News
Pact brings together 18 countries to ‘hack’ Covid-19 solutions
June 12, 2020
A comprehensive program that turns urban women coffee vendors in Ethiopia into hubs for spreading accurate messages about Covid-19. A gamified app that offers Covid information, referrals and support...
As the world faces Covid-19 together, innovation is key
April 15, 2020
While none of us would ever wish for it, the Covid-19 pandemic presents an unprecedented opportunity for global innovation. Never in modern times has the international development sector been faced...
Pact’s Transformation Lab: A Q&A with Svetlana Dimovski
May 22, 2019
As a global community, we agree we must do everything possible to end extreme poverty and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. But traditional overseas development assistance – while critically...
'Kozo Girls' advances to final round of CARE Scale X Design Accelerator competition
February 26, 2019
Kozo Girls, a Pact-supported social enterprise run by young Zambian women, was chosen as a finalist in CARE's Scale X Design Accelerator competition. Competing against 13 other projects from around...
Kozo Girls, a Pact pilot that provides reusable pads & economic opportunities in Zambia, comes into its own
February 13, 2019
‘Kozo Girls’ provides reusable pads and economic opportunities for young women in Zambia. What began as a Pact pilot supported by USAID is blossoming into an independent social enterprise.
Former USAID chief innovation officer visits Pact to discuss social sector impact
January 25, 2019
Pact recently welcomed former USAID chief innovation officer Ann Mei Chang to discuss innovation, maximizing impact in the social sector and her new book, Lean Impact.
Watch a full recording of the...
Why customer insight is crucial in the fight against HIV: What I shared at AIDS 2018
August 8, 2018
The global development community has long referred to the people and institutions we serve as our beneficiaries. In truth, they’re also our partners and customers. That last word might sound a bit...
Show me the money? Not necessarily: Lessons learned from building an innovation practice at a global nonprofit
June 27, 2018
When Pact, a Washington, D.C.-based global nonprofit founded in 1971, first invested in innovation in fall 2013, we looked to determine whether we could institute a dedicated innovation team to...
The ghosts of user-centered design
August 30, 2017
Sitting in the Cambodian humidity, in an open-air council hall in Pursat with storm clouds rolling in the distance, I had to wonder if I would have found myself here were it not for the concept of...
5 lessons from a conversation with USAID’s chief of design innovation
December 22, 2016
Innovation is a nebulous topic that often means 20 different things to 20 different people. This week, Pact hosted Seema Patel, Chief of Design Innovation at USAID’s Global Development Lab, for an...