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Digital Commons for Social Impact

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Session Description

Social entrepreneurs, NGOs, and impact organizations worldwide generate vast amounts of valuable data about what works in addressing poverty, climate change, education, and health challenges. However, this data remains siloed across organizations, making it impossible to learn from collective experiences or scale successful interventions. Current impact measurement approaches often serve compliance rather than learning, creating what Kevin Starr calls "impact measurement fiction."

Through Catalyst Now's Digital Collaborative, we're building an open, interoperable platform that enables 3,700+ organizations across 146 countries to share data, insights, and solutions while maintaining data sovereignty and privacy. This infrastructure combines open source components with AI-driven insights to create a "new operating system for social change."

We're seeking collaboration with the Indian FOSS community on:

- Contributing to our open source projects

- Building data exchange frameworks for social enterprises

- Creating local deployment guides and documentation

Key Takeaways

- How open source principles apply to social innovation infrastructure

- Opportunities to contribute technical skills to global development challenges

- Lessons on building sustainable, community-owned platforms

- The role of technology in democratizing access to impact measurement

References

https://www.devex.com/news/time-for-philanthropy-to-get-serious-about-scale-and-impact-110087

https://catalystnow.net/about/

Session Categories

Knowledge Commons (Open Hardware, Open Science, Open Data etc.)

Which track are you applying for?

Main track

Speakers

Abheejit K Digital Solutions Director | Catalyst Now

Abheejit Khandagale is a social entrepreneur and innovation leader serving as Digital Solutions Director at Catalyst Now. As Executive Director of Vruksh Ecosystem Foundation and Product Lead of ekatra, he has impacted over 1.7 million people through technology-driven solutions that bridge the digital divide.

Recognized as a World Economic Forum Top Innovator and Global Shaper. A mechanical engineer turned serial entrepreneur from Nagpur, India, Abheejit has founded multiple ventures, served as a Tata Trusts Fellow for the Swachh Bharat Mission, and built thriving startup communities. His work spans government partnerships, policy advisory roles, and grassroots innovation, with backing from Deloitte Global, UNHCR, and Microsoft for Startups.

Known for transforming challenges into opportunities, Abheejit's mission is creating sustainable ecosystems where first-generation entrepreneurs can thrive, building a more equitable future through technology and community innovation across South Asia's emerging economies.

https://abheejit.com

Abheejit .