By Scott Neilitz, Claudine Lim

New and Improved Tools and Methods for Measuring through the Digital Principles

Looking back to 2015, when the first Principles for Digital Development working group was established, it’s incredible to realize the ways the community has grown: launching with a humble 54 development and donor organizations from the Global North, we now welcome over 270 endorsers spanning an array of sectors. As of June 2021, the Digital […]

By Claudine Lim, Maurice Sayinzoga

Putting the Principles to the Test: Exploring the Causality between Digital Training and Digital Transformation

The Principles for Digital Development are commonly touted as best practice guidelines in digital development, but do they support digital capacity building, and in turn, national digital transformation?  This year, with backing from the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO) Digital Access Program (DAP) and evidence from the 2019 Digital Principles Training Needs and Landscape Assessment report, the Digital Impact Alliance Digital (DIAL) is testing this theory by exploring variables that drive digital […]

By Breese McIlvaine

The Nexus of Bridging Digital Solutions with Cross Sector Development

I am neither a data nor a health specialist, yet it is at the nexus of the two where I have built my expertise. I took my very first steps on the sands of Dar es Salaam’s Msasani Bay, but it was in Lusaka eight years later that I became acutely aware of the realities […]

By Matt Haikin, Nikki Brand

Embracing New Approaches to Our Work When Projects ‘Fail’: What We’ve Learned About Financial Modelling for ICT4D

The Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL) was established to develop common digital public goods that any sector and any country could use.  The mission our donors set us was to move nimbly, make mistakes, and scale successes.  While we have had a number of successes over the past two years (see our recent publications for examples), […]

By Claudine Lim

Harnessing the Value of the Digital Principles for Inclusive Development

Last week, the Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL), the Human Development Innovation Fund (HDIF) and the Digital Opportunity Trust (DOT) together presented on inclusive digital development at the Bond Conference in London– Europe’s largest annual international development event. Eliguard Dawson, DOT Tanzania’s Country Director, was the keynote speaker for the session, showcasing what the Principles for Digital […]

By Michael Downey

More Lighthouses for Stormy Seas: Navigating the Waters of Data Science

The responsible use of data in our field is not a new topic for us, but recent news reminds us why this work is so important. Over the past few months, the Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL) has been hard at work to figure out how we can support our colleagues grappling with questions on the […]

By Laura O'Brien

What the Evidence Shows: Challenges and Opportunities for ICT4D in 2019

Earlier this month, DIAL published the final report of our Global Digital Ecosystem Study. In talking with tech specialists and representatives of NGOs, donor organizations, mobile network operators, and governments, we gained some great insights into the current state of the ICT4D sector. In an upcoming blog, I will discuss the experience and lessons of this study from […]

By David McCann

Three Considerations for Total Cost of Ownership

“Global Good” Open Source Software (OSS) products in the Technology for Development (T4D)  sector are mature products that have already received millions of dollars in investments and have been widely-deployed. One million dollars–the rough estimate of annual running cost for many existing Global Goods–may seem like a high cost if procured as a one-off, but […]

By Nick Martin

Cross-Post: Three (Downloadable!) Activities to Deepen Engagement for Digital Development

All activities mentioned below are available for download! Please send any feedback to info@techchange.org. On November 5-6, 2018, TechChange supported DIAL in convening and facilitating a donor-driven workshop in Dublin, Ireland. Organized at the request of donors to build stronger bonds amongst their organizations and share common challenges and pain points, TechChange helped design two […]

By Maurice Sayinzoga

Towards A More Gender-Inclusive Open Source Community

For over two decades, free and open source software has given us the ability to empower anyone to become collective owners of impactful technology with the freedom to study, change, and share technology solutions for social good. At the Digital Impact Alliance, we strongly believe in what these freedoms can offer to those working in […]