Countries across the world are putting in place digital public infrastructure (DPI) for inclusive public service delivery and streamlining e-governance initiatives. COVID-19’s impact on vulnerable groups has also highlighted the need for a dynamic, tech-driven response by governments. DPI clearly has the potential to enhance state capacity, find solutions for the inequitable distribution of the value created by the digitalisation of government and markets, and promote transparency and accountability.
Global adoption of DPI has so far largely been dominated by efforts to develop solutions to governance-related challenges, including financial inclusion and public health, with governments playing an outsized role. The vision for global adoption of DPI has so far largely focused on ensuring such government-led cooperation, with the assistance of multilateral institutions, international not-for-profit organisations and philanthropic capital. It has also largely been focused on helping governments develop solutions to governance-related challenges.
However, alternative visions, new models and institutional innovation can facilitate multi-stakeholder governance and build on the foundational layers of DPI to unlock market as well as societal value. But do these alternative strategic visions, that foreground the co-creation of DPI with private sector actors and civil society organisations, exist? And if they do, how can we identify and leverage opportunities to use DPI to tackle the challenges of tomorrow?
Artha Global organised a roundtable on the adoption and future of Digital Public Infrastructure with Anirudh Suri, author of The Great Tech Game. The discussion focused on growth models of DPI in different jurisdictions, and the need for robust private sector and civil society participation to drive this growth. A diverse group of stakeholders were part of the discussion, from philanthropists and technology builders to policy thinkers and multilateral agency representatives. While looking at current DPI roadmaps, the participants also discussed financing models and potential lessons and examples from historical precedents that can inform DPI evangelisation.
The discussion touched upon a range of important questions:
1) Is the main purpose of DPI to focus on helping governments develop solutions to governance-related challenges? What is the role of the private sector and market in a DPI-enabled future?
2) Should DPI be developed by countries as either a soft or hard tool of diplomacy? Can DPI be harnessed as a national economic asset to achieve strategic goals in the international power sphere?
3) How have countries in the past spread the adoption of infrastructure across national boundaries, and what lessons can be drawn for DPI?
4) What are the key hurdles politically and economically for the global adoption of DPI, and how can we overcome those constraints?
Download the Discussion Note here