Dimagi

Dimagi, Inc. is a privately held social-enterprise software company headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Its work centers on open-source information technology for health programs, community services, and other operational settings where connectivity, hardware, staffing, and technical capacity may be limited. Rather than positioning itself solely as a conventional software vendor, Dimagi combines product development with implementation and technical services designed for public-health agencies, nongovernmental organizations, governments, research programs, and other organizations serving underserved populations. The company’s principal product is CommCare, a mobile platform for data collection, client or case management, clinical decision support, health-system monitoring, and behavior-change communication. CommCare is composed primarily of CommCare Mobile, used by community health workers and other field personnel, and CommCare HQ, a web-based environment for configuring applications, managing data, and monitoring program activity. Mobile applications can support structured forms, case records, educational content, and workflow guidance. Depending on the deployment, users can also collect photographs and GPS information, use audio, image, and video prompts, and work in multiple languages and writing systems. A defining feature of CommCare is its suitability for intermittent-connectivity environments. Applications can operate offline on supported feature phones, Android phones, and Android tablets, with records synchronized when a mobile or internet connection becomes available. The platform also supports SMS functions, including two-way messaging, broadcasts, and scheduled reminders based on configurable user or case information. Its application-building and data-management capabilities use open-source components and standards, including OpenRosa tools and XForms-based protocols. CommCare Mobile and CommCare HQ have been released under Apache 2.0 and BSD licensing arrangements, respectively. Dimagi’s work has been associated with community health, maternal and child health, disease management, clinical protocols, supply and service monitoring, and broader social-sector programs. The company has participated in research and implementation projects in both international and domestic underserved settings. Reference material reports that CommCare had been used in more than 2,000 projects across 80 countries since the platform’s creation in 2008, and that more than 65 peer-reviewed publications, including eight randomized controlled trials, had examined the platform or related digital-health deployments. Dimagi formalized its social-enterprise orientation by becoming a certified B Corporation in 2008 and an incorporated benefit corporation in 2012. It has maintained additional offices in Washington, D.C., New Delhi, and Cape Town. Its partnerships have included development organizations, health-sector groups, technology initiatives, pharmaceutical companies, and public agencies. These collaborations have supported field evaluations, expansion of CommCare programs, maternal and child health work, disease-elimination initiatives, and responses to health-system needs during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dimagi was founded in 2002 by Jonathan Jackson and Vikram Sheel Kumar. From its early development, the company focused on applying software and mobile technologies to social-impact and public-health problems, particularly in environments where conventional enterprise systems were difficult to deploy. Its business model combined technology development with implementation services and work on open-source information systems. The company’s central technology became CommCare, created as a platform for field data collection, case management, and decision support. CommCare was designed for community health workers and other frontline personnel who needed structured guidance and reliable recordkeeping without depending on continuous connectivity. Its mobile component evolved to support feature phones and later Android devices, while CommCare HQ provided a browser-based environment for building applications, managing cases, reviewing submissions, and monitoring programs. CommCare incorporated capabilities relevant to frontline health work, including offline operation, synchronization over mobile or internet connections, multilingual interfaces, multimedia prompts, photographs, GPS readings, and SMS messaging. The platform was built with open-source technologies and standards, including OpenRosa and XForms-related approaches. This architecture allowed organizations to configure workflows and forms for specific programs rather than adopting a single fixed clinical application. Dimagi’s institutional identity developed alongside its product. It became a certified B Corporation in 2008 and was incorporated as a benefit corporation in 2012. The company expanded its international presence through offices in Washington, D.C., New Delhi, and Cape Town. Its collaborations connected the platform with development agencies, health organizations, nongovernmental organizations, research programs, and private-sector partners. Partnership activity included a 2007 Tanzania evaluation with D-Tree International concerning electronic support for childhood-illness protocols. In 2011, Dimagi joined the Business Call to Action initiative. In 2012, USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures supported expansion of CommCare in India, while Dimagi and the Grameen Foundation worked with CARE through the Mobile Technology for Community Health initiative in Bihar. The same year, Dimagi and CORE Group created the CommCare Learning Collaborative for organizations working on maternal and child health. In 2013, Novartis partnered with Dimagi on rheumatic heart disease elimination work in Zambia. The platform also became the subject of academic and implementation research. Reference material attributes more than 65 peer-reviewed publications to work involving CommCare, including eight randomized controlled trials. Since the platform’s creation in 2008, it was reported to have been used in more than 2,000 projects in 80 countries. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dimagi representatives described collaboration among governments, development organizations, and technology providers as important to adapting digital tools for public-health needs. Dimagi remains an active private social enterprise focused on open-source digital health, clinical interfaces, health information systems, and monitoring tools for underserved communities.

1. 2013Zambia rheumatic heart disease initiative

   Novartis partners with Dimagi on work intended to support rheumatic heart disease elimination in Zambia.

   Source
2. 2012Benefit corporation incorporation

   Dimagi becomes an incorporated benefit corporation.

   Source
3. 2012CommCare expansion in India

   USAID Development Innovation Ventures funds expansion of CommCare into additional Indian health and social-sector programs.

   Source
4. 2012CommCare Learning Collaborative

   Dimagi and CORE Group establish a collaborative to support nongovernmental organizations using CommCare in maternal and child health work.

   Source
5. 2011Business Call to Action participation

   Dimagi joins the Business Call to Action initiative.

   Source
6. 2008Certified B Corporation status

   Dimagi becomes a certified B Corporation.

   Source
7. 2008CommCare platform begins

   Reference material identifies 2008 as the beginning of CommCare’s use as Dimagi’s principal digital-health platform.

   Source
8. 2007Tanzania mobile clinical-support evaluation

   Dimagi and D-Tree International evaluate an electronic mobile job aid for adherence to childhood-illness treatment protocols.

   Source
9. 2002Dimagi is founded

   Jonathan Jackson and Vikram Sheel Kumar establish Dimagi as a software company focused on technology for social impact and underserved communities.

   Source

Open-source digital-health and social-impact technology for field operations, community health, and service delivery in low-resource environments.

• CommCareDigital health and mobile case-management platform2008

  CommCare is Dimagi’s principal open-source mobile platform for field data collection, client and case management, decision support, health-system monitoring, and behavior-change communication. CommCare Mobile supports frontline workers on feature phones, Android phones, and Android tablets, while CommCare HQ provides a web-based application-building and management environment. Deployments can include structured forms, case histories, multilingual content, audio, images, video, photographs, GPS readings, and configurable workflows. Offline operation allows users to continue working without a network and synchronize records later. SMS features include two-way messaging, broadcasts, and scheduled reminders. CommCare Mobile and CommCare HQ use Apache 2.0 and BSD licensing arrangements, respectively.

• CommCare SupplySupply-chain and inventory-management software

  CommCare Supply is a Dimagi offering associated with supply and service monitoring in health and social-sector programs. The available reference material identifies the product as part of Dimagi’s portfolio but does not provide enough detail to document its complete feature set, deployment history, or current product status.

• 2012Incorporation as a benefit corporationStrategy

  Dimagi’s activities combined commercial software development with public-health and social-impact objectives.

  What changed. Dimagi incorporated as a benefit corporation.

  Aftermath. The corporate structure reinforced the company’s stated mission-oriented positioning. No financial consequences are documented in the supplied sources.

  Source
• 2012Expansion of CommCare in IndiaStrategy

  Dimagi sought to extend use of its mobile platform across health and social-sector programs in India.

  What changed. With support from USAID Development Innovation Ventures, Dimagi planned expansion into 50 additional programs.

  Aftermath. The initiative broadened the platform’s program reach in India; the available reference does not quantify subsequent adoption or financial results.

  Source
• 2008Adoption of certified B Corporation statusStrategy

  Dimagi operated as a social enterprise whose software and services were intended for public-health and underserved-community use.

  What changed. The company became a certified B Corporation.

  Aftermath. The certification formalized Dimagi’s social-impact orientation; the available sources do not provide financial or operational performance measures resulting from the decision.

  Source

• 2020Dimagi emphasizes collaboration during the COVID-19 pandemic

  Dimagi’s partnerships leadership highlighted cross-organizational collaboration as an important factor in helping governments and development partners use digital platforms during the pandemic.

  Other
  Source
• 2013Novartis partners with Dimagi on rheumatic heart disease elimination in Zambia

  Novartis partnered with Dimagi on an initiative supporting the elimination of rheumatic heart disease in Zambia.

  Other
  Source
• 2012USAID funds expansion of CommCare programs in India

  USAID’s Development Innovation Ventures supported Dimagi’s effort to expand CommCare into 50 additional health and social-sector programs in India.

  Other
  Source
• 2012Dimagi, Grameen Foundation, and CARE collaborate through MOTECH in Bihar

  Dimagi and the Grameen Foundation partnered with CARE through the Mobile Technology for Community Health initiative in Bihar, India.

  Other
  Source
• 2012Dimagi and CORE Group establish the CommCare Learning Collaborative

  Dimagi worked with CORE Group to establish a learning collaborative intended to help nongovernmental organizations use CommCare in maternal and child health programs.

  Other
  Source
• 2011Dimagi joins the Business Call to Action initiative

  Dimagi joined the Business Call to Action initiative, an international platform focused on private-sector contributions to development objectives.

  Other
  Source
• 2008Dimagi becomes a certified B Corporation

  Dimagi adopted certified B Corporation status, reflecting its stated emphasis on social and environmental performance alongside commercial activity.

  Other
  Source
• 2007Dimagi and D-Tree International evaluate mobile clinical decision support in Tanzania

  Dimagi partnered with D-Tree International to assess whether an electronic job aid delivered through a mobile device could improve adherence to Integrated Management of Childhood Illness protocols in Tanzania.

  Other
  Source

1. Dimagi
2. Dimagi official website