Building inclusive digital public infrastructure: 5 insights | World Economic Forum | Aug 2, 2022

"...Building on UNDP’s engagements in a range of countries, the following five insights are key to designing impactful technical assistance for DPI: For DPI to be inclusive, it must take a whole-of-society approach. While the development sector is recognising the importance of DPI for development, building digital public infrastructure is not “just” a development agenda — it is an opportunity to shape components of the infrastructure in a direction that serves the public interest and accelerates digital inclusion, increasing countries' digital sovereignty. This requires investing in country dialogues, co-creation and inclusive planning. Regional cooperation and planning, such as through the Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement, can support the creation of common standards for digital rails that enable trade and related sectors to thrive. Governance of DPGs for DPIs requires new models of digital cooperation. The joint management and maintenance of any resource by sovereign entities — particularly of key digital infrastructure for services offered by the state — carries with it significant questions of governance. This provides an opportunity to work together with countries on strategic decisions around choice, data portability, data empowerment, interoperability among others to create and support new models for digital cooperation between countries. A people-centric approach to building DPIs is critical to protect people and drive inclusion. As governments are starting to prioritise investments in digital public infrastructure, it is important to consider both the technical and ‘non-technical aspects’ of building inclusive infrastructures. Among the latter is a people-first approach that focuses on equity, good governance, and regulatory frameworks that ensure that no one is left behind. Engage the local digital ecosystem for lasting digital transformation. Building local capacity goes way beyond deploying international experts to work side by side with government partners. Engaging local stakeholders, such as universities and accelerators, is key. CMU Africa’s Upanzi Network for Digital Public Goods is an example for long-term capacity investment in DPG implementation and maintenance. More evidence for the impact of DPGs for building DPI is required. The potential of open-source and DPGs building digital public infrastructure is significant. Adopting a DPG can lower costs and speed up adoption. DPGs can also form the basis for a system of solutions that are interoperable and can plug-and-play across each other. To increase and prioritise the right investments, we need to better understand how digital public goods used to build DPI benefits the Global Goals. UNDP, Co-Develop Fund and the DPGA are already working with countries to measure the contribution of DPI to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda. We have now an opportunity to re-imagine technical assistance and co-create locally. Cases like that of the Indian government’s Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC), an ambitious digital public infrastructure for e-commerce, highlight the potential of DPGs for creating open and decentralised DPI, curbing digital monopolies and supporting micro, small and medium enterprises and small traders. This is just one of the many examples of the good that DPGs can do in society. To fully realise the benefits of DPI and DPGs, further commitment and investment is needed from all stakeholders, including governments, organizations and companies. In doing so, we will collectively increase our chance to deliver on the SDGs and further improve people’s lives."