RUTHLESSLY PRAGMATIC

Large outlined black-and-white text spelling “DARO”

We’re really bad

At all the stuff you think you need. 

But we’re great

At all the stuff that actually matters.

TALK TO US.

We’ve probably heard worse.

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What We Do

We build systems that really work for organizations that do real-world good.

At DARO we prioritize people, program objectives, risks and impacts; because the real reason you’re not getting great results from your technology, isn’t your technology.

This looks like:

Strategic Transformation

Smarter thinking for better doing.
Strategic Transformation is an end-to-end shift from where you are to where you want to be.

Learning Systems

Learning that actually changes things — we create learning and help you apply it in real-time.

Ecosystem Infrastructure

Shared rules, data, plumbing and tools.
We build the soft and hard infrastructure the social sector needs to learn from its data and act together.

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LEARN MORE ABOUT OUR SERVICES

OUR CLIENTS

International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) logo in teal
Making the Shift Inc. logo with overlapping navy, teal, and yellow diamond shapes
Cleveland Foundation logo with a green tree above the name and a magenta stylized letter F
Texas 2036 logo in blue and coral
UTHealth logo with text reading The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation logo with a blue circle and white K icon.
Ontario Trillium Foundation bilingual logo with stylized green, black, and yellow trillium flower
United Way of Greater Houston logo with white text, helping hand, and person beneath an orange rainbow
Mastercard Foundation logo with overlapping red and orange circles above the organization name
Giving Tuesday logo with blue text and a red heart-shaped giving symbol

Testimonials

  • “I have found them to be deeply collaborative partners in identifying and implementing our solutions. Without their advice, both strategic and technical, we wouldn’t have been able to approach our problems as effectively as we have."

    - Head of Knowledge Management, Mastercard Foundation

  • "DARO combines a strong technical interest with a focus on public benefit"

    - Vice-President, Indigenous and Government Relations

  • “They [DARO] care about the long-term outcomes of the issues and challenges they work with us on - meaning they help design and implement solutions beyond the technology systems - helping us with change management strategies, organizational design and governance, project management, as well as information architecture. They connect the dots."

    - Head of Knowledge Management, Mastercard Foundation

  • "What I appreciate beyond their technical expertise, is their understanding that technology is only a tool, and that effective and ethical use of technology must be rooted in good governance and strong relationships."

    - CEO, The Circle

Featured Content

The Soft Infrastructure We Forgot: Why Digital and AI Efforts Fail Without Leadership Systems

Across the social sector, digital and AI projects aren’t failing because organizations lack the right tools. They’re failing because we’ve systematically underinvested in the soft infrastructure that makes technology work: governance, decision rights, routines, data stewardship, and the learning mechanisms that help organizations adapt. Co-written with Alethea Hannemann, Co-Founder and CEO of Board.cev

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7 Truths of Data Sharing

David, our VP of Impact and Learning, shares what he's learned over the past decade about sharing data within and across organizations in a series of posts. The 7 Truths are based on David's work in research; evaluation; collecting, managing, and governing data for organizations; and leading collaborations to share and use their collective data.

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What DARO is Reading Right Now

Welcome to What DARO’s Reading Right Now! We’re sharing what articles have caught our attention lately and why they're worth reading. We'll be posting what's inspiring us, interesting us, and making us think deeper about our work.

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