Our development principles

We follow the Principles for Digital Development, a set of nine guidelines for integrating best practices into technology-enabled development programs for international development and cooperation.


  • Design with the user

    Successful digital initiatives are rooted in an understanding of user characteristics, needs and challenges.

  • Understand the Existing Ecosystem

    Well-designed initiatives and digital tools consider the particular structures and needs that exist in each country, region and community.

  • Design for Scale

    Achieving scale is a goal that has been elusive for many digital development practitioners.

  • Build for Sustainability

    Building sustainable programs, platforms and digital tools is essential to maintain user and stakeholder support, as well as to maximize long-term impact.

  • Be Data Driven

    No amount of data will lead to accelerated impact if it is not used to inform decision making.

  • Use Open Standards, Open Data, Open Source, and Open Innovation

    Too often, scarce public and international development resources are spent investing in new software code, tools, data collection, content and innovations for sector-specific solutions that are loc

  • Address Privacy & Security

    Addressing privacy and security in digital development involves careful consideration of which data are collected and how data are acquired, used, stored and shared.

  • Be Collaborative

    Being collaborative means sharing information, insights, strategies and resources across projects, organizations and sectors, leading to increased efficiency and impact.

  • Reuse and Improve

    Instead of starting from scratch, programs that “reuse and improve” look for ways to adapt and enhance existing products, resources and approaches.