The session was co-hosted by Dgroups Foundation Associates Jessica Ball and Pier Andrea Pirani, with contributions from Rocío Sanz, Davide Piga, Simon Hearn, and Ivan Piseta, alongside participants joining from a wide range of organisations and regions.

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. 

These themes provided a shared frame for the conversation.

Why knowledge retention still matters

Rocío opened by emphasising that knowledge retention goes beyond documents and databases. While reports and systems capture part of what organisations know, much of the most valuable knowledge remains tacit, shaped by experience, context, and relationships.

Participants reflected on how short contracts, staff turnover, and fragmented ways of working often lead to the quiet loss of institutional memory. Knowing where organisations and communities come from is not about repeating the past, but being better equipped to respond to the future, informed by what has already been tried, learned, and adapted.

Simon added that communities of practice offer an important space for this kind of learning, bringing together participation (conversation and interaction) and reification (documents, tools, and artefacts) in ways that allow knowledge to be interpreted and reused, not just stored.

AI as a support, not a substitute

A second focus was on the roles of artificial intelligence in knowledge management and collaboration.

Davide shared practical examples from the recent relaunch of the KM4Dev Knowledge Sharing Toolkit, where AI is used to reduce barriers to contribution. Instead of asking contributors to produce polished written content, the toolkit allows people to talk through a method or experience, with AI helping to structure this into a first draft that follows agreed templates and style.

AI is also being used to support reflection, helping practitioners surface lessons learned from experience and link those insights to existing methods. This approach aimed to keep people at the centre while making contributions easier.

At the same time, speakers and participants were clear about limitations. AI produces fluent language without understanding context or truth, and can introduce unnecessary complexity if not used carefully. Several contributors stressed that AI should support thinking and reflection – not replace them – and that tacit knowledge still depends on human interaction.

Ivan added that, from a platform perspective, one promising direction is using AI to improve discoverability, helping users find relevant content more easily, rather than asking AI to generate new conclusions or advice.

Collaboration and knowledge exchange are not projects

The third theme was how to understand and assess “success” in online collaboration and knowledge exchange, particularly in settings where participation is voluntary, and outcomes are not easily reduced to metrics.

Simon offered a framing that resonated strongly: online collaboration spaces and communities cannot be treated in the same way as projects or programmes. Participants join for different reasons, and conveners, host organisations, and funders often bring their own expectations.

Simon distinguished between internal outcomes, such as changes in participation and collaboration practices, and external outcomes, where learning influences work beyond the collaboration space itself. He also noted that conventional evaluation tools, such as surveys, often struggle to gain traction in voluntary contexts.

Reflection and learning, he suggested, are more effective when embedded into activities that already matter to participants, supporting learning rather than accountability alone.

Onboarding, trust, and sustaining engagement

The final theme focused on sustaining and growing engagement over time, bringing the discussion back to fundamentals that cut across all four areas.

Rocío highlighted how the shift to online work has reduced informal spaces for connection and sense-making. Well-designed collaboration spaces can help recreate some of this, but only if people feel welcomed and safe to contribute.

Davide emphasised that onboarding is not a technical step but a relational one.

Clear expectations, shared values, and explicit norms help participants engage without fear of judgment or reputational risk. Several speakers noted that small, intentional practices (e.g., welcome messages, community charters, etc.) often have a decisive impact on engagement.

Simon offered a reminder that most participants will never post actively, and that this is not necessarily a problem.

By supporting a small group of active contributors, collaboration spaces can sustain energy while still creating value for quieter participants.

Shared value and looking ahead

Looking across the discussion threads, people highlighted the importance of shared value, not only among participants, but also between collaboration spaces and the organisations that support them. For engagement to be sustainable, participation needs to be meaningful for individuals and aligned with organisational priorities.

Despite different roles and contexts, participants described similar challenges and lessons. Technologies will continue to evolve, and funding environments will remain uncertain. Yet many fundamentals remain constant:

If you have feedback on the Exchange, or ideas for future Knowledge & Learning Exchanges, we’d be glad to hear from you – drop a comment below or get in touch with us

The Dgroups Foundation supports more inclusive, effective, and sustainable collaboration in development, humanitarian, and social justice work.

We help partners establish and strengthen online communities, knowledge-sharing platforms, learning processes, and other collaborative spaces. We facilitate dialogue, support interaction and engagement, and help design tools and workflows that make collaboration easier and more meaningful – online and in person.

We also distill and openly share the insights and learning generated through our work – contributing to collective knowledge and helping people and organizations connect, learn, and act together.

The Foundation’s work is organized around three complementary “workstreams” that together shape how we engage with partners and communities. Each element of the portfolio focuses on a different but connected aspect of collaboration, from curating and sharing learning to nurturing partnerships to providing hands-on support for collaborative initiatives.

Workstream 1: Knowledge brokering

Through knowledge brokering, we curate learning and community insights that inform, inspire, and connect. We focus on what collaboration looks like in practice. By widely sharing this, we aim to help strengthen collective understanding of online collaboration across the development, humanitarian, and social justice fields.

Key activities include:

• Curating and sharing stories, case studies, and lessons from our work and beyond;
• Facilitating experience-sharing and learning processes that distill practical insights;
• Maintaining a searchable registry of online groups and communities to help people find relevant spaces;
• Tracking emerging trends, tools, and practices in online engagement and translating them into actionable guidance for partners.

Workstream 2: Partner engagement

Here the focus is on strengthening the relationships and shared learning that hold the Dgroups Partnership together. We create opportunities for peer exchange, reflection and learning so partners can learn from one another and find solutions to shared challenges. By connecting partners with trusted tools, platforms, and expertise, this workstream helps organizations work more effectively.

Key activities include:

• Facilitating interactions and knowledge sharing among our partners;
• Sharing selected insights with wider audiences and encouraging partners to contribute to public-facing dialogues;
• Providing access to trusted, low-cost collaboration tools such as Groups.io, Menti, and Zoom;
• Connecting partners with our Associates – experienced professionals in facilitation, KM, and online collaboration.

Workstream 3: Support to projects

Here, we directly accompany partners in designing, launching, and sustaining collaboration initiatives. This includes helping to create online communities, platforms, and events that connect people and ideas, as well as embedding learning and reflection into their workflows. The workstream combines technical know-how with facilitation, design, and capacity-building support – always focused on enabling partners to run effective and inclusive collaboration spaces of their own.

Key activities include:

• Setting up and facilitating online communities of practice, providing onboarding and coaching;
• Advising on strategy, platform choices, and engagement models for collaborative spaces;
• Offering implementation and technical support across systems such as Groups.io, WordPress, Google Workspace, ODK, and Nextcloud;
• Delivering tailored workshops and coaching to strengthen facilitation and community management skills;
• Designing and facilitating online, in-person, and blended dialogues and events;
• Co-developing learning-oriented MEL systems and dashboards that help partners reflect, adapt, and make informed decisions.

Together, these three workstreams bring to life the Foundation’s mission of helping people and organizations collaborate more effectively – not through one-size-fits-all solutions, but through relationships, learning, and practice. They represent how the Dgroups Foundation connects strategy and experience, people and platforms, ideas and action for a more inclusive and collaborative development ecosystem.

If you’d like to discuss how these workstreams could support your community, partnership, or project, we’d love to hear from you

Our Purpose

The Dgroups Foundation helps people, communities, and organizations in international development, humanitarian aid, and social justice to collaborate more effectively – strengthening learning, inclusion, and impact.

Our Vision

A world where people and organizations collaborate and learn in inclusive, effective, and purposeful ways to advance social justice and achieve meaningful development outcomes.

Our Mission

We facilitate and support stronger collaboration, networking, and learning in development, humanitarian, and social justice work – by providing knowledge and expertise, advising on strategy and platforms, supporting online communities and campaigns, and connecting people and ideas – both online and in person.

To put this mission into practice, the Foundation’s work is organized around three complementary workstreams: Knowledge brokering, Partner engagement, and Support to projects – each contributing to a more connected and collaborative development community.

These refinements build on more than two decades of supporting online communities and partnerships.

They reflect what we’ve learned along the way, what current demands and opportunities look like, and how we can continue evolving with our partners to strengthen the culture and practice of collaboration.

You are welcome to share suggestions and feedback on how these statements resonate and how we can continue to improve together – comment below or get in touch with us

In the second half of 2025, the Dgroups Foundation 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.

SEBI-Livestock works to mobilise and improve data and evidence so the livestock community can make better investment decisions – ones that improve livelihoods for smallholders in low- and middle-income countries. Much of the data used in livestock models focuses on things like disease patterns or productivity. But there is growing recognition, from both gender researchers and modellers, that ignoring gender in these models can unintentionally reinforce existing inequalities along livestock value chains. Integrating gender considerations opens up opportunities for decision makers to design interventions that better support both women and men whose livelihoods depend on livestock.

Why gender matters in livestock modelling

The Solutions Group approach brings together people from different organisations and disciplines for a fixed period of time to work collaboratively on a specific issue. For this group, Dgroups Foundation Associates Jessica Ball and Pier Andrea Pirani worked closely with the SEBI core team to design and facilitate three online workshops and one hybrid workshop.

Creating the conditions for collaboration

The first workshop laid the groundwork for collaboration. Alongside developing a shared understanding of the context and challenge, the group took time to surface a set of shared values – openness, creativity, adaptability, and trust – that shaped how participants chose to work together. These values became an important reference point as the group began grappling with the complexities of integrating gender into livestock modelling.

Understanding the problem from the user’s perspective

Using elements of a human-centred approach, the group then worked on defining the problem more clearly. Who is affected by this challenge? Where are the tensions? What are the gains if things are done well? Decision makers who use livestock models were identified as the primary “users.” To help ground the discussion, gender researcher Alessandra Galiè shared lessons from earlier initiatives that successfully engaged decision makers around gender integration. Her reflections brought several key insights to the fore:

• Integrating gender into livestock models works best when decision makers are involved early and consistently, and when efforts align with national priorities and policy needs.
• Building trust, framing gender equity in ways that resonate, whether through productivity, sustainability, or social impact, and demonstrating tangible, scalable results are critical to achieving buy-in.
• Clear purpose, flexible messaging, and evidence of longer-term impacts (for example, on nutrition or education) all help models gain traction with donors and government partners.

Agreeing on a shared direction

By the end of the first workshop, the group had built a shared understanding of both the challenge and the conditions needed for meaningful collaboration. Participants agreed on the importance of developing a shared vision to guide the work as ideas and possible solutions began to take shape.

Unpacking assumptions and refining the challenge

The second workshop focused on refining that vision and sharpening the challenge. As is often the case in interdisciplinary work, this stage surfaced different assumptions and interpretations. Rather than being a barrier, these moments became productive. The group realised that core gender concepts such as “do no harm” and “gender equality” needed to be unpacked and translated into language and approaches that could be meaningfully applied within livestock models and decision-making processes. Through iterative discussion, participants returned to an earlier insight: gender equity needs to be planned for deliberately. This allows models to tell a fuller, more accurate story – one that helps decision makers not only to pursue economic gains, but also to navigate trade-offs, meet international standards, and avoid unintended harm.

Making space for reflection and iteration

As the group began looking ahead to a potential piloting phase, it became clear that more time was needed. An additional virtual workshop was added to the process. This focused on clarifying and refining agreed gender indicators, such as “do no harm” and “support gender equity,” and how these could be operationalised in practice. It also created space to pause and reflect on how the group was working together. These moments of reflection proved essential in keeping the process grounded and adaptive.

From learning to next steps

The fourth workshop aimed to bring the learning together and move towards more concrete outputs. At four hours, it was the longest session and allowed participants to dive deeper into the nuances of the challenge. This time helped the group narrow its focus and agree on a clearer direction forward, including plans for a two-day in-person workshop. It reinforced the value of combining online and face-to-face interactions when working through complex, collaborative processes.

What worked and what could be improved

While the Solutions Group will continue into 2026, it is worth pausing to reflect on what worked well and what could be improved. A few challenges stood out: 

• Limited participant time, given other work commitments, suggests we need to more deeply and clearly manage roles and expectations, including what can actually be achieved in virtual discussions.
  
• As we came to better understand the breadth and complexity of the challenges, we could benefit next time from more attention early in the process to explore root causes, consult users, and prioritise key issues.
  
• Short virtual sessions, while attractive in busy schedules, sometimes limited deeper thinking and alignment, suggesting we need to consider longer sessions, offline tasks, asynchronous interactions, or more differentiated roles.

Why collaboration needs more than goodwill

These reflections highlight an important distinction between sharing knowledge and truly collaborating. Collaboration requires specific conditions, behaviours, values, and resources. Facilitation can help create the right environment and model collaborative practices, but time and funding ultimately need to be recognised and supported by those organising and participating in the process.

The Dgroups Foundation is grateful to work with partners who value iterative learning, reflection, and collaboration as more than a box-ticking exercise. We look forward to the next phase of the Solutions Group: Gender Considerations in Livestock Modeling.

The NAgDI initiative is not a technology platform, but rather a framework that promotes a sectoral approach to digital public infrastructure for agriculture, fisheries, livestock, and forestry that combines technical systems with governance, principles, policies, and market-oriented business models. It provides a shared framework for countries to organise their existing national data platforms and systems, reduce fragmentation, and lay the foundation for scalable exchange at regional and global levels.

In support of this vision, the Commonwealth Secretariat developed the NAgDI Policy Guide, which describes a comprehensive framework and roadmap for action that outlines priority areas such as governance, interoperable technologies, independent oversight, and sustainable financing. The guide was developed collaboratively with countries and experts and validated through multi-stakeholder engagement.

The Dgroups Foundation supported the NAgDI process by enhancing knowledge exchange around country-level activities. The Foundation helped incubate national-based online groups to support preparation for country workshops and sustain discussion beyond in-person events. It also supported and facilitated two thematic webinars that brought together stakeholders from diverse contexts to share their experiences and insights on agricultural data management.

Following those events, an e-conversation on NAgDI-related themes emerged organically within the D4Ag online Dgroup, supported by the Digital Agri Hub, another Foundation partner. This follow-on discussion was co-organised by the partners of the Foundation using a mix of webinars and online exchanges, accompanied by summaries of the eConversations.

Although the Foundation was not directly involved throughout all those interactions, it is proudly associated with the collaborations amongst its partners, connecting their respective initiatives and collaboration spaces for the benefit of their communities of practice. This collaboration also experimented with the use of AI to summarise the conversations amongst contributors and the generation of podcasts based on these summaries.

Altogether, the workshops, webinars, and subsequent online discussions illustrate how collaboration across organisations and initiatives can grow when people engage through Dgroups Foundation-supported communities and platforms. By providing spaces for ongoing dialogue and exchange, the Dgroups Foundation helps create conditions where synergies between partners can emerge, deepen, and contribute to shared goals in agricultural data infrastructure. We look forward to reading more from the NAgDI Community.

Here we summarize what we heard from the 43 respondents from a wide range of organizations – including INGOs, UN agencies, local NGOs, governments, and knowledge management groups.

Where collaboration happens

Nearly half (46.5%) of respondents said their online collaboration spans both internal and cross-organizational spaces. Others collaborate mainly through joint projects (30.2%) or within their own organization (23.3%).

What mattered most

Virtual meetings and events were the most valued online interaction – both individually and collectively. Other highly rated activities included connecting with peers, sharing updates, and participating in topic-based discussions.

Tools used

Email was said to be very relevant, followed closely by collaboration platforms, video conferencing, and document sharing. Instant messaging and online forums also featured prominently.

Drivers of tool use

Ease of use, time zones, cost, and the needs of audiences and stakeholders were the most common factors cited that influence which tools get used – and how.

Looking ahead

Respondents highlighted a mix of excitement and caution around Artificial Intelligence (AI) – by far the most mentioned future trend. Other shifts mentioned included hybrid work models, better access in the Global South, and the need for integrated, purpose-built platforms.

Cool or cautious?

When asked about ‘cool’ features they value, many pointed to live collaboration, tool integration, and accessibility – but others questioned the usefulness of hype. For many, what matters most was said to be simple, usable, and inclusive tools that work for real people in diverse contexts.

This feedback will help guide how we support and strengthen collaboration in the Dgroups Partnership and beyond. A big thank you to everyone who took part!

Want to share your own experience or tools? Get in touch – we’re keen to learn more

In 2021 we facilitated three learning sessions to improve online collaboration capacities of groups, communities and networks. 

The heart of our online communities are the individual people signed up to our groups.  To help Partners get more from their groups, in April and August 2021 we ran two short briefings for IFAD and KM4Dev group members. In these sessions, we covered some of the basic and advanced features of the groups.io software, which underpins the dgroups.io communities. We looked at how to best use the group email, and how to get the most out of the groups by logging in online – to manage the profile; set email subscription preferences; and control the volume of email messages received from a group.

Similarly, in July 2021 we run a session for dgroups.io group moderators and administrators. In this session, we looked at the key features of the groups.io software. We then presented 4 things each group admin should know (profile; feed, topics, and calendar homepages; bouncing and bounced members; group guidelines). Further, we reviewed the key group settings. Finally, we discussed some of the group web features (calendar; database; polls; wiki) and presented how some communities are using these features.

More capacity briefing and training sessions will be organised in 2022. If you are interested in planning a session with us, or want to know more about how the Dgroups Foundation can support the design, set up and run effective online groups, communities, dialogues or events, please get in touch with us!

In this conversation with Nancy White, we looked to the future and discussed the notion of critical uncertainties – and how to navigate them for better collaboration and more effective international development.

See the recording of the video here below. And check the other posts from the online partnership dialogue.

In the opening chat show moderated by Peter Ballantyne, we heard from Louise Clarke, Steve Agbenyo, Ivan Kulis, and Nawsheen Hosenally, presenting their stories on how they got started with online collaboration. Together we reflected on the changes, challenges, and successes we have experienced – where were we, where are we now, what are our predictions for the future.

See the recording of the video here below. And check the other posts from the online partnership dialogue.

See also Nancy White’s visual notes from the chat show:

Version 1.0 of the connector is now live and you can browse and search the initial set of online groups and communities that it includes.

Why a community connector?

People working in development and humanitarian organizations need to work together, learn lessons and align their efforts around shared goals. One of the best sources of inspiration, ideas and resources is other people working on similar problems, often in other organizations or sectors. Making these connections is often held back by organizational, disciplinary and professional silo’s that keep us apart.

Joining formal or informal groups, networks and communities is one of the best ways to overcome such challenges and many thousands of people are part of such online peer to peer learning and exchange communities.

However, these groups and communities meet all over the Internet on different platforms. They may be open or closed, they may be super relevant or just marginal. It is almost impossible to find them, except through luck, serendipity or word of mouth. It’s also very difficult to get a picture of where an issue is being discussed, and who by, as a way to more smartly locate valuable knowledge that can be adapted and applied elsewhere.

We want to make it much easier for people to find, join and benefit from online communities and conversations!

And we believe that the connector will help in creating synergies between different groups and actors, avoid duplication of efforts, and make development work more effective and efficient.

Key features and functionality

The connector currently has a ‘low tech’ approach – the database of groups and communities is hosted on AirTable and we are using AirTable Gallery view to publish and embed the connector.

As a user, you can view the list of communities sorting the alphabetical order. Or you can use the text search option. Or you can create and apply different filter rules to narrow down your search.

Each record – expandable with a click – presents a short description of the community, as well as information on the convener of the community, its geographic focus, themes, and languages. And a link back to visit the community homepage.

Next steps

We would like to keep improving and expanding the connector, and see how we can further develop it so that it’s more than a directory.

Ideally, the connector should also allow people in our sector to get better insights into ongoing community narratives and conversation topics – as a path to be part of them and to make knowledge actionable.

Ultimately, we would like the connector to help us to more smartly locate valuable knowledge that can be adapted and applied elsewhere.

Are you interested in working together to continue develop the community connector? Use this form if you know of other communities that we should add. Or reach out to us to discuss how we could improve and expand on the existing functionality.