the EdTech and the schools. The second feature refers to how knowledge production, circulation and use are becoming the process of governing itself (Fenwick et al, 2014). Education governance has become more based on comparison and performativity (Grek, Maroy & Verger, 2020) and, thus, there is a growing need for knowledge to sustain policy decisions. The “governing by numbers” (Grek, 2009) is now more and more supported by infrastructures and digital platforms (see, e.g., Decuypere et al., 2021; Sellar, 2017), and taking part in digital education governance (Williamson, 2016). Simultaneously, philanthropy is becoming more concerned with the knowledge to sustain its action, because is turning more committed to impacts and results, capacity building, training, consulting, and digital innovation, which has been described as new philanthropy (see, e.g., Ball & Junemann, 2011). In this respect, DigitALL offers schools a digital platform, in-job teacher training and monitors who apply, in the classroom, a script on digital skills with students. These data converge to the idea that DigitALL takes part in the “new philanthropy canon”, using “digital knowledge” as a source of influence.

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