About Us

The SORMAS Foundation was established in 2022 to support countries with the strengthening of their surveillance systems as well as to ensure the high-quality of the software and its sustainability. The work of the Foundation is structured in four main areas:

  1. Software curation. The software curation includes keeping the software’s epidemiological, technical and data protection standards, and defining and following the SORMAS development roadmap based on the needs expressed by the SORMAS community members. Curation is necessary to avoid early forking of the system and, this way, remain compatible and usable by different countries.
  2. Trainings & certification. This area of work includes trainings of trainers and users in countries and certification of SORMAS services. Trainings (online or presence-based) are addressed to SORMAS users at different levels in the health system. The certification program is addressed to service providers (such as software developers and server providers) that want to have a certified knowledge of SORMAS to offer their services. Both trainings and certifications are integrated in the SORMAS Academy.
  3. Implementation support. This is aimed at supporting countries (i.e. the corresponding ministries and/or health agencies) in the implementation and establishment of SORMAS. It includes: providing preliminary information to countries previous to the implementation of SORMAS (to help deciding if SORMAS is an adequate solution for them); needs assessment (to understand the scope of work needed for the establishment of SORMAS); contribution to the preparation of country plans to ensure the SORMAS sustainability; preparation of specifications for the system customization to countries; quality control; and support during the customization of SORMAS to countries.
  4. Community building. This area of work aims at stimulating and fostering the global SORMAS community of practice (CoP) that includes a variety of actors: users, implementers, software developers and researchers. Activities include regular exchange meetings with current and interested future users and software developers from different countries and organizations, management of the SORMAS online community platform, webinars and events (e.g. SORMAS conference).

The SORMAS Foundation has outlined strategic priorities and corresponding actions across its key areas of work. In “Software Curation,” the focus is on integrating the One Health approach and advancing the development of SORMAS 2.0. Under “Training and Accreditation,” efforts are directed toward the continued expansion of the SORMAS Academy. In the area of “Implementation Support,” the foundation aims to provide ongoing assistance to countries and regions. Lastly, “Community Building” initiatives are centered on strengthening the SORMAS community to foster greater collaboration and engagement. Health equity is a cross-cutting theme in all SORMAS Foundation activities, guiding efforts to ensure that vulnerable and underserved populations have equitable access to healthcare services—thereby contributing meaningfully to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to good health and well-being, reduced inequalities, and strong institutions.