Academic Forum on Digital Impact
Advancing Digital Impact across Systems and Scales: AI-Enabled Acceleration, Governance, and Collaborative Dynamics
Prof. Dr. Tina C. Ambos, Geneva Research Lab for Digital Impact (GRL), University of Geneva, Switzerland
Prof. Dr. Vivianna Fang He, School of Management, University College London, United Kingdom
Overview
The Academic Forum on Digital Impact brings together scholars and practitioner–researchers to examine how large-scale initiatives, such as global school connectivity, can design and leverage socio-technical systems, generate credible evidence, and organise effective cross-sector collaboration to accelerate inclusive digital impact. Despite substantial investments in digital infrastructure, significant challenges persist in understanding how digital inclusion translates into measurable social, economic, educational, and health impacts, and how such outcomes can be rigorously assessed and scaled.
Conceived as a focused convening of approximately 40–50 participants, the Forum prioritizes in-depth exchange, collective learning, and sustained interdisciplinary dialogue. It welcomes both theoretical and empirical contributions addressing the enablers, pathways, and outcomes of digital connectivity.
Tracks
The Academic Forum on Digital Impact is structured around three interrelated tracks, sequenced to enable cumulative learning and exchange across themes.
AI and Computational Approaches for Digital Connectivity
Keynote by
Prof. Dr. Esteban Moro (Northeastern University, USA)
How can the impact of digital connectivity be mapped, measured, and accelerated?
- AI-enabled mapping and monitoring systems
- Measurement of learning outcomes, health outcomes, and economic effects linked to connectivity
- Identification of underserved communities using technology and AI
- Geospatial AI for public buildings and infrastructure mapping and planning
Identification of novel, AI-enabled approaches for impact measurement and connectivity delivery, thus developing a shared understanding of credible and feasible impact evidence and methodological standards that can inform large-scale decision-making and acceleration.
Governance and Pathways for Digital Impact
Keynote by
Prof. Dr. Vivianna Fang He (University College London, UK)
How do system designs and governance of digital technologies enable or constrain digital impact?
- Digital public infrastructure and digital public goods for education, health, and economic inclusion
- Responsible governance by design approaches
- Centralized versus decentralized and community-based technology models
- Ethical, epistemic, and governance challenges in digital system design
Identification of design and governance pathways through which digital technologies and infrastructures enable or constrain inclusive digital impact, clarifying how specific socio-technical choices shape access, accountability, power, and ethical outcomes across institutional contexts.
Collaborative Dynamics and the Grand Challenge of Digital Impact
Keynote by
Prof. Dr. Tobias Kretschmer (Imperial College London, UK/ LMU Munich, Germany)
How are digital impact initiatives organized, coordinated, and sustained at scale?
- Ecosystem orchestration and partner role design (public, private, multilateral, and civil society actors)
- Procurement and contracting models for connectivity and digital services
- Policy and regulatory conditions enabling scale (i.e., infrastructure sharing, sectoral alignment)
- Financing, sustainability, and long-term capability building
Advancement of an integrated understanding of how cross-sector coordination mechanisms and institutional conditions shape the long-term sustainability and scale of digital impact initiatives.
Submission Guidelines:
Authors are invited to submit extended abstracts (4'000 words), outlining:
- 1 The core research question
- 2 Data, methods, or technical approach
- 3 Key findings and expected contributions
- 4 Relevance to one of the forum tracks
More information
Download the Call for Papers for complete information and guidelines
Academic Forum on Digital Impact
Advancing Digital Impact across Systems and Scales: AI-Enabled Acceleration, Governance, and Collaborative Dynamics
22 May 2026