In 2025, at the Dgroups Foundation, we continued to focus on how online collaboration and knowledge sharing can better support people working on complex development, humanitarian, and social justice challenges. The posts published throughout the year document this work, combining reflection with hands-on support and shared learning across communities and partners.
Starting with how people collaborate
We opened the year by publishing the results of a survey on how people collaborate online. The survey itself was conducted in 2024, with findings shared in early 2025. While modest in scale, the responses were still instructive. Tools matter, but they were rarely seen as decisive. Instead, participants consistently pointed to purpose, facilitation, trust, and time as the elements that most shaped their experience of online collaboration.
Sharing our experiences: presenting at the KM Triversary Forum
At the KM Triversary Forum (14-15 October 2025), we delivered a presentation together with IDRC colleagues on our experiences in building and supporting a KM and collaboration platform for the CLimate Adaptation and REsilience (CLARE) programme.
The presentation, “Bridging Communities and Content: Integrated KM for Climate Research Collaboration”, showcased how CLARE’s modular platform connects people, content, and learning across more than 30 research projects worldwide.
A second presentation, delivered with Dgroups Foundation Associate Simon Hearn, explored how Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) systems can move beyond compliance and reporting to foster shared reflection, adaptation, and collaboration across research programmes. Drawing on examples from, amongst others, CLARE and AQUADAPT, we discussed what it takes to design MEL systems that are both practical and learning-oriented.
Supporting knowledge exchange for the NAgDI initiative
In 2025, we supported knowledge exchange around the National Agricultural Data Infrastructure (NAgDI), a multi-country initiative led by the Commonwealth Secretariat to strengthen agricultural data systems. Our role focused on facilitating dialogue by incubating national online groups, supporting thematic webinars, and helping sustain discussion beyond in-person workshops. These exchanges extended into the D4Ag community, itself a Dgroups Foundation partner. The experience showed how connections between Foundation partners can create the conditions for synergies to emerge and deepen.
Revamping the KM4Dev website
As part of activities marking twenty-five years of the KM4Dev community, we supported efforts to revamp the KM4Dev website. The focus was on introducing a cleaner design and clearer navigation to make a large and diverse body of resources more accessible to members and the wider knowledge management community.
Collaborating across disciplines: Integrating gender into livestock modelling
In the second half of 2025, we worked with the SEBI-Livestock team to facilitate an LD4D Solutions Group on Gender Considerations in Livestock Modeling. The goal was simple but ambitious: to create the conditions for a diverse group of researchers, modellers, and gender specialists to think together, learn from one another, and tackle a shared challenge.
Welcoming new Partners: PARCEL and the OMLC
PARCEL (Partner Capacity Enhancement in Logistics) became a Dgroups Foundation partners in late 2025. We are supporting the incubation of the PARCEL Network group, an email-based community of practice that connects humanitarian professionals from local, national, and international agencies.
The Outcome Mapping Learning Community (OMLC) is a long-standing global network advancing the practice of Outcome Mapping. In 2025, we supported their transition to a groups.io-based community space, intending to reinforce peer exchange and connect OMLC members more directly with other learning-oriented communities.
Clarifying direction and focus
We took time in 2025 to reflect on what drives our work and where we want to focus next. This resulted in a refinement of our Purpose, Mission, and Vision. Not as a rebranding exercise, but as a reaffirmation of what the Foundation stands for and how we serve our partners and communities. Building on that, we also revisited how we present what we do, organizing our activities around three complementary “workstreams” that together shape how we engage with partners and communities.
Closing the year together: Knowledge and Learning Exchange
The year concluded with a public, virtual Knowledge and Learning Exchange to reflect on online collaboration, knowledge sharing, and online communities. The exchange was structured around four themes: knowledge retention; the role of AI in knowledge management and collaboration; how to understand and assess success in online collaboration and knowledge exchange; and what it takes to sustain and grow engagement over time.
Looking forward
As we move into 2026, several strands of work will continue to develop. These include:
- Further supporting the evolution of the KM4Dev website through the integration between the long-standing KM4Dev discussion groups and the public website. This will provide a more seamless experience across conversation, content, and community.
- A second phase of the gender and livestock modelling Solutions Group.
- Unpacking key messages from recent Knowledge and Learning events and creating additional opportunities for exchange, from informal “show and tell” sessions to more structured workshops and learning events.
- More regular exchanges with our current partners, so we can keep listening and adjust our support as their collaboration and knowledge-sharing needs evolve.
If you’re interested in any of these areas or would like to explore collaboration or partnership opportunities, please let us know – we are always keen to collaborate on joint projects!