Responsible AI Use Principles now guide SDC’s funding, policies, and operations.
The OECD case study highlights Switzerland’s efforts to govern the responsible use of AI in international cooperation and humanitarian aid, focusing on the framework adopted by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation in 2025.
Case studies show that SDC’s AI efforts have traditionally been fragmented, particularly at the country level, and many of its staff have had limited experience with AI. The agency also lacked uniform guidance on using AI tools, funding AI-related projects, and participating in policy dialogue.
The SDC Working Aid on AI, to be approved in 2025, will be based on the Swiss International Cooperation Strategy 2025-2028. It provides practical guidance for responsible AI adoption across agency portfolios and agency roles.
The framework builds on previous risk and opportunity mapping, the Council of Europe’s AI Framework Convention, and the OECD AI Principles.
Its guiding principles include doing no harm, human oversight, engaging affected communities, localization, debiasing datasets, ethical data sourcing, decent work in the AI supply chain, climate impact mitigation, transparency, and internal oversight.
The Working Aid also defines four roles for the SDC. These include funding AI operational projects, influencing global AI policy and partnerships, providing sector-specific advice to the SDC sector and Swiss representatives, and incorporating AI into knowledge management.
SDC created an AI Task Force to coordinate work on operations, staff skills, data and IT infrastructure, governance, and partnerships. This is now an AI network.
The framework has already been applied in areas such as climate prediction, child health screening, media development, disinformation, and internal project cycle management.
Why is it important?
The Swiss approach shows that development institutions are beginning to institutionalize AI governance, rather than treating AI as a series of isolated experiments. The Responsible Use Framework helps government agencies manage risks around bias, dependencies, data sourcing, climate impact, and human oversight while using AI for development and humanitarian goals. The case also highlights the importance of internal capacity, staff guidance, and whole-of-government coordination as AI becomes part of international cooperation.
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