The Dgroups Foundation supports more inclusive, effective, and sustainable collaboration in development, humanitarian, and social justice work.
We help our 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 distil and share insights and learning generated through our work, contributing to collective knowledge and helping people and organizations connect, learn, and act together.
What we do
We support and facilitate collaboration and knowledge sharing – mainly virtual, but also in person – to help people and organizations work better together.
Our approach integrates learning, feedback, and monitoring into collaborative processes, so that reflection and adaptation happen not outside, but within the spaces where people engage, exchange, and act.
Our work spans three interconnected areas, delivered by a network of Associates working with partners across contexts and regions.
In practice, this includes:
Engaging
partners in learning and knowledge sharing
Incubating
online communities and conversation
Supporting
organizations in using effective tools
Co-designing
knowledge sharing and management spaces
Delivering
training and coaching
Facilitating
dialogue and events
Developing
MEL systems and dashboards
Promoting
integration and interoperability
We operate as a non-profit partnership – reinvesting in open knowledge and shared efforts that strengthen collaboration across the development, humanitarian, and social justice fields.
How we work
- People first, not platforms – Technology should serve collaboration, not define it.
- Platform-agnostic by design – We help partners use the tools that best fit their context, often combining multiple platforms rather than relying on a single solution.
- Platform-agnostic by design – We help partners use the tools that best fit their context, often combining multiple platforms rather than relying on a single solution.
- Inclusive and accessible – We prioritize approaches that work across geographies, bandwidth conditions, languages, and levels of digital confidence.
- Learning-oriented – We treat collaboration as a practice that can be observed, improved, and shared, contributing to wider sector learning.
- Public-good mindset – Where possible, insights, methods, and lessons from our work are shared openly to benefit others.
The Dgroups Foundation partnership
The Foundation works through partnerships with organizations and initiatives that share a commitment to dialogue, collaboration, and learning.
Partners contribute to sustaining the Foundation as a public-good collaboration catalyst, and may also engage the Foundation for tailored support, joint initiatives, or project-based work. This model allows us to combine a stable core with flexible, partner-driven collaboration.
The Dgroups Foundation is overseen by a Board and operates as an independent, non-profit organization.
If you’re interested in partnering with the Dgroups Foundation or exploring collaboration opportunities, we’d be glad to hear from you.
Our history
Dgroups began in 2002 as a collaborative initiative hosted by Bellanet/IDRC, working with partners including DFID, ICA, IICD, OneWorld, UNAIDS, and UNECA. Under the tagline “development through dialogue”, it focused on strengthening online interaction among people and organizations working in development, human rights, and humanitarian action.
In 2009, the Dgroups Foundation was established to provide an institutional framework for this growing ecosystem of partners and communities.
Over time, the Foundation has evolved from being associated with a single collaboration platform to a broader, platform-agnostic organization focused on enabling dialogue, collaboration, and learning across diverse digital and hybrid spaces.