Making technology work through shared learning

Technology has become integral to how nonprofits design and deliver their work. Across the sector, organisations now rely on digital tools for a variety of tasks, including field data collection and community engagement. At Project Tech4Dev, we have worked with approximately 300 nonprofits through ten cohorts on tech solutions, including AI, chatbots, and data platforms. From this vantage point, one pattern stands out: A substantial gap persists between adopting a tech tool and making it work effectively in practice. Part of the reason for this implementation gap is structural. In most nonprofits, technology is not owned by a dedicated team—it gets absorbed into existing roles. A programme manager takes on data systems; a communications professional ends up managing a chatbot; someone from the human resources team becomes responsible for a new field app. This model places tech adoption in the hands of professionals whose primary expertise and responsibilities lie elsewhere. The result