Where to Start: Terminology

Where to Start: Terminology
 

At the GSR Foundation, we believe emerging technologies have the potential to reshape and improve how social impact is designed and delivered. Yet, the language surrounding them can often feel unfamiliar or inaccessible.
 

This short glossary introduces some of the key terms you’re likely to encounter in conversations about AI, blockchain, and Web3. It’s not an exhaustive list, but a starting point to help charities, funders, and social innovators engage with confidence.
 

Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Definition: Computer systems that can perform tasks usually requiring human intelligence, such as recognising patterns, understanding language, or making decisions.
Example: An AI tool summarises dozens of grantee reports and identifies common themes, saving staff weeks of manual analysis.

Agentic AI
Definition: A new generation of AI systems that don’t just respond to instructions but take proactive steps, acting more like digital assistants capable of planning and completing multi-stage (and increasingly complex) tasks.
Example: A charity’s “agentic” AI tool automatically drafts a grant report, requests missing data from a shared drive, and formats it for trustee review.

Blockchain
Definition: A secure, shared digital ledger that records transactions across many computers, ensuring transparency and reducing the risk of tampering.
Example: A humanitarian NGO uses blockchain to track food distribution in disaster-affected areas, preventing duplication and fraud.

Crypto / Cryptocurrency
Definition: Digital money that runs on a blockchain. It allows peer-to-peer transactions without banks. Examples include Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Example: A charity receives a donation in cryptocurrency, converts it into pounds immediately, and uses it to fund an emergency relief project.

Web3
Definition: The next evolution of the internet built on decentralised technologies (like blockchain) that allow people to own and control their data, digital assets, and identities without central intermediaries.
Example: A coalition of charities uses a Web3 platform to record donations transparently on a shared ledger, giving funders real-time visibility into how money is spent.

Stablecoin
Definition: A type of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value by being pegged to a traditional currency (like the US dollar or pound sterling).
Example: A micro-grant programme pays community organisers in stablecoins to avoid currency volatility and reduce international transfer costs.

Digital Assets
Definition: Anything of value that exists in digital form and can be owned or exchanged — including cryptocurrencies, NFTs (non-fungible tokens), and tokenised carbon credits.
Example: An environmental NGO issues digital tokens representing verified carbon offsets that supporters can purchase to fund tree-planting initiatives.

Quadratic Funding
Definition: A democratic funding model that amplifies the impact of small individual donations by matching them in proportion to the number of contributors rather than the total amount.
Example: A Web3-based platform matches a £5 donation from 500 people with a larger grant pool, giving grassroots projects with many small supporters more influence than a few large donors.
 

Parametric Insurance (Anticipatory Action)
Definition: Insurance that pays out automatically when a specific measurable event occurs, such as rainfall dropping below a threshold, rather than after a claims assessment.
Example: A climate resilience charity partners with an insurer to create a parametric policy that releases funds automatically to farmers when drought conditions are detected.

Decentralised Governance
Definition: A decision-making model where authority is distributed among community members rather than concentrated in a single organisation. Often supported by blockchain voting mechanisms.
Example: A network of community energy projects uses decentralised voting to decide how to allocate shared maintenance funds.

Impact Tokenisation
Definition: Turning measurable outcomes (like trees planted or students trained) into digital tokens that can be tracked, traded, or verified on a blockchain.
Example: A foundation issues “impact tokens” representing verified educational outcomes, allowing donors to see their contribution’s direct results on a public ledger.

Crypto Philanthropy
Definition: Using blockchain or cryptocurrency to make, receive, or track donations and grants for social impact.
Example: A donor gives Ethereum directly to a charity wallet; the transaction is transparent and traceable on the blockchain, potentially reducing admin costs.

AI Governance
Definition: The frameworks, policies and practices that ensure AI systems are used safely, ethically and in line with organisational values.
Example: A charity introduces an AI use policy requiring all automated tools to be reviewed for data bias and privacy compliance before adoption.

Digital Identity
Definition: A secure, verifiable record of an individual’s credentials or reputation stored digitally, often on a blockchain.
Example: A refugee support NGO pilots a digital identity wallet so displaced people can safely prove their training or education credentials without physical documents.

Wallet
Definition: A digital tool that stores and manages your cryptocurrencies or digital assets and allows you to send or receive them securely.
Example: A foundation sets up a secure wallet to receive crypto donations from international supporters.

Tokenisation
Definition: Representing something of value (a resource, asset or right) as a digital token on a blockchain, making it easier to track, trade or verify.
Example: A charity tokenises access to its clean-water projects, allowing supporters to fund specific wells and follow their impact transparently.

Transparency Ledger
Definition: A public, tamper-proof record (usually blockchain-based) that allows anyone to see and verify transactions or project updates.
Example: A disaster relief fund publishes all incoming donations and outgoing payments on a blockchain ledger to reassure donors their funds are being used effectively.

Machine Learning (ML)
Definition: A subset of AI where systems improve automatically through data and experience.
Example: A foundation uses ML to predict which grant applicants are most likely to achieve their stated outcomes, helping inform funding strategy.

Governance Tokens
Definition: Digital tokens that give holders voting rights in a decentralised organisation or project.
Example: Members of a youth climate collective use governance tokens to decide which local initiatives to support each quarter.