Panagora Group is proud to endorse the Principles for Digital Development, “nine living guidelines that are designed to help integrate best practices into technology-enabled programs and are intended to be updated and refined over time.” The USAID Digital Strategy, released in April 2020, identifies the Principles as a means to “achieve and sustain open, secure, and inclusive digital ecosystems that contribute to measurable development and humanitarian-assistance outcomes and increase self-reliance in our partner countries.” USAID co-drafted the Principles in 2013 and became the first official endorser.

Throughout our work as an implementing partner for USAID in nearly 15 countries around the world, we are committed to following the Principles for Digital Development both at home and in the field.  We recognize that digital development is essential for achieving the goals of the Journey to Self-Reliance. In practice, we provide responsible, sustainable, and user-focused technology and learning solutions that build country capacity and independence to accelerate and heighten impact. ​

We prioritize digital development in many of our activities, including in our support for USAID/Philippines Office of Health by guiding their shift to remote management during the COVID-19 pandemic, facilitating online workshops, and hosting virtual working groups with the goal of strengthening the Office of Health and implementing partner’s digital capabilities and promoting the Mission’s focus on sustainable best practices.

Under the Colombia MEL platform, our team is integrating the use of GIS products and geo-referenced data in evaluations and assessments, such as mapping agricultural value chains, and building data visualization products that make findings more accessible to the people who need it. Our team in Colombia is also working with local companies to use digital tools for data collection in evaluations across the country.

Our support for our USAID/South Africa Office of Health activity includes a variety of innovative uses of existing digital tools and services–particularly in the context of COVID-19–such as Google forms for quick and easy reporting on daily staffing at health facility level and Data Studio to facilitate analysis and visualization of that data. In addition, the team is building a Google site to improve navigation and access to key documents, as well as foster cross-program learning.

We are proud to be part of the Principles for Digital Development Community and we are dedicated to continuing to strengthen our activities by integrating the principles into the design and implementation of our work.