In an exciting announcement, Palladium and Open Function (OpenFn) formalized a strategic partnership to accelerate digital transformation across development sectors that will help governments build the digital foundations needed to deliver reliable, equitable, and efficient public services.

This partnership brings together Palladium's deep experience implementing large-scale digital health solutions with OpenFn's technical expertise in systems interoperability and workflow automation. Together, the teams are tackling one of the biggest hurdles in digital transformation: connecting systems that don't "speak" to each other.

For decades, Palladium has delivered digital health and service delivery systems in low access and resource constrained environments, ensuring platforms work reliably where connectivity or infrastructure is limited. “These experiences shape how we approach digital transformation,” says Palladium’s VP of Digital Technologies and Delivery, Teddy Berihun, “We understand connecting fragmented systems is essential for governments seeking resilient national platforms.”

Strong digital systems depend on the ability to move information seamlessly across platforms, allowing governments and partners to coordinate services and respond effectively to real world needs. In practice, digital transformation means replacing fragmented, manual processes with connected, automated systems that improve efficiency, data quality, and the experience of both providers and communities

Why Interoperability Matters

OpenFn is an open-source integration and automation platform that acts as a critical Digital Public Infrastructure building block for data exchange, enabling governments to securely connect and coordinate data across national systems—such as health, supply chain, civil registration, social service platforms, and more.

“Through my work in software development and delivery, I have noticed a nearly universal challenge,” explains Derek Treatman, Senior Technical Advisor at OpenFn. “Too often, critical data sits in silos, making it difficult for governments and partners to coordinate care, report outcomes, or respond to emergencies. Our goal is to break down these barriers and enable seamless data exchange across systems.”

Delivering Results – Together

Around the world, health ministries and development partners are striving to modernize their digital infrastructure. But the reality is that many of those systems, be they electronic medical records, supply chain platforms, or civil registration databases, operate in isolation.

Palladium’s experience implementing large-scale solutions in challenging environments, combined with OpenFn’s interoperability expertise and platform, is helping countries build connected, resilient digital public infrastructure that strengthens national service delivery.

“We’re joining forces with OpenFn in several key areas – from creating easy-to-deploy packages and implementation guides to automating parts of the setup process – to make connected digital health solutions, like electronic medical records, more effective and widely available,” explains Berihun. “At the core is designing systems that can connect and exchange data across national platforms. That foundational interoperability is what makes the rest of our work meaningful, while the enabling components help countries adopt and scale those connected systems more quickly and consistently.”

He adds that the teams are also working together to keep data secure, train local teams, and ensure strong support for users. By focusing on adapting solutions for different countries and sharing what they learn with other organizations, local partners, and governments, Palladium and OpenFn are building digital health systems that are sustainable, scalable, and truly impactful for communities.

OpenFn's platform features 80+ pre-built adaptors connecting any app - including web apps, databases, file-based systems, APIs, and legacy government platforms. This extensive library of adaptors enables rapid integration across diverse technology ecosystems without requiring custom development for each connection.

In Ethiopia, for example, Palladium and OpenFn are helping the Ministry of Health roll out EthioEMR, a multi tenant electronic medical records system integrated with other national IT platforms. Through this partnership, where Palladium manages core platform configuration and OpenFn ensures secure, reliable data exchange, clinicians, administrators, and policymakers can access real time, trustworthy information. This leads to faster diagnoses, better planning, and more responsive public health services.

Patients benefit from more coordinated care, while governments gain stronger oversight, more efficient resource allocation, and improved health outcomes at scale.

What sets this partnership apart, says Berihun, is its focus on national ownership, local capacity, and long-term sustainability. “We’re working closely with local teams, building localized solutions that can be scaled cost effectively across hundreds of facilities.”

“By engaging local partners for deployment and support, as well as by leveraging global standards and Digital Public Goods, we’re helping ensure that these systems are sustainable in the long term,” Berihun explains. By supporting governments to manage, maintain, and scale their own digital systems, Palladium and OpenFn help ensure that technology investments continue delivering public value long after initial projects end.

As digital transformation accelerates, the need for secure, interoperable, and citizen-centred systems is only growing. Together, Palladium and OpenFn are helping governments build the digital foundations needed to deliver reliable, equitable, and efficient public services—ensuring that data works for people, not just systems. By tackling the challenge of interoperability head-on, they’re unlocking new possibilities for data-driven care and sustainable impact.

Learn more about OpenFn's interoperability solutions at openfn.org.