Request for Expression of Interest (EOI)
Open Chat Studio Ecosystem Development Program
About Dimagi and Open Chat Studio
For over 20 years, Dimagi has built and supported the deployment of inclusive, robust, and scalable digital solutions, primarily through its widely used open-source CommCare platform. Open Chat Studio (OCS) is a new open-source platform by Dimagi that enables organizations to rapidly build, deploy, and evaluate LLM-powered chatbots without requiring AI expertise. In just minutes, non-programmers can iterate on a chatbot and deploy it over WhatsApp, the web, and other channels in text or voice and in their language of choice.
About the OCS Ecosystem Development Program
With support from the Gates Foundation's Digital Public Infrastructure team, Dimagi is investing in OCS as a future Digital Public Good and building a global ecosystem of developers, implementers, and researchers who can extend and deploy the platform. Through this program, Dimagi is seeking expressions of interest from qualified organizations and individuals to contribute to the OCS ecosystem. Selected partners will receive payments for specific deliverables, gain early access to an emerging AI platform, receive capacity building in LLM technologies, and have the opportunity to shape the roadmap of Open Chat Studio.
What We Are Looking For
- Developers/Engineering Groups who can contribute code, build integrations, and self-host the platform, including those interested in building and selling solutions built on Open Chat Studio to other organizations.
- Implementation Partners who deploy digital interventions with end users in health, education, agriculture, or other sectors. This includes organizations across a range of technical capacity, from those using SaaS platforms only, to those with in-house teams who can self-host and manage infrastructure. We particularly encourage applications from implementation partners with technical capacity to self-host OCS, as this supports our goal of building sustainable, locally-owned AI infrastructure.
- Research Organizations studying AI/LLM applications or conducting program evaluations.
- Individual Contributors (Developers) working on open source projects.
Deliverables and Payments
Partners will be paid for their contributions based on the deliverables they complete. The deliverables available depend on your partner category and technical capacity. All figures below are illustrative and will be finalized during discussions with selected partners.
Developer/Engineering Group Deliverables*
| Deliverable | Description | Illustrative Payment |
|---|---|---|
| Self-Host Setup | Self-host OCS + validation report + screen recording | $500 |
| Small PR | Merged PR (bug fix, minor feature) + documentation | $150 – $3,000 |
| Major PR | Merged PR (significant feature) + documentation + demo video | $3,000 – $8,000 |
| Platform Integration | New integration (messaging channel, external tool) | $2,000 – $10,000 |
* Applicants can select which deliverables they would like to pursue.
Implementation Partner Deliverables
Implementation partners may choose between two tracks. Where needed, Dimagi will provide support. For example, if a team is new to LLM evaluations, Dimagi will provide resources to help develop a conceptual understanding.
Base Track ($5,000)
Organizations will deliver on the following outputs:
- Non-Dimagi hosted instance of OCS (self-host or procure hosting; deliverables: validation report, screen recording)
- Starter Chatbot (functional chatbot for a specific use case; deliverables: working chatbot, 2-min demo)
- Micro-Pilot (deploy with 50+ users for 1–4 weeks; deliverables: anonymized transcripts, feedback summary)
- Case Study (2–3 page writeup with 100+ users)
- Template (fill in Dimagi-provided template + short video walkthrough)
Base + Evaluation Track ($6,000)
All Base deliverables, plus: LLM Evaluation (structured evaluation using OCS evaluators; deliverables: 50+ message pairs, configured evaluator, findings summary; must include human evaluations).
Research Partner Deliverables
Formal Research Study ($15,000)
Research partners will work with an implementation partner to conduct a formal research study. Deliverables include: methodology, IRB approval (if needed), dataset, and publishing findings.
Partner Requirements
- Developers/Engineering Groups: Should have experience with Python/Django (OCS tech stack), frontend JavaScript, and/or hosting/DevOps (AWS, Docker). Applicants should provide GitHub profiles for team members who would contribute.
- Implementation Partners: Should have experience deploying digital interventions with end users. Experience with chatbots, low-code/no-code platforms, or AI-powered interventions is preferred but not required.
- Research Organizations: Should have experience conducting program evaluations or research studies, and provide examples of these.
Before You Apply
Before you apply, we recommend briefly reviewing the Open Chat Studio codebase on GitHub as well as developer and implementation-focused documentation:
- For implementers and researchers: https://docs.openchatstudio.com/
- For developers: https://github.com/dimagi/open-chat-studio
Expression of Interest (EOI) Application and Timelines
Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. Submit your EOI at any time.
To apply, please complete the EOI application form. If you have any questions, please contact us.