They believe in fostering inclusive, trusted digital transformation just as much as we do. Meet our 2025 DIAL Fellows.

At the Digital Impact Alliance, we believe that data and digital technology are key drivers of equitable economic and social development. Strong foundations, from effective digital public infrastructure (DPI) to robust data governance centered on the needs and aspirations of people, are essential for building a thriving digital ecosystem.

But to realize this potential, we need to better understand and advance the opportunities, while tackling the challenges that come with them. This requires collaboration across sectors, areas of expertise, and regions, which is why we are so pleased to announce our 2025 DIAL Fellows.

Working on topics ranging from DPI’s ability to enhance clean energy transition to the potential benefits of dark data processing, this year’s cohort brings a diverse range of interests, skills, backgrounds, and expertise. The one thing they all have in common: a commitment to understanding digital transformation best practices to drive positive outcomes for people. Together, their work will contribute to ensuring digital foundations and services create more value for more people, in particular those who need it most.

Learn more about our Fellows and their focus areas:

Over the coming months, each of our Fellows will dive deep, gleaning important insights into their chosen topics – and sharing their findings. We’re excited to leverage their knowledge and expertise to inform our broader work driving good data governance and digital infrastructure, and we hope you will too. They’ll be sharing their findings later in the year, so check back for updates about their work.

DPI is increasingly recognized as an effective approach to government digitalization, enabling inclusive, innovation-driven economic growth. However, significant gaps remain in how the DPI ecosystem—comprising open-source communities, think tanks, and development partners—collaborates with policymakers to advance these initiatives effectively.

Through his research, Manuel is identifying best practices, addressing barriers, and offering actionable recommendations for the DPI ecosystem in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

As countries work to reduce carbon emissions, climate related data, DPI, and digital technologies such as AI can play an outsized role in accelerating the clean energy transition.

Through his research, Arjun is exploring how these digital tools and solutions can address energy management and grid modernization issues, while also filling critical gaps to achieve net zero targets.

When done well, DPI can help achieve the sustainable development goals (SDGs), improve public service delivery, and drive digital transformation in Africa. While civil society organizations (CSOs) can play a key role in advancing this mission, oftentimes, they lack the awareness around DPI needed to advance effective policy frameworks and advocacy efforts.

Through her research, Risper is investigating CSOs’ understanding and participation in the development of DPI across Africa, focusing on how they can better shape policy, governance, and the equitable distribution of digital infrastructure.

As digital services become an increasingly important part of everyday life, vast amounts of data are being generated, from biometric information, browser history, IoT device logs, social media engagement, and beyond. Yet, the majority of data collected, an estimated 65%, is dark data, which sits – collected but unused – in data centers.

Through her research, Heather is exploring the potential benefits of processing dark data, how insights from such processing can maximize public value creation, and how DPI can guide the lifecycle of dark data analysis.

Governments worldwide are rapidly expanding DPI to provide services like healthcare, education, taxation, and business registration. In this environment, design systems offer a powerful way to ensure that digital services are consistent, user-focused, and accessible from the start.

Through his research, Kassim is uncovering how design systems can optimize public-sector digital services – highlighting best practices for designing, governing, and scaling shared design frameworks.