Principles for Digital Development


The Principles for Digital Development are a set of nine guidelines for integrating best practices into technology-enabled development programs for international development and cooperation.

History

The seed for the Digital Principles began in 2009 when UNICEF launched their Principles for Innovation and Technology Development. A year later, meetings amongst 40 mhealth donors produced the Greentree Principles. A "Principles for Digital Development Working Group" was launched in 2014. The group met nine times throughout the year during which over 500 individuals representing more than 100 organizations took part. Following the Working Group meetings an endorsement campaign began in 2016, led by USAID, and 54 organizations endorsed the new Principles for Digital Development. In 2016, the United Nations Foundation's Digital Impact Alliance became steward of the Principles for Digital Development to help facilitate their adoption.

Principles

  1. Design with User
  2. Understand the Existing Ecosystem
  3. Design for Scale
  4. Build for Sustainability
  5. Be Data Driven
  6. Use Open Standards,Open Source and Open Innovation
  7. Reuse and Improve
  8. Address Privacy & Security
  9. Be Collaborative

    Endorsers

The Principles for Digital Development are endorsed by over 200 organisations,