GovTech is on the cusp of a fundamental reimagining. Digital public infrastructure (DPI) – foundational architecture for governments, civil society and private sector actors – in key areas such as identity, payments and data exchanges can have a transformative impact on development trajectories. By enabling a “build once, use many times” approach to public systems, it creates shared infrastructure across the public and private sectors. This is a force multiplier for state capacity. And by allowing civil society and private actors to become co-creators, who can integrate with and build upon these systems, it recasts the relationship between state and citizen.

This digitalisation is vastly different from the digitisation that previous generations of GovTech enabled. It doesn’t merely translate analog processes to digital; it makes possible entirely new forms of governance that foreground accountability and accessibility. But for this transformation to succeed, the institutions shepherding it must be fit-for-purpose. We hope to bring the deep expertise at the roundtable to bear on this core question: How can institutions encompass the wide range of actors, needs and purposes in DPI ecosystems?

We have broken the issue down into problem statements focusing on key areas of concern:

  • – Governance of DPI sits with government in most cases. How can governance institutions be made more inclusive to unlock the full potential of DPI ecosystems?
  • – DPI initiatives can be financed by a range of funders — from the government and private sector to philanthropies and multilateral organisations. Each comes with constraints and path dependencies. What institutional mechanisms can finance DPI in a way that enables multistakeholder participation and doesn’t erode digital sovereignty or strategic control of the system?
  • – Should core DPI, such as identity and payments, have transnational standards or coordination mechanisms? And who should set and maintain these standards?

In this roundtable, eminent experts discussed actionable ideas for refurbishing existing institutions and creating new ones.