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Digital Square is a digital health marketplace (or 'square') where supply and demand come together to accelerate health equity. We connect health leaders with the resources necessary for digital transformation. Digital Square is housed at PATH, and supported by USAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and a consortium of other donors.
This wiki serves as a platform for technical audiences to obtain resources and information related to Digital Square's investments in global goods. More general information about Digital Square can be found on the main website.
COVID-19 Response
Digital Square is leveraging its unique role and strengths to support countries, donors, and partners in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Harnessing existing relationships across the global digital health ecosystem, we mobilize our robust network of partners in coordinated response. We also utilize PATH's work in global health security, malaria, primary health care, and the broader digital and data portfolio to more comprehensively support country partners in ensuring essential health services remain available Read our full capability statement here.
Visit the COVID-19 page on this wiki to learn more about how global goods are supporting pandemic response and access a range of available resources.
Digital Square Information
What We Do
Digital Square addresses the need for a thriving marketplace for health.
We work in three key ways:
- Identify promising investment opportunities and provides operational support to streamline procurement
- Promote the development, adoption, and reuse of digital health global goods, and helps increase their availability, adaptability, and maturity
- Elevate country priorities and strengthen regional and national digital health capacity
Governance
Digital Square's investments follow detailed governance processes that leverage a Peer Review Committee, Board, and Investment Review Committee. Additionally, Digital Square serves as the Secretariat for DIAL's Health-Sustainability Advisory Group.
Investors
Digital Square is funded in partnership with USAID, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and a consortium of other donors. A full list can be found on the Digital Square website.
Global Goods
Global Goods are digital health tools that are adaptable to different countries and contexts. There are three types of global goods:
- Software: A software tool that is free and open source (FOSS), and used to manage, analyze, or transmit health-related data, with proven utility in several settings.
- Services: A software tool that is used to manage, transmit, or analyze health-related data that can be freely accessed as a software service and adheres to open data principles.
- Content A resource, toolkit, or data standard that is available under an open license and that is used to improve or analyze health data management processes.
A mature digital health software global good is software that is Free and Open Source Software (FOSS), is supported by a strong community, has a clear governance structure, is funded by multiple sources, has been deployed at significant scale, is used across multiple countries, has demonstrated effectiveness, is designed to be interoperable, and is an emergent standard application.
About Digital Square Global Goods
Approved global goods include those which have submitted applications in response to a Notice. These include applications for specific work packages in response to a Notice. The applications are reviewed by the Digital Square Peer Review Committee and Investment Review Committee. The Digital Square Board approves the applications, or partial application work packages. An "Approved Digital Square Global Good" is not a formally vetted global good. Approved Digital Square global goods cover nearly all of the World Health Organization Digital Health Intervention Classifications. Many global goods are adaptable to support multiple interventions.
Read more:
Presence of global goods in countries
Digital Square Investments in Global Goods
Approved Digital Square global goods
Investment Processes
The Global Goods Community
Global Good Resources
- Global Goods Guidebook
- Demographics of Digital Health Tools
- GDHF 2020 Presentation on Aligning Global Public Goods: How WHO, UNICEF and Digital Square are coordinating for the digital health community (slides)
External Resources
- Principles for Digital Development
- The Mobile Economy 2018
- The Mobile Economy Sub-Saharan Africa 2017
- Scaling Digital Health in Emerging Markets
- The latest case study on a mHealth service in Tanzania: Healthy Pregnancy, Healthy Baby
Digital Square Resources
Digital Health & Interoperability Working Group
The Digital Health & Interoperability Working Group (DH&I WG) is a volunteer community of practice dedicated to strengthening country health systems and outcomes through the appropriate and responsible use of digital information technologies.
Digital Health Applied Leadership Program
Since 2018, the digital health community has been developing a shared vision for digital health capacity strengthening. From the WHO/ITU workshop held in Lesotho in 2018 through a six-month global consultation process, governments' specific needs were established. With support from a consortium of advisors, including the WHO, and support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, PEPFAR, USAID, and the McGovern Foundation, Digital Square began work on a new initiative called the Digital Health Applied Leadership Program (DHALP).
The DHALP aims to advance the skills and capabilities of country-level digital health practitioners and stakeholders—strengthening the ability for ministries to own and lead digital transformation efforts. With a blended learning approach and a focus on relationship building, the DHALP takes a holistic view of country practitioners' skills and knowledge to drive digital transformation.
DHALP Resources
- Announcing the Digital Health Applied Leadership Program (web article)
- Needs Assessment Presentation
Contact Us
- Slack: Please join our slack team
About
Digital Square is a PATH-led initiative funded and designed by the United States Agency of International Development, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and a consortium of other donors.
The Digital Square wiki is made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development. The contents are the responsibility of PATH and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.
