DCI Standards in action challenge: call for submissions

About the challenge

Despite broad agreement that interoperability standards are essential for seamless cross-sector data exchange, adoption remains low, particularly in social services delivery. Many times, the need to get ‘projects’ kicked off and completed quickly, the lack of ecosystem thinking, of long-term planning and awareness on the benefits and rework costs of implementing standards leads to development of systems which are not based on any standards. In other cases, it is the lack of awareness that such standards even exist that limits their uptake.

The Digital Convergence Initiative (DCI) has developed interoperability standards for common processes, data models, and APIs, to enable systems across programs and sectors to exchange information efficiently and reliably. But without robust, data-driven evidence, DCI has found that technical leaders often struggle to make the case for adopting standards, which work as an invisible layer behind the scenes.

To close these knowledge gaps and accelerate uptake of interoperability standards in social services delivery, DCI is launching a global DCI Standards in Action Challenge to crowdsource real-world case studies from countries at all levels of digital maturity, on successful standards based interoperability experiences, lessons from non-adoption of standards, and examples of DCI standards adoption.

Turning dispersed experiences into a consolidated, evidence-based narrative will help shift procurement, design, and policy choices toward standards-based approaches, enabling more efficient, resilient, and client-centered social services ecosystems worldwide.

To build a public, practical evidence repository that:

Equip public-sector leaders and technical decision-makers with concrete, evidence-based cases that make it easier to secure policy and budgetary support for standards adoption.

Illustrate both the benefits of implementing interoperability standards and the real costs and risks of not adopting standards (including duplication, rework, and service gaps).

Raise awareness of DCI interoperability standards among practitioners and foster peer learning across countries and sectors.
The competition is open to government agencies, program implementers, development partners, technical teams, and other stakeholders who can provide evidence of the impact — or cost of absence — of interoperability standards in social services delivery.

Non-governmental submitters (development partners, NGOs, academia, private vendors) must include an official letter of acknowledgment or a designated government focal point contact from the featured country.
Track A: The Cost-of-Non-Adoption (CNA)
Focus: Retrospective case studies documenting real-world challenges countries faced in data exchange, the effort required to align data formats, and the financial costs and process delays caused by the absence of common standards across systems or institutions.
Examples: Time and effort spent aligning data formats or transforming legacy data; repeated or redundant data collection; major delays and inefficient service delivery because systems could not interoperate.

Track B: The Interoperability Success Story
Focus: Case studies highlighting country or regional experiences that successfully adopted interoperability standards and realised measurable benefits.
Examples: Significantly shortened system-integration timelines; sustained savings in maintenance costs; improved access and inclusion for marginalised groups; faster, more reliable benefit delivery.

Track C: DCI Standards Implementation Experience
Focus: Case studies documenting real-world applications of the DCI Interoperability standards; either process standards, data standards, or/and APIs, by countries, organisations, or consortia that have piloted, embedded, or scaled them.
Example: The DCI process standards were used to guide the interoperability use case definition workshop in Country XXX and provided a base for stakeholders to build on, enabling a prioritised, consensus-driven specification that accelerated the pilot integration of identity and beneficiary records APIs

Note: the same case should not be submitted to multiple tracks.
All submissions must focus on verifiable country- or regional-level operational cases and allow public reuse and global knowledge dissemination.

Cross-sector interoperability submissions that demonstrate integration across key government systems in delivering social services; for example, social protection, digital ID, CRVS, employment, disability registries, farmer registries, health systems, and payment systems, are strongly encouraged.
The DCI Standards in Action Challenge will award the best 3 case studies:

First Place Winner

DCI Global Stage Award: The best case study that demonstrates lessons replicable in other countries will receive an invitation for up to two representatives to present the case study to international donors, development partners, and government representatives at the DCI Country Convening Event in Uzbekistan in February 2027.
One of the representatives must be a government representative from the referenced country. Travel will be funded.

DCI Helpdesk Support: Up to 25 person-days of tailored technical support from the DCI-Helpdesk to help the team resolve or enhance interoperability architecture or standards alignment challenges in the featured country.

Global Repository Spotlight: Full case feature on the DCI website, positioning the country’s model as a global benchmark asset.

First Runner-Up

DCI Solution Lab: Invitation to participate in the DCI Solution Lab or capacity development training led by the ILO in Uzbekistan in February 2027. Up to two representatives of the 1st runner-up case will be funded to participate in the ILO-led interoperability solution co-creation lab. One of the representatives must be a government representative from the referenced country. Travel will be funded.

DCI Helpdesk Support: Up to 20 person-days of tailored technical support from the DCI-Helpdesk to help the team resolve or enhance interoperability architecture or standards alignment challenges in the featured country.

Global Repository Spotlight: Full case feature on the DCI website, positioning the country’s model as a global benchmark asset.

Second Runner-Up

Webinar Invite: Invitation to present in a DCI knowledge-sharing webinar. Two representatives of the second runner-up case will be invited to present their case study to international donors, development partners, and government representatives in the DCI knowledge sharing webinar series.

DCI Helpdesk Advisory: Up to 15 person-days of tailored technical support from the DCI-Helpdesk to help the team resolve or enhance interoperability architecture or standards alignment challenges in the featured country.

Global Repository Spotlight: Full case feature on the DCI website, positioning the country’s model as a global benchmark asset.
Online Registration: Participants should register here to receive updates about the challenge and invitations to support Q&A sessions and office hours.

Case study submission: Participants should complete all required sections on the submission form and save it as a PDF. Email the PDF to contact@spdci.org with the subject line: “DCI Standards in Action Challenge case study – [reference country name]”.

Evidence & Data Rigor: For initial validation, claims about cost savings, timeline reductions, or financial losses should cite verifiable sources, preferably primary data sheets, or public institutional reports, whenever possible.

Optional Media: Participants may attach one supporting asset to complement your case study: either an interactive slide deck or a brief summary video (maximum 3 minutes).

Language: All applications, attachments, slide content, and video narration or subtitles should be submitted in English whenever possible. Submissions in another language must include an English translation.

Questions and clarifications: Participants should send questions to
contact@spdci.org with the subject line: “DCI Standards in Action Challenge case study.” Responses will be shared with all registered participants.

➜ Download the submission form.

Submissions that successfully pass the initial administrative and eligibility checks will advance to a substantive evaluation carried out by an independent panel of internationally recognised experts. The panel will consist of specialists with proven expertise across the DCI Standards in Action Challenge’s core domains, including digital governance, interoperability frameworks, public-sector practice, and the relevant legal and policy areas.

Application Form Section	Evaluation Criteria	Weight
Section 1 & 2: Administrative, Eligibility & Track Selection (Basic profiles, government verification, sector selection)	Pre-screening: Must pass completeness and the government validation requirement to proceed to judging.	0% (Pass/Fail Gate)
Section 3: Case Study Narrative (Context & Problem) (Ecosystem context and baseline problem statement)	Context Appropriateness: Evaluates if the submission realistically reflects the specific country and systemic hurdles.	40%
Section 4: Data Rigor & Evidence (source validation, and verification matrix)	Data Rigor & Evidence Quality: Claims about cost savings, timeline reductions, or financial losses should cite verifiable sources, preferably primary data sheets or public institutional reports, whenever possible.	40%
Section 5: Scalability & Replicability (How other countries can adapt or scale these specific interoperability lessons)	Scalability & Replicability: Evaluates the ease of methodology adaptation across similar global bottlenecks. (Applicable for track B and C)	20%
Section 6: Attachments & Documentation (Optional slide deck or 3-minute summary video)	Used by judges to break scoring ties and utilized primarily to format the final Public Voting showcase.	0% (Bonus / Tie Breaker)
TOTAL		100%

Two Q&A office hours sessions are held to support teams preparing their case studies: they are tentatively scheduled for September 10, 2026 and another for October 8, 2026. Please ensure you sign up on the interest form below to receive joining information and to be informed about any updates.

The official submission deadline is November 13, 2026, after which screening and validation begins.

Shortlisted case studies are shared with the independent expert panel in December 2026, and winners are announced and onboarded to their awards in January 2027.

For questions and further information, please feel free to reach out to contact@spdci.org | subject line: DCI Standards in Action Challenge case study.