We build digital health technology with people at the center.
The Commons Project is a global tech nonprofit founded in 2019 to build open, secure, interoperable digital health infrastructure for the common good.
Who We Are
We work at the intersection of technology, standards, and policy so people can access, control, and share their health data. Governments, health systems, and funders seek our expertise on interoperable health data systems, and person-centered care, putting the individual at the center of a digital health infrastructure strategy.
Our CommonHealth app lets people gather medical records from 15,000 health systems and data sources and share them securely with providers, caregivers, and researchers. We collaborate with health systems, payers, EHR vendors, phone manufacturers, standards bodies such as HL7 and the CARIN Alliance, and research institutions including UC San Francisco, UC Berkeley, Duke, and Project Jupyter.
We are a key creator of privacy-preserving technology and infrastructure for sharing digital health data. We helped develop the SMART Health Card standard and the CommonTrust Network, making digitally verifiable health credentials available to hundreds of millions of people worldwide, developed digital insurance cards and international patient summaries supported by major mobile wallets, and built the JupyterHealth infrastructure that connects personal and wearable health data to open research.
Through TCP Africa, we advance person-centered digital healthcare. Our KoraLink program, in partnership with the Mastercard Foundation, Society for Family Health Rwanda, and the ICT Chamber, equips young Rwandans, most of them women in rural communities, to bring essential health products and services to underserved communities while building livelihoods of their own.
Across all our work, we champion data privacy, informed consent, and open standards, because we believe good health can't be delivered without good data.
Our Core Principles
Human-Centricity
People are the organizing principle. We empower individuals with their own data.
Responsible Stewardship
Ethical governance, privacy, security, and informed consent.
Interoperability
Open standards, open systems. We treat closed systems as the problem to be solved.
Equitable Access
Built for everyone, especially those most often left behind by digital health.
What We Do
What We’ve Done
Since 2019, we have created and enabled tech solutions designed for data access, interoperability and data privacy.
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2019
TCP established to build the next generation of digital health infrastructure for the common good.
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February 2020
An interoperable solution empowering people with a way to access, store, and share their health information with those they trust.
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August 2020
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Established to build standards for interoperable and verifiable credentials. SMART Health Card standard developed and launched.
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October 2020
Facilitating a safe and secure way to demonstrate health status for international travel during COVID-19.
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April 2021
A global registry of trusted health data sources issuing verifiable health credentials.
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Aug 2021
SMART Health Card VerifierTools to scan and globally verify the trustworthiness of SMART Health Card vaccination credentials (via web or device).
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Sept 2021
A service for governments to verify the health status of incoming travelers.
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March 2023
Putting People First: DPI ReportCompletion of 17 country landscape assessment on digital health maturity and person-centered care on the African continent.
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July 2023
A critical hub advancing person-centered digital healthcare and employment opportunities across the continent.
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Dec 2023
A secure, connective layer for integrating wearable, clinical, and patient-generated data into modern computational and AI-enabled health care workflows.
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March 2025
A demonstration effort in Rwanda building digital health skills, services, and economic opportunity for young women.
Where We Work
Headquartered in New York City, we work with federal agencies, state governments, universities, and major U.S. healthcare and technology players.
Through TCP Africa located in Kigali, Rwanda, we're advancing person-centered digital healthcare across the continent.
“The Commons Project was founded to build health technology solutions where people are the central organizing principle.
Our standards, ecosystems, services and tools transform how people access, manage, and share health data in an evolving digital world. Join us in empowering people with their data, unlocking massive improvements in healthcare, travel, public services, and more.”
- Zhenya Lindgardt
President & CEO
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Recognition & Transparency
The Commons Project Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and holds a Candid Guidestar Gold Seal of Transparency. See our Impact Reports and audited financials in full.