“Was there a request for application or request for proposal in the last year that asked you to build a reusable platform for multiple purposes across sectors?” Ann Mei Chang, chief innovation officer and the executive director of the U.S. Global Development Lab, asked attendees of an FHI 360-hosted digital development event on Monday in Washington, D.C.
No one in a room of professionals from 156 organizations raised their hand.
Rather than seeking and rewarding investment in platforms and infrastructure, development encourages one-off projects by relying on hackathons and contests. The best solicitations out there are, as Chang pointed out, focused on addressing an immediate problem for a specific sector in a particular geography.
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About the author
Kelli Rogers@kellierin
Kelli Rogers has worked as an Associate Editor and Southeast Asia Correspondent for Devex, with a particular focus on gender. Prior to that, she reported on social and environmental issues from Nairobi, Kenya. Kelli holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri, and has reported from more than 20 countries.
