1. FROM PRINCIPLE TO PRACTICE: Implementing the Principles for Digital Development Perspectives and Recommendations from the Practitioner Community

2. PRINCIPLES ORIGIN UNICEF Innovations Principles and Greentree Principles written in 2009- 2010 International donors gathered in 2012 to discuss why projects continued to fail – The Principles for Digital Development are the outcome of these discussions Principles for Digital Development Working Group launched in June 2014 – Included both donor representatives and practitioners from development organizations – Working group met 9 times to discuss each Principle in depth – Principles further discussed at a number of development forums Endorsement campaign launched in May 2015 Principles officially endorsed by over 50 organizations

3. WHAT ARE THE PRINCIPLES FOR DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT? Nine high-level concepts that should be considered, ideally before funding, designing, or implementing any technology supported development work Guidance, not edict, that is designed to be updated over time as the technology and development landscapes change Intended to support well-informed decision-making about technology-supported development work

4. 7 9 PRINCIPLES FOR DIGITAL DEVELOPMENT www.digitalprinciples.org 1 Design with the User Understand the Existing Ecosystem Design for Scale Build for Sustainability Be Data Driven Use Open Standards, Open Data, Open Source, and Open Innovation Reuse and Improve Address Privacy and Security Be Collaborative 2 3 4 5 6 89

5. PRINCIPLE 1 DESIGN WITH THE USER PRINCIPLE 1 Design with the User

6. PRINCIPLE 1 Recommendations Develop context appropriate solutions informed by user needs. Include all user groups in planning, development, implementation and assessment. Develop projects in an incremental and iterative manner. Design solutions that learn from and enhance existing workflows and plan for organizational adaptation. Ensure solutions are sensitive to, and useful for, the most marginalized populations: women, children, those with disabilities, and those affected by conflict and disaster. DESIGN WITH THE USER

7. PRINCIPLE 2 Understand the Ecosystem

8. PRINCIPLE 2 RECOMMENDATIONS Participate in networks and communities of like-minded practitioners. Align to existing technological, legal, and regulatory policies. UNDERSTAND THE ECOSYSTEM

9. PRINCIPLE 1 PRINCIPLE 3 Design for Scale

10. PRINCIPLE 7 Recommendations Design for scale from the start, and assess and mitigate dependencies that might limit ability to scale. Employ a “systems” approach to design, considering implications of design beyond an immediate project. Be replicable and customizable in other countries and contexts. Demonstrate impact before scaling a solution. Analyze all technology choices through the lens of national and regional scale. Factor in partnerships from the beginning and start early negotiations. REUSE AND IMPROVE

11. PRINCIPLE 1 PRINCIPLE 4 Build for Sustainability

12. PRINCIPLE 4 Recommendations Plan for sustainability from the start, including planning for long-term financial health e.g., assessing total cost of ownership. Utilize and invest in local communities and developers by default and help catalyze their growth. Engage with local governments to ensure integration into national strategy and identify high-level government advocates. BUILD FOR SUSTAINABILITY

13. PRINCIPLE 1 PRINCIPLE 5 Be Data Driven

14. PRINCIPLE 5 Recommendations Design projects so that impact can be measured at discrete milestones with a focus on outcomes rather than outputs. Evaluate innovative solutions and areas where there are gaps in data and evidence. Use real-time information to monitor and inform management decisions at all levels. When possible, leverage data as a by-product of user actions and transactions for assessments. BE DATA DRIVEN

15. PRINCIPLE 1 PRINCIPLE 6 Use Open Standards, Open Data, Open Source, and Open Innovation

16. PRINCIPLE 6 Recommendations Adopt and expand existing open standards. Open data and functionalities and expose them in documented APIs (Application Programming Interfaces) where use by a larger community is possible. Invest in software as a public good. Develop software to be open source by default with the code made available in public repositories and supported through developer communities. USE OPEN STANDARDS, OPEN DATA, OPEN SOURCE, AND OPEN INNOVATION

17. PRINCIPLE 1 Reuse and Improve PRINCIPLE 7

18. REUSE AND IMPROVE Recommendations Use, modify and extend existing tools, platforms, and frameworks when possible. Develop in modular ways favoring approaches that are interoperable over those that are monolithic by design.

19. PRINCIPLE 1 Address Privacy and Security PRINCIPLE 8

20. Recommendations Assess and mitigate risks to the security of users and their data. Consider the context and needs for privacy of personally identifiable information when designing solutions and mitigate accordingly. Ensure equity and fairness in co-creation, and protect the best interests of the end-users. ADDRESS PRIVACY AND SECURITY

21. PRINCIPLE 1 PRINCIPLE 9 Be Collaborative

22. PRINCIPLE 9 RECOMMENDATIONS Engage diverse expertise across disciplines and industries at all stages. Work across sector silos to create coordinated and more holistic approaches. Document work, results, processes, and best practices and share them widely. Publish materials under a Creative Commons license by default, with strong rationale if another licensing approach is taken. BE COLLABORATIVE

23. CHALLENGES TO IMPLEMENTING THE PRINCIPLES Digital development programs operate in complex environments Technology is constantly changing and continuously creating new demands in the way it is applied Tensions exist between the Principles, need to consider trade-offs – For example, how to open development data (Principle #6) while protecting a data producer’s privacy and security (Principle #8). Structural Challenges in Global Development – International development architecture – Complexity and nonlinear nature of international development contexts where programs operate – Integrating local partners – Misaligned incentives, lack of political will, entrenched practices

24. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ALL DEVELOPMENT ACTORS Have an institutional vision and strategy supporting the integration of digital development best practice. Ensure implementation of the strategy is adequately staffed and resourced, and supported by enabling policies and processes. Commit to integrating best practice into business processes.

25. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ALL DONOR AND MULTILATERAL ORGANIZATIONS Complement internal digital development strategies with an external strategy that lays out a vision for development implementers, and aligns with that of other global development donors. Build the digital development commons. Adapt procurement processes to enable integration of best practice. Adapt other policies and processes to enable integration of best practice into business processes.

26. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DEVELOPMENT IMPLEMENTERS Align internal digital development strategies with those of the wider global development community. Contribute to the digital development commons. Adapt business processes to enable operationalization of best practice.

27. RECOMMENDED RESOURCES TO DEVELOP User-contributed information repositories on a variety of topics, from local ecosystems to available tools. Decision-support tools, such as checklists, that can help navigate tradeoffs between Principles. Guiding policies and frameworks, such as those addressing privacy and security and mitigating risks in digital development. Additional case studies that show by example how the Principles have been put into practice, along with associated learning. The documentation of processes and planning for implementing digitally supported projects, and to refine these over time. Further resources and recommendations to guide Principles implementation at various stages of scale of digital development solutions and programs.

28. #digitalprinciples Principles Working Group: digitalprinciples.org/about Endorsement digitalprinciples.org/endorsement HOW TO GET INVOLVED