At Trickle Up, innovation and research aren’t side projects—they’re central to how we learn, adapt, and scale impact. As we look ahead to 2030, we’re deepening our investment in understanding what works, for whom, and under what conditions. Our Innovation and Research Agenda is designed to generate actionable insights that strengthen our programs and contribute to the broader field of economic inclusion. We’re focusing on two key areas with the potential to unlock new pathways for resilience, empowerment, and locally led development: digital agency and local systems strengthening. 

Why These Two Focus Areas? 

As part of our 2025–2030 strategy, we’ve zeroed in on digital agency and local systems strengthening because we believe they hold the greatest promise for accelerating economic outcomes and driving sustainable scale. 

This agenda allows us to explore and innovate through focused learning, while feeding back insights into real-time program improvements. Here’s how we’re approaching each focus area: 

Digital Agency: Building Confidence and Control in the Digital Age 

Digital products and services—including smartphones and financial apps—can be powerful tools in supporting the resilience of vulnerable populations living in extreme poverty, but access alone isn’t enough. Barriers to usage and control persist, which must be addressed so participants can engage with these tools with confidence, autonomy, and security. 

That’s why our work on digital agency goes beyond digital literacy. We aim to support the confidence and independence that our participants need to engage with digital platforms meaningfully. This means not only ensuring access to devices, but also challenging social norms, breaking barriers to usability, and fostering trust in digital systems. True digital agency for women is their autonomous use of digital devices and platforms—meaning they have full control over how they use digital services and platforms to support their needs, ambitions, and livelihood activities.  

When participants have digital agency that provides them with access to, use of, and control over their digital experiences, they have the power to make informed decisions, overcome information poverty, and unlock opportunities that enable their full participation in the economy.  

What We’re Exploring 

Rather than creating solutions to address externally defined problems, we’re starting by focusing on   the lived realities of those who partake in economic inclusion programs. Doing so will help us to both leverage existing solutions—such as WhatsApp and YouTube—upon which participants already rely, and also design and deliver digital solutions that are rooted in the actual needs and context of the intended users.   

To test this, we’ll ask several key questions:  

• What enables individuals to use digital products and services with autonomy?  

• How can digital tools and content be designed to be culturally relevant and accessible for Indigenous women living in extreme poverty, and what factors enable their effective use?  

• What shifts in decision-making and control happen when women adopt new tools? 

• How can we increase women’s access, use, and control of digital devices by focusing on digital agency?  

• How do aspirations influence digital access, use, and control? 

• What are the most effective ways to measure an individual’s control over their digital experience?   

To answer these questions, Trickle Up will pilot and test a range of approaches in our programs across India and Latin America. The insights from this research arm will help us refine our understanding of digital agency, develop robust measurement tools, and inform our own programming. In addition, we hope to add to the broader discourse on this topic across the social, public, and private sectors.  

Local Systems Strengthening: Shifting Power to Drive Scale 

Lasting, scalable impact doesn’t come from outside—it’s built from within. That’s why we’re committed to recognizing that local institutions and organizations have the power to take ownership of economic inclusion programming in their communities, and supporting them as they take the reins. By strengthening the capacity of local actors and decentralizing program design and delivery, we can ensure that resources flow directly to those closest to the communities we serve. 

Our hypothesis is simple: when local governments and civil society actors have the capacity, resources, and decision-making authority, programs are more relevant, responsive, and sustainable—and they can ultimately better prioritize the needs and aspirations of local communities.  

This research agenda is still taking shape, but we’ll draw from both our decades of work with local governments and agencies and current global discourse on local systems strengthening to guide our approach. 

Looking Ahead 

Through this research, we hope to: 

• Inform our internal program design 

• Develop a scalable model for locally led economic inclusion that can be adapted across diverse contexts 

• Create practical tools for building partnerships and resource allocation alongside community-based organizations and local governments 

• Advocate for national and regional policies and funding mechanisms that support local implementation 

This work will help us, and others, embed proven economic inclusion strategies into local systems, ensuring that change is not only delivered locally, but led locally. 

A Collaborative Path Forward 

Trickle Up’s commitment to strengthening local systems is a cornerstone of our 2025–2030 strategy.  

We’ve dedicated the resources to ensure this research not only sharpens our own program design, but also informs our future strategy and contributes to the global economic inclusion learning agenda. These focus areas will complement our ongoing cross-cutting program efforts on gender, market-based solutions, and climate resilience. 

We know we can’t do this alone. Innovation and research thrive on collaboration. Whether through joint research, knowledge exchange, or co-designing solutions, we invite opportunities to learn together and amplify impact. We welcome partners from academia, civil society, the private sector, and government who share our commitment to inclusive development.  

If you’re interested in exploring these critical areas or want to join us in advancing evidence-based, locally led solutions, we’d love to hear from you. 

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