Community Systems Foundation

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) is increasingly shaping how governments think about digital transformation, public service delivery, interoperability, and national ownership.

But what does DPI mean for education?

At CSF, we have been reflecting on this question through the lens of OpenEMIS, an open-source Digital Public Good supporting education data systems across countries.

We have prepared a short concept note: OpenEMIS as Education Digital Public Infrastructure.

This is not intended as a final answer. It is a working contribution to an emerging conversation.

The note explores how OpenEMIS may support national education ecosystems through foundational education registries, APIs, interoperability services, analytics, and integration with broader national DPI architecture.

We are sharing it in the spirit of open collaboration.

We welcome feedback, critique, examples, and contributions from colleagues working on education data, digital public goods, digital transformation, GovStack, interoperability, EMIS, and sectoral DPI.

What are we missing?
What standards should we consider?
How should Education DPI evolve?

We look forward to learning from others and improving this work together.

https://www.openemis.org/solutions/dpi

CSF, with generous funding from UNICEF Algeria, recently concluded a project in support of the Ministry of National Education (MEN) Algeria, in which we reviewed and reflected on the potential of AI in the future evolution of Algeria’s Education Management Information System (EMIS) ecosystem.

MEN has developed an impressive and sophisticated data-centered ecosystem of education platforms — including AMATTI, Awlyaa, Ostad, Taqiim, and Tawdif — that have been successfully operating for many years. These systems are a clear reflection of strong national leadership and long-term investment in digital transformation for education.

CSF's role was to provide technical expertise and recommendations focused on strengthening the analytical dimension of the ecosystem. While a significant wealth of education data is already being collected across platforms, there is enormous potential to further enhance how this data is transformed into actionable insights that support planning, decision-making, and improved outcomes for learners.

A central part of our reflection focused on reframing the conversation around AI — from simply asking “Should we adopt AI?” to asking “What are we feeding AI?”

An AI layer sitting on top of fragmented or ungoverned data can generate fast and confident errors — automation at scale without a foundation of truth. The real opportunity lies not in replacing existing systems, but in strengthening the quality, governance, interoperability, and analytical coherence of national education data so that AI can generate trusted insights that truly support students, teachers, and decision-makers.

We are particularly excited by the opportunities that AI can bring to education systems — not starting from scratch, but leap-frogging ahead by building on strong, trusted national data systems and a student-centered approach that keeps the learner at the center of education driven by quality data and insights.

We extend our appreciation to the Ministry of National Education Algeria for its vision and leadership, and to UNICEF Algeria for its partnership and commitment to strengthening data-driven education systems.

Many national partners engage with CSF in waves — periods of rapid transformation driven by policy priorities, new funding, or major reform agendas, followed by quieter phases where systems are embedded into daily operations and sustained through ongoing support.

This has become a familiar pattern across both OpenEMIS and Data For All projects that are now spanning more than a decade in many countries.

What we’ve learned is that long-term engagement creates unique advantages:
• Institutional knowledge is retained over time, even as priorities evolve
• National systems remain stable and operational between investment cycles
• Countries can scale faster when new opportunities emerge because foundations are already in place
• Trust grows through continuity, responsiveness, and shared problem solving
• Basic support and maintenance models help ensure sustainability beyond project timelines
• Long-term partnerships allow technology to evolve alongside national needs rather than being replaced every few years

Sustainable digital transformation is rarely linear. It happens through cycles of momentum, consolidation, learning, and renewal.

That continuity is where long-term partnerships matter most.

Read more about our approach and reach out to discuss. https://www.communitysystemsfoundation.org/approach

Approach | Community Systems Foundations CSF engages with communities to build solutions that lead to good development outcomes sustained by responsible development processes. We increase people’s choices through innovations that harness the power of data to benefit communities economically, socially, and environmentally, in support of t...

In a world increasingly shaped by environmental disasters, political instability, and civil unrest, business continuity is no longer optional — it is essential.

For international organizations serving vulnerable communities, the ability to maintain operations during times of crisis can directly impact lives, services, and long-term resilience.

That is why it has been our privilege and honor at CSF to support UN Women through the ongoing development and maintenance of UNWomen BCA — strengthening operational readiness needed to ensure continuity, responsiveness, and institutional resilience when it matters most.

DevTech can help build resilient systems to ensure organizations remain agile, coordinated today, and effective tomorrow — even in the face of uncertainty.

At CSF, we remain committed to developing sustainable, mission-driven technology solutions that help our partners continue delivering impact under any circumstances.

Get in touch to learn more!

The Ministry of Education Seychelles is organizing OpenEMIS School Support Sessions this week - a fantastic approach to supporting teachers and administrators as data systems and processes change.

This isn't a ribbon cutting or celebrity event that typically makes the news. More importantly, these small actions are ones that make big differences in how new systems grow and take root. Seychelles is transforming education from the ground up!