Digital Square announces new software global goods approved through Notice G
Sophie Bochaberi, Vrunda Rathod, and Carl Fourie
Digital Square at PATH is excited to announce 36 global goods from 19 countries spread across six continents as the successful applicants of the first round of Notice G. Launched in late August 2022, Notice G was a unique call for software applications, focused on a revised evaluation of Digital Square’s current approved global goods and identification of new global goods. Unlike previous calls, Notice G was not associated with funding, allowing us to open up the process to focus on a tool’s alignment with open source principles and maturity.
Digital Square global goods are health-focused tools that are impactful, scalable, and adaptable to different countries and contexts. These free and open source digital health tools look to reduce fragmentation and duplication to accelerate scale and health impact.
“We feel quite energized seeing new global goods partners join our community. We are eager to collaborate with this refreshed community together, moving towards the health equity goals we strive for. This global call is historic for us, and part of Digital Square’s unwavering commitment to using digitally enabled health services to close the health equity gap.”
Map of known global goods implementations
Map of known global goods implementations
A new dawn, a refreshed global goods community
Out of 57 evaluated applicants, 36 software tools were selected. These tools, now approved Digital Square global goods, were selected based on a comprehensive evaluation process with adherence to our prioritization framework and global goods maturity model which was developed with input from the digital health community. The Peer Review Committee (PRC) evaluated each applicant and recommended applicants to the Investment Review Committee (IRC). The IRC reviewed the PRC’s recommendations and approved applicants to become global goods.
Our Updated Software Global Goods
In the first round of Notice G, Digital Square is delighted to have 11 new additions and 25 returning global goods as part of its refreshed community, with over a third of the digital health tools being developed in Africa and Asia, reaching communities in low and middle-income countries. With 50% of the selected global goods already using HL7 FHIR as an interoperability standard, Digital Square will work with these innovative companies to increase the interoperability, availability, adaptability, and maturity of high-quality digital health tools to address country-driven health needs.
All successful applicants will be recognized as an approved global good and will gain an approved status, which can be used to garner donor support. They will also be featured in Digital Square's upcoming fourth version of the Global Goods Guidebook, an expanded resource that will be interactive and searchable and will be released in May 2023. In addition, all approved awardees will be eligible for one year of cloud hosting credits from Amazon Web Services (AWS) as part of the AWS Health Equity Initiative.
Revised Global Good Maturity Models
As a part of this Notice process, our team updated our Global Good Maturity Model to specifically assess software global goods. As with our earlier versions of the Digital Square Global Good Maturity Model, the revised version serves as an important benchmarking tool with self-reported metrics that allow for evaluation of a software tool based on its global utility, community, and maturity. For future revisions, Digital Square will adapt this framework to develop two new maturity models dedicated to content and service global goods. Nothing like this exists in the ecosystem to date.
Digital Square presented the draft content and service maturity models for the community review process to the Digital Health and Interoperability Working Group in November 2022. In addition, the initiative conducted a follow-up survey with the working group and select members of the broader digital health community to solicit input into the metrics and design of these new maturity models. Digital Square is reviewing the feedback received and will soon publish the first version of the maturity models for content and service global goods. The upcoming notices, G1 and G2 will use these maturity models to evaluate applications submitted.
meet our refreshed software global goods community:
*New Digital Square global good
For more information about Digital Square's portfolio of global goods, please be in touch with Digital Square's Deputy Director of Global Goods, Carl Fourie: cfourie@path.org.
Please also connect with Digital Square on Twitter and LinkedIn where we will be featuring more information about our Notice G approved global goods.