Principles

As a digital global good supported by a strong community of practice, the openIMIS Initiative is guided by a set of strategic principles which honor and build on the Principles for Digital Development and the Digital Investment Principles.

Use of open source software and standards

The openIMIS Initiative is committed to releasing all software and source code that it develops through open source licenses approved by the Open Source Initiative (OSI). The Initiative engages in global networks which discuss and develop normative standards in digital health and social protection. It also adheres to and promotes specific standardized approaches and tools.

Collaboration

The openIMIS Initiative is a global community open to all stakeholders interested in exchanging and collaborating in the area of health financing and social protection for Universal Health Coverage and Universal Social Protection. It collaborates with its community of practitioners, external experts, and stakeholders to improve the functionality and reach of openIMIS. The Initiative also publicly shares its experiences to promote the improvement and use of other global goods.

Transparency

In the spirit of being a global good, the openIMIS Initiative keeps discussions on the initiative, software, and community of practice open and transparent.

Interoperability

Through its use of globally accepted standards, the openIMIS Initiative ensures that openIMIS is interoperable with other digital health and social protection solutions. openIMIS reuses and further develops other global goods for added functionality, rather than duplicating efforts. And because it has a modular build, it is interoperable with existing systems and can meet the needs of a variety of schemes.

Adaptability and learning

Thanks to its modular build, openIMIS can be adapted to serve different country and scheme-specific needs. The openIMIS Initiative encourages adaptations that are driven by local developers and implementers and supported by the global openIMIS community. It encourages learning in the community and the continuous improvement of openIMIS from experiences gained through implementations at the local level.

Security and privacy

The openIMIS Initiative ensures that its product adheres to globally accepted data protection and security standards. All the data in the various communication platforms used by the Initiative and the community of practice adhere to the applicable data privacy and security requirements.

Sustainability

openIMIS is designed according to user needs and scale, and is continuously improved on the basis of implementation experiences. The openIMIS Initiative develops various capacities (IT, implementation, health financing, social protection) at implementation level to ensure the scale-up and sustainability of the openIMIS implementations.