Co-Develop Digital Public Infrastructure for an Equitable Recovery - August, 2021
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CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
Co-Develop
Digital Public Infrastructure
for an Equitable Recovery
August, 2021
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CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
More than a decade ago, For the Indian government, the Aadhaar
Foreword system became the foundation for digitization
in 2009, India started a of multiple government schemes and welfare
bold initiative. It created programs. With a unique identifier, the
government could clean up their beneficiary
a program to give more lists and remove duplicates. The unique
than a billion residents a identifier was used to speed up know-your-
customer processes and open bank accounts,
unique identity, and I was in order to enable beneficiaries to receive
cash transfers directly and instantly.
fortunate enough to have The point to take home here is that the
led this mission called Indian government wasn’t rolling out one
development intervention; they were building
Aadhaar. digital public infrastructure. Aadhaar by itself
could only prove your identity. However,
The word Aadhaar means “foundation” in plugging Aadhaar into multiple programs
several Indian languages and summarizes supercharged the overall welfare delivery
the thinking behind the program. Aadhaar is experience for both governments and
just a 12-digit number. The physical identity residents.
cards issued have no special significance
and can be reprinted by residents as needed. Aadhaar was a foundational identity system,
A number is issued to every resident who but over the next decade, complementary
wants one, even if they have no previous digital infrastructure has been built in the
identification on record. space of payments and data exchange.
These systems were all designed as Lego
By itself, the card does not entitle you to any blocks—they could be recombined and
benefits. It is only used to prove you are who stacked on top of each other to create new
you claim to be. Just five and a half years after and unique solutions. A Bank of International
its launch, India issued its billionth Aadhaar. Settlements report published in 2019 said that
Today, more than 92% of India’s now 1.4 billion due to its digital public infrastructure, India
people have an Aadhaar.1 For the people, managed to achieve in 7 years the kind of
Aadhaar became the foundational document. progress in financial inclusion that would’ve
taken 47 years otherwise.2
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CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
The same infrastructure was used to deliver
financial aid directly and rapidly to residents
when the pandemic first hit. India may have
been early on the digital infrastructure
initiatives, but we are definitely not the only
ones. Today, many countries are adopting
the approach of building digital public
infrastructure to support their visions of a
digital future. There are multiple open source
digital public goods being developed to
support these journeys.
The pandemic has made the need for this
infrastructure even more pressing. We can’t
just aim for recovery, we need to aim for a
better, more resilient future. It is time for us to
act together and mobilize more resources to
co-develop digital public infrastructure.
Nandan Nilekani
Chairman and Co-founder, Infosys
and Founding Chairman UIDAI (Aadhaar)
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CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
Executive Summary As Covid-19 spread across the world, digital systems
that enabled people to continue working together,
to collect and manage data, and to build new tools
proved to be an important foundation for response.
These were digital public infrastructure (DPI)—
systems that accomplish basic but widely useful
functions at a societal scale and that can be used
to build new applications for the greater good.
Around the world, governments and partners However, billions of people live in places with
responded to Covid-19 by combining and no functional DPI; billions more, in countries
building upon DPI functions like digital of all income levels, are poorly served by,
identity, digital payments, and health data excluded from, or can’t trust key DPI systems.
exchanges. These systems became a
crucial tool for gathering the data needed This is fixable. We can build strong, locally
to understand disease spread, organize appropriate DPI everywhere. It will require a
the logistics of response, and distribute new approach, one that integrates domestic
emergency cash transfers to mitigate hunger investments, international cooperation, and
while helping people stay safe at home. international development assistance alike.
Every country can benefit from cooperating
As the battle to control Covid-19 and recover with others to create shared software,
from it continues, DPI will be a key tool for standards and governance expectations, and
including more people in the digital economy, a more robust ecosystem of private partners.
for enabling good governance and service And every country can contribute something,
delivery, and for developing new tools to be it code, money, or expertise.
respond to other urgent threats, especially
climate change and its disastrous impacts.
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CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
An agenda for international cooperation could 4. Tools for using data in DPIs for public value
focus on six key elements: and private empowerment. While protecting
people and privacy is paramount, the data
1. A vision for DPI as a whole, backed by flowing through DPI systems is potentially
practice, research, and evaluation. a rich source of insight for applications like
The different layers of DPI can enable new detecting disease outbreaks.
applications and innovations—if they can work
together. They also have common inclusion, 5. Private and public capacity, particularly
security, and rights challenges. Connecting in implementing countries. Implementing
the layers, and the communities building DPI starts with people with the right technical
them, is a first step. and design skills—but it also requires the
right policies, procurement processes, and
2. A global commons based on Digital governance ability. There are promising new
Public Goods. Open source software and strategies for building relevant capacity in
standards that qualify as Digital Public Goods governments, businesses, academia, and
(DPGs), such as DHIS2, the world’s largest international networks alike.
health information management system
platform, provide a new, more equal model 6. Silo-busting, built-for-purpose
of international development cooperation. coordination, funding, and financing. DPI
They can spread development costs, systems contribute to multiple societal goals
rapidly propagate innovation, and promote and are used by many different types of
interoperability, transparency, and other agencies and businesses. Governments,
good practices. businesses, and funding agencies structured
around fragmented programs struggle to
3. Safeguards for inclusion, trust, see their value and manage them to their
competition, security, and privacy. DPI full potential. International coordination can
systems have the potential to accelerate support domestic political vision in breaking
inclusion and responsible knowledge down silos and delivering DPI that works for
sharing—or to exclude and surveil people. everyone.
A mix of institutional, policy, and
technological protections will be needed.
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CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
Introduction: By understanding digital identity, payments, and
Co-Developing data exchanges as elements of DPI, we can build
Digital Public them more rapidly, maximize their benefits, and
Infrastructure minimize the risks they create.
The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated two This report argues that DPI systems are This report collects and distills lessons acquired
existing global trends: Increasing reliance on their own class of digital tool distinguished from the collective research, writing, and thinking
digital systems and growing economic and from others by their broad scale and the of many people and organizations. We especially
social inequality. The two intersected. In cases importance of their functions for societal- learned from group conversations organized by
where digital systems worked effectively level goals. By understanding digital identity, The Rockefeller Foundation, the Digital Public
and served all people, they helped reduce payments, and data exchanges as elements Goods Alliance, and The Brookings Institution,
inequality. In other cases, the poorest were of DPI, we can build them more rapidly, most notably successive editions of the 17
ill-served or excluded by digital tools. maximize their benefits, and minimize the Rooms process from 2019 to 2021 and a set of
risks they create. four convenings with representatives of funding
In particular, the pandemic proved the organizations in June and July of 2021. However,
value of digital systems that were already Billions of people aren’t served by even the the views expressed here are those of the au-
in widespread use, had basic but flexible most basic DPI. Billions more—including many thors and are not meant to represent the position
functions, and could be applied to the living in high-income countries—are served of any of these organizations or individuals.
pandemic response effort and other common by weak DPI or are excluded from using it.
challenges. Closing that gap will require changing how The experiences of the pandemic led a broad
we think about development assistance, range of visionary technologists and public
These digital public infrastructure (DPI) international cooperation, and domestic servants to see a window of opportunity to
systems included digital identification, infrastructure in every country. An emerging collaborate on building DPI and thereby chan-
payments, and data exchanges. None of them co-development model, based on collective, ge how we approach both digital systems and
were created with the pandemic in mind, but open-source software and standards, international development.
they became critical enablers of the public offers ways of building DPI in which high- This is an attempt to capture and communicate
health, social protection, and economic income and low-income countries alike both the pathway and potential that they see.
responses by governments, businesses, contribute and benefit, and in which public The body of this report is followed by examples
organizations, and individuals. and private entities partner in new ways. of work carried out by this community that add
detail to the arguments laid out here.
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CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
What is Digital As Covid-19 spread across the world last year,
Public its impacts were fast and society-wide, ravaging
Infrastructure? health and livelihoods. The question was:
How can our societies respond with equivalent
speed, scale, and breadth?
Digital systems played a key role in this
response. Amid the profusion of apps, 1. 2.
dashboards, data collection tools, and other They were already in widespread use Their functionality was basic but
resources used for pandemic response, one by people and organizations across powerful and broadly applicable.
specific type of digital system consistently whole countries or sectors, creating They could be combined with each
proved its worth beyond all others. a common platform that promoted other and additional systems, allowing
These were digital platforms that had a set connection at societal scale. them to be creatively repurposed or
of three specific characteristics that enabled built on top of to meet the challenge.
pandemic responses to be built and stacked
atop other platforms:
3.
The functions these systems enabled
had core societal importance. While
not always built or operated by the
government, they were regulated or
managed by the government, and their
functions could be applied to solving
public problems.
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CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
IDENTIFICATION PAYMENTS DATA EXCHANGE
(e.g. Digital personal identification or (e.g. Digital money transfers or (e.g. Health information exchanges
civil registration and vital statistics government-to-person payments) or information management systems,
systems) logistics management systems, and
financial data exchanges)
These characteristics distinguish these systems Identification systems that promote Togo’s emergency cash transfer program
from other digital systems, making them digital trust by verifying information about a (See Example 1) is one example among
public infrastructure (DPI). These attributes person, business, or other entity. Examples many of a pandemic response built on top of
are shared by other familiar society-wide, non- include digital personal identification, civil these DPI systems. The West African country
digital tools such as roadways or currency. registration and vital statics systems, and used elements of DPI to quickly target and
DPI systems build on telecommunications digital business registries. deliver cash assistance to its most vulnerable
infrastructure, allowing the public to do new residents in areas most impacted by the virus.
things with their connectivity. Payment systems that enable
transactions and the exchange of value. Other countries also deployed cash transfers.
DPI is often described as a stack, with Examples include digital money transfers or However, Togo’s DPI and cash transfer
individual DPI systems playing specific government-to-person payments. deployment model through a public-private
functions as layers that interface with each coalition allowed the country to execute more
other. What these are will depend on local Data exchange layers that allow quickly and efficiently than its peers, including
context and change over time. However, information to be managed and shared easily many countries with far greater resources at
three general functions are critical almost but securely among a diverse network of their disposal.
everywhere: users. Examples include health information
exchanges or information management
systems, logistics management systems,
integrated social registries, and integrated
financial management systems.
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CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
DPI IN ACTION HOW CAN DPI SYSTEM WORK TOGETHER? TWO EXAMPLES.
TARGETED EMERGENCY CASH TRANSFERS GETTING A LOAN
Thandi: I’d like a loan to
Government:
expand my business. There’s
There’s a drought. We want to
no bank in my village. My
send cash transfers to poor
business is growing and my
farmers in the affected area.
payments records prove it.
1. We link databases to find people IDENTITY
1. I certify that I’m Thandi and
who are 1) farmers, 2) in the Certifies who you are authorize the bank to access
affected area and 3) low income. Links you to your records and accounts payments records linked to me.
We link to their bank accounts. Authorizes your consent to a transaction
DATA EXCHANGE
2. We gather data from agriculture,
Gathers information and insight from many 2. My payments provider shares
social welfare, and disaster
nodes in a network the records with the bank.
agencies.
Shares data for authorized uses
PAYMENTS
3. We send emergency cash 3. The bank grants my loan and
Sends payments from one account,
transfers to the selected people. sends the money.
to another
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CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
Many, but not all, DPI systems are built using
open source software and standards classified
DPI is not a one-size-fits-all solution. Each country as digital public goods (DPGs). DPGs channel
will have unique needs for DPI and a unique set the shared effort of a community of
contributors—past, present and future.
of challenges in building it. However, the basic They also promote good practices and
functionality is inherently similar everywhere, provide a way to rapidly share innovations
around the world, as was seen in the fight
opening up opportunities for global cooperation. against Covid-19.
DPGs are a crucial tool in the creation
of digital identity, payments, and data
exchanges. For the purposes of this report,
however, the key distinction is that DPI refers
to implemented, operational systems; DPGs
refer to open software, data, content, and
standards that can be used to build a system
(DPI or otherwise). DPI and DPGs overlap in an
important and growing set of “DPGs-for-DPI”
primarily intended to be used to build DPI
systems (See Example 2).
10CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
DPI for Impact 1.
A NERVOUS SYSTEM TO ASSIST
2.
A CORNERSTONE FOR SOCIAL
and Equity PANDEMIC RESPONSE, PUBLIC
HEALTH, AND HEALTHCARE DELIVERY
PROTECTION
One of the barriers Covid-19 required a response that Cash transfers were an imperative first
to building DPI is that stretched across facilities, agencies,
and even borders, making DPI that
response to the livelihoods and food
security impacts of the pandemic in
systems like identity, could do the same especially useful. countries around the world, doubling
payments, and data Health data exchanges, such as Sri
Lanka’s Covid-19 tracking modules
in value in 2020 relative to 2019.4
They also were an important tool for
exchanges benefit (See Example 2), were essential encouraging people to stay at home to
to detecting and understanding reduce transmission. Digital identity,
multiple types of outbreaks; even patterns in digital payments, and government data
users in different ways, payments provided clues to the course exchanges made it possible to deliver
of the disease. Logistics management money promptly and securely, to target
making it difficult to systems, digital identification, and payments to the most vulnerable, and
assess their value. payments were all tools for managing to reach people who were isolated or
and tracking responses such as vaccine moving.
Covid-19 showcased delivery.3
several clear use
cases for DPI.
Pandemic recovery
and other challenges,
such as climate
change, point
towards others.
11CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
3. 4. 5.
AN ON-RAMP TO THE DIGITAL AN ENGINE FOR EFFECTIVE, A PLATFORM FOR FUTURE
ECONOMY ACCESSIBLE, AND ACCOUNTABLE INNOVATIONS FOR EDUCATION,
GOVERNMENT CLIMATE, ENERGY ACCESS,
AND OTHER CHALLENGES
DPI reduces the practical and cost Covid-19 demonstrated the key societal DPI systems are already being applied
barriers to using payments, savings, role of government, but also exposed to facilitate both online and in-person
credit, and other tools for individuals weakness in many governments’ ability education during the pandemic.8
and small businesses. It can also give to collect data and coordinate complex New possible applications include
them access to and use of important responses. Meanwhile, efficiency making it easier to purchase renewable
data about their lives, businesses, and and fighting corruption are perennial energy and to manage complex energy
markets. These factors explain why priorities for governments and citizens grids that integrate wind and solar
one estimate suggests that a digital alike. Rigorous research shows that generation at varying scales.9
identity system can create value of DPI systems like digital payments and
between 3% and 6% of a nation’s digital identity can have measurable
economy.5 While financial inclusion has results on government effectiveness.
long driven attention to digital identity For example, a study of use of Aadhaar
and payments, the need for these DPI in one Indian state estimated that the
systems intensified in a pandemic digital identity reduced “leakage” in
where social distancing and contactless the distribution of subsidies to families
transactions became paramount. Even by 14% of the total subsidy value. DPI
as the global economy contracted in can allow governments to eliminate
2020, mobile payments boomed: Total redundant systems and data collection,
transaction volume mobile payments close data gaps and silos, cut leakage
increased by 22% globally, the number in payments to and from governments,
of active users by 17%, and the value of enable transparency, and facilitate
international remittances sent through mobile and online engagement and
mobile accounts increased 65%.6 service delivery. Examples like Estonia
(See Example 3) point to the potential.7
12CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
A focus on equity
Within each of these use cases, strong
DPI systems make it possible to promote
equity. Cash transfers provide an example.
People living in poverty have smaller cash
reserves, are less likely to have a bank
account, and, in many countries, are more
likely to migrate internally. Strong DPI
can help deliver aid quickly, prioritize the
poorest, and reach everyone everywhere,
while ensuring that the execution States, 58.6% of eligible adults below the pover- nience and subsidy receipt. The difference
promotes equity. ty line had received emergency cash transfers appears to be the way the programs were
within one month of disbursement, versus designed around the identity system.13
The impact of DPI can be seen in the 77.5% of adults not in poverty. This resulted, in
results. Globally, emergency cash transfer part, from the fact that poor people were less The pandemic is still ongoing, with deeply
programs using primarily electronic likely to have a bank account and more likely unequal impacts. As of this writing, the majo-
distributions distributed their first to have their account and eligibility data on file irty of the world’s population has yet to be
payments 51 days after the first stay-at- with the US Government.12 vaccinated for Covid-19. Other public health
home order on average, versus 86 days and education programs have faced enor-
for those using manual methods.10 Having Simply implementing DPI systems is not mous setbacks. To the extent that recovery
information about who was where and enough to support equity; the programs and has happened, it has favored the wealthiest
their approximate level of vulnerability products using them—whether in business or people in rich countries, especially those able
enabled Togo to prioritize getting funds to government—must also be designed to pro- to use digital tools to adapt. True recovery will
residents most in need (See Example 1). mote equity. Results from India consistently take years and will almost certainly involve
In India, Covid-19 lockdowns forced an showed that using digital identity to verify obstacles. The climate crisis will add to the
estimated 10 million people to migrate recipients reduced corrupt leakage of subsi- already heavy burden faced by the world’s
internally, making digital identity and dies. However, some studies also showed poorest. Ensuring all countries can build out
payments one critical tool for helping cash unintended consequences: A small proportion DPI systems is one of the most proactive steps
and food aid reach people on the move.11 of people were wrongly excluded or experien- the world can take to help drive recovery,
ced significant inconvenience, with the most make recovery more equitable, and prepare
Elsewhere, weak DPI made the response vulnerable most affected. Elsewhere, there for future challenges and threats.
slower and less equitable—in the United were broadly shared benefits in both conve-
13CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
Digital Public Countries that already had in place digital
Infrastructure ID systems, digital payment systems, and
in Action: Pandemic trusted data sharing systems have been better
and Recovery equipped to mitigate the socioeconomic
impacts of the pandemic.
EXAMPLES OF DIGITALLY ENABLED COVID-19 RESPONSE SUPPORTING DPI SYSTEMS
ID PAYMENTS DATA
Vietnam leveraged its existing communicable disease surveillance/data
sharing system and developed a new online case reporting system for
tracking suspected and confirmed Covid-19 cases
Bangladesh rapidly developed a Covid vaccine prioritization plan using
population data from the Bangladesh National Identity Card system
Mozambique rapidly added global product definitions to their existing
digital supply chain system (OpenLMIS) to immediately track PPE,
diagnostic, and vaccine delivery supplies for Covid response
Togo leveraged its election database and mobile-payment system to Global cash transfer coverage grew
introduce a cash-transfer program which delivered emergency-relief
payments to workers in the informal economy (e.g., street vendors,
by 240% from March–December
hairdressers) whose livelihoods were impacted by lockdown measures 2020. 166 governments launched 429
cash-transfer programs, expanding
India delivered emergency financial support to 200 million women by the number of global government-
direct payments to women’s ID-linked payment accounts
to-person payment recipients by 1.1
Pakistan expanded the number of residents receiving cash-transfer billion people, covering 14% of the
support by 281% (supporting 101 million people during the pandemic), using world’s population.
its digital-identity and social-registry systems and launching a mobile-based
platform so citizens could enroll without face-to-face interaction
*Table recreated, with permission, from The Case for a Global Financing Platform Digital Public Infrastructure
presentation prepared by SEEK Development on behalf of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
14CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
A Common Global Developing a common vision, political
Need buy-in, and coordination across the
whole of government or even the whole
of society can be a challenge everywhere.
An estimated one billion people lack access India showed what is possible when it rolled
to any foundational identity, digital or out its Aadhaar digital identity program in
otherwise—in low-income countries, one in 2009, which today covers 1.2 billion Indians
two women lack identification, limiting their or 99% of the country’s adult population.16
access to participate in formal economic and Since then, it has further developed the “India
political structures.14 1.7 billion cannot send stack” by adding additional layers, pioneering
digital payments; another 1.9 billion are not the concept of DPI.
served by the most rudimentary digital health
services.15 Billions more people live in places The lessons of Covid-19 make the problem-
where DPI doesn’t cover most people, costs solving value of DPI clear. This will make it
too much, raises privacy or surveillance risks, simpler to build the necessary political will
or simply doesn’t work well. and vision. However, business as usual won’t
make this vision reality with the required scale
This need is not limited to lower or even and speed. To move forward fast enough,
middle-income countries. Many high-income we need a different approach. Thanks to
countries have weak DPI and the process the efforts of visionary public servants,
of improving and evolving DPI is never technologists, designers and others, we have
truly finished. The nature of the barriers one: Co-development.
can vary: In lower-income countries, cost
and capacity are barriers; in high-income
countries, unwinding legacy systems can be
as formidable. Developing a common vision,
political buy-in, and coordination across the
whole of government or even the whole of
society can be a challenge everywhere.
15CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
In consultations with a broad set of public Every country needs better DPI, no matter
Co-Development: servants, technologists, and advocates we’ve the income level or technical capacity.
Global Cooperation, heard a common refrain: The world needs a
positive vision for technology that strengthens
Every country can benefit from cooperating
with others to create shared software,
Local Ownership societies by supporting innovation, inclusion, standards and governance expectations, and
human rights, and good governance. a more robust ecosystem of private partners.
Governments need to show that they can use And every country can contribute something,
technology to deliver services for their people be it code, money, or expertise.
and take a proactive role in creating the
systems that underpin the digital economy, on This model has been put into action around
behalf of all their residents. the world. However, outdated approaches
to governance, budgets, financing, and
This vision calls for a world in which every procurement are blocking the way. Rapid
country has DPI that supports its social and progress toward this vision will thus require
economic needs and is open to broad usage changes that extend across government,
and application to new purposes. DPI systems businesses, and international organizations.
will enable all people to have full participation Fortunately, we do have good examples that
in markets and government services equally, show what is possible and what is needed.
no matter a person’s income, disability,
gender, rural/urban location, or other status. Co-developing DPI requires six key elements
A robust set of safeguards will protect people to come together:
and businesses from surveillance, misuse
of data, and exclusion from services, while 1. A vision for DPI as a whole, backed by
still giving them the ability to access and use practice, research, and evaluation
their data, and allow data in the system as a 2. A global commons based on Digital
whole to be analyzed for legitimate research, Public Goods
advocacy, and public value purposes. 3. Safeguards for inclusion, trust,
competition, security, and privacy
Just as importantly, this vision calls for a 4. Tools for using data in DPI for public value
different approach to development, one that and private empowerment
integrates domestic investments, international 5. Private and public capacity, particularly
cooperation, and international development in implementing countries
assistance alike.
16CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
1. we develop DPI that helps all clinics do the
A vision for DPI as a whole, same—or the entire health sector, or even the Diversity of impact, with a variety
of use, users, and problems that
backed by practice, research, whole country?
can be applied
and evaluation
The second perspective is vertical, seeing the Network effects, which create
connections between identity, payments, and more value as more people and
various data exchange layers as tools that can places connect—but can also
Two new perspectives are needed to co-deve-
be combined and integrated, instead of sepa- create natural monopolies
lop DPI. Both are already embedded in other
rate, siloed standalones.
terms used for DPI such as “national stack” or Integrative, meaning that the value
“societal platforms.” of DPI grows as new functions are
There are substantial differences between built “on top”
varying layers of DPI, such as identity, pay-
The first perspective is horizontal, seeing
ments, and data exchanges. But they all share Universal, with functions that are
digital systems not as just “IT” but potentially
characteristics that make them a hybrid of fairly similar across sectors and
forming infrastructure that connects whole
infrastructure (e.g., roads, telecom networks, borders
societies. For example, rather than help a
currency) and other digital platforms (search
group of clinics keep track of its patients, ma- Human-facing, used by people
engines, social media):
nage their data, and process payments, can in their social, economic,
and physical context
Evolving, with a need to be
continually improved (not just
maintained) as technology and
society changes
Ubiquitous, with a tendency to
become de facto prerequisites
for modern governance and
commerce, making it difficult to
opt-out of their use
Data generating, potentially
creating detailed information
about users and their activities
and interactions
17CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
How we co-develop a vision
More support for research on DPI will help,
but so will more and better cases of DPI in
action. Focusing international attention on a
set of reference implementations to rapidly
build knowledge and serve as inspiration is
one option for moving more quickly. Moving
forward will require investment in a new
body of practice, research, and evidence that
answers the following questions:
How will we measure progress on DPI? What is the impact of DPI? What works?
Despite important advances, Evidence that DPI results in progress Again, playbooks, case studies, and
the development community is against the Sustainable Development peer networks exist for specific layers
only beginning to create broadly Goals and national priorities is needed but still need investment; for DPI as a
comparable performance measures to drive financing, funding, and political whole, they are in their infancy. It will
for identity, payments, and data commitment. Gathering evidence on be important to have a range of cases
exchanges as individual layers. A which attributes and investments have to understand not just what works
vision for DPI would go beyond that, the highest value will help us direct them. best, but under what conditions and
establishing common measures A growing body of research supports the for what objectives. Crucially, practice
across layers, and assessing the stack impacts of individual layers on narrow research should include not just
as a whole. Crucially, measurement outcomes, but very little research exists technology and design but also policy,
systems would need to look at the on the impact of DPI as a whole across procurement, community engagement,
systems themselves, the experience multiple use cases. It will take time and and governance.
of people using it, and its role in ingenuity to assess the broad and varied
society, answering questions such nature of DPI impacts. In the meantime,
as: Are systems secure? Do the layers we can track how DPI makes specific, hi-
interoperate? Do women use them less ghly important capabilities possible, such
than men? Do people trust them? as the ability to rapidly and securely deli-
ver targeted cash transfers, or to detect
and organize response to an outbreak.
18CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
2. The use of well-established, well-supported
DPGs and other open source solutions for
A global commons based
scaled, sensitive, mission-critical systems
on digital public goods
is neither new nor risky. Governments have
quietly been using DPG-like projects to build
scaled systems since the 1960s.17 Almost
Countries wanting to implement DPI face a
every modern commercial digital product now
dilemma: The technical burden of creating,
relies on open source solutions such as Linux
maintaining, and evolving a DPI system from
in some way.
zero is infeasible for most countries, and yet
each country will want to ensure that it can
A particularly relevant class of DPGs are those
set its own path, accommodating its unique
that can be used to build DPI systems such as
needs, legacy systems, and future challenges.
digital ID or health data exchanges in-country.
These “DPGs-for-DPI” include a growing set of
DPGs provide a resolution to this dilemma.
screened and well-coordinated open source
DPGs, as defined by the UN Secretary-
solutions listed on the Digital Public Goods
General, are “open-source software, open
Registry. The development and maintenance
data, open AI models, open standards and
of these DPGs is typically either funded by
open content that adhere to privacy and other
international development donors, as in the
applicable laws and best practices, do no
case of MOSIP (See Example 2), or funded
harm, and help attain the SDGs.” The Digital
by one or several governments as part of
Public Goods Alliance manages the DPG
maintaining their own DPI, as in the case of
Standard that operationalizes this definition
X-Road (See Example 3).
(See Example 4).
DPGs are at the heart of co-developing DPI.
They are collective digital solutions, freely
available for all to modify, add to, and deploy.
This distributes core development costs
across many different implementations, while
allowing implementers to customize to local
conditions and extend functionality to new
needs.
19CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
Many of the most relevant DPGs-for-DPI-projects
originated in low- and middle-income countries,
but now have implementations and contributors
around the world, shattering outdated
stereotypes of how technical innovation spreads.
Sri Lanka’s response to Covid-19 provides an DPGs can generate competition and prevent Well-established DPGs like DHIS2 are
example. The government deployed a vendor lock-in by lowering entry barriers and supported both by a well-resourced core
customized, real-time Covid-19 monitoring opening up new roles for vendors. Businesses team and the collective contributions of a
system days before its first case of the virus. play a critical role in DPG implementation, con- community, making ongoing maintenance,
The system was built on top of DHIS2, a free, trary to the myth that DPGs displace for-profit development, and extension easier.
open source software health data system that providers. Instead of full system builds, vendors
originated in South Africa in the late 1990s can offer DPI management consultancies and DPGs support modern software
and is now a global resource coordinated by implementation services, building on DPGs. development practices, such as early user
the University of Oslo (See Example 2). This can include DPGs implemented as software, testing, rapid iteration, and the use of modular
Sri Lanka in turn shared its Covid-19 as service, or as proprietary product offerings components.
modules with the other countries using within an open-standards structure.
DHIS2—73 countries representing 30% of Over time, DPGs can be built by many:
the world’spopulation. That community The code in a DPG is openly accessible by governments, vendors, academics,
further developed the models and many of nature, making it easier to examine for security individuals, and others with a stake in the
them implemented it themselves, in turn and other potential problems. success of DPI. They can reduce barriers to
contributing further improvements to the entry and encourage smaller local firms to
community. Most DPGs-for-DPI are designed for work on DPI and also innovate on top of them,
interoperability, both domestically with other supporting local tech ecosystems and helping
DPGs have several features that make them common DPI systems and internationally with countries take ownership of their own digital
especially useful for implementation as part other deployments. ecosystems.
of DPI:
20CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
How we co-develop digital Sufficient, stable funding for Intentional contribution
DPGs-for-DPI and support of code to DPGs by
public goods
for the communities that governments, vendors, and
build and maintain them is others is critical. We can
For most governments and potential DPI
an essential first step toward celebrate the commitment
operators, using a DPG will only be viable if
this common toolset. of governments such as
it is backed by strong project management
Sri Lanka, Sierra Leone,
and a robust community of contributors and
Promotion of DPGs-for-DPI and Estonia in sharing as
vendors. The following will help build a critical
to governments, private they build out their own
mass of competitive DPG options across the
companies, and universities systems—and call for
range of DPI needs:
is essential to grow the others to join them. One
ecosystem of contributors constructive proposal is for
and implementers. In every government to have
particular, helping firms of open-source strategies
all sizes understand DPGs- specifying how they plan to
for-DPI, identify market use and contribute to DPGs,
opportunities, and pitch their and what they plan to ask
DPG-based services could be of vendors in terms of code
helpful. contributions.
More reference Coordination of the
implementations will help landscape is crucial given
build the credibility for DPGs- the collaborative and
for-DPI. Only a few DPGs distributed nature of DPGs.
(DHIS2 is one exception) The Digital Public Goods
have a large number of Alliance offers a framework
implementations with long for this through a model
track records. Defraying the of core, coordinated,
costs and reducing the risks and aligned activities,
for first movers could help inspired by open
blaze the path for others. source communities.
21CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
3. DPI, nonetheless, raises significant risks. parts of the world; intentional effort will be
If DPI systems don’t meet the needs of the needed to help ensure the same pattern isn’t
Safeguards for inclusion,
vulnerable and marginalized, they will only reinforced in DPI.
trust, competition, security,
reinforce inequality and exclusion. If they are
and privacy used for corrupt, extractive, or authoritarian At the same time, the answer to these risks
purposes, they can become ways of can’t be disengagement or obstruction.
surveilling people, of denying them access to Analog systems and weak, subscale DPI
basic activities and services, or of extracting systems usually allow more substantial
undue profit or competitive advantage. problems of inequity, exclusion, rent
extraction, and security risk. Not acting leaves
All of this can happen intentionally, or these more familiar problems in place, while
simply out of inadequate attention. The it also raises the possibility that demand for
preconditions are there. For example, we these tools will be filled without due attention
know that there is gender imbalance in mobile to safeguards.
phone use and access to the internet in many
22CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
How we co-develop safeguards well-tested code can promote transparency never be used to promote uptake of digital
and security. Portals that allow users to see systems. Even where DPI operators can’t
There are steps that governments, businesses, and control who has access to their data and directly control such decisions, they have a
funders, international organizations, and how it is being used can help prevent abuse. responsibility to set the right expectations and
others can take—and are already working on. guidance.
Joining forces can help. These include: Build up institutions and processes
Most of the factors that promote good DPI Experiment and learn from other fields
Adopt and operationalize a normative aren’t technical; they are processes and insti- As with other areas where technology is
framework of “good DPI” tutions. These include redressal mechanisms having major impacts on societies, we don’t
Building and using DPI is the work of many and alternatives for when systems fail; marke- yet have a full toolbox of safeguards, and DPI
different institutions and people. They ting, outreach, community consultation, and invokes complicated questions of national
should all have clear expectations about inclusive design processes to ensure everyo- sovereignty and balances between public
what “good DPI” looks like, how to assess it, ne is served; and transparency and outside and private interests. Ideas drawn from other
and what safeguards can be placed in and advocacy to hold systems accountable. So, fields like bioethics—such as an institutional
around systems. Communities that have too, are general data protection rules and review board for DPI systems—will be worth
been building identity, payments, and data institutions to administer them. Institutional testing.18 Exercises to understand risks to
exchanges have conducted value-setting capacity isn’t just government; the media and security and rights will also help.
exercises for their layers that provide a basis civil society need support in deeply analyzing
for creating complementary expectations the implications of DPI and changing it for the Imagine the worst case scenarios,
across the stack. The following “Good DPI” better. but be realistic
example builds on these to capture one The most likely problems aren’t the stuff of
vision for what good DPI should be. However, Promote good use of DPI dystopian science fiction, but ones we’ve
statements of intent will still need to be Crucially, field research shows that many of already seen. These include a government
converted into real-world measures and action. the decisions that shape the impact of DPI on denying payments to opposition-linked
inclusion and other factors are external to the organizations or using the implication
Start with good design and technology systems themselves. No one should be denied of surveillance to intimidate voters, or a
choices healthcare, schooling, social protection, or payments system operator quietly using the
For example, limiting data collection and other essentials because a system (digital or data passing through a DPI system to gain
using tokens, encryption, and on-device otherwise) didn’t work, they didn’t have an an edge over competitors in other business
computing to limit data exposure can help opportunity to enroll, or because they choose lines.19
protect rights and privacy. Exhaustively not to use it. These are questions of policy
testing that technologies and interfaces and program design—both the benefits,
work for every user in the social and physical and risks, of using the DPI system need to
context can promote inclusion. Using open, be planned for. Denial of services should
23CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
Norms such as the following are crucial to Sustainability and iteration
“Good” DPI making DPI not only useful, but supportive DPI must not just be maintained, but also
of innovation, human rights, and democratic adapted and extended to better meet the
societies: needs of users and societies and to respond
to new innovations and challenges.
Commonality and interoperability
As more people use a function to interact with Competition and public agency
each other, the possibility for collaboration Like other types of infrastructure, agency over
and commerce grows. Integration and intero- DPI systems confers power and creates the
perability are thus key to realizing the poten- risk of monopoly; no single for-profit or foreign
tial of DPI, whether that integration occurs entity should have formal or de facto structural
across borders, sectors, or organizations. agency over DPI without appropriate checks.
Openness Transparency, accountability, and redress
DPI creates unexpected value when it allows The essential nature of DPI functions raises
a variety of uses and users to work together, the stakes for people, communities, and
enabling new innovations and markets to be businesses; we all need to know how DPI
built upon them. functions and have reasonable alternatives
and the ability to correct problems.
Inclusion and equity
Being usable by all without regard to socio- Legitimate public and private use of data
economic status, disability, or other barriers The data passing through DPI as aggregate
promotes commonality and makes DPI an en- is an important public resource for policy,
gine for equality and an escape from poverty. research, and innovation; public value use
should be promoted while protecting privacy.
Integrity and security Similarly, individuals and companies need to
As a system that is trusted and promotes be able to access, use, and share the data that
trust, DPI reduces the friction and cost of concerns them.
doing business.
Protection of rights and privacy
Use of data passing through DPIs must be
actively protected from extralegal and abusive
use to ensure that systems do not become
instruments of surveillance.
24CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
4.
Tools for using data in DPI
for public value and private
empowerment
DPI systems process
and sometimes store
large amounts of
data about users
and their activity in
real-time. As we note
above, this can pose
risks, but it also has
enormous potential This value is most obvious for DPI systems like across data describing the activity of many
a health data exchange, whose core functions users. For example, using the frequency of
value for both users might include helping ensure continuity in-person payments in a particular area has
and society, streng- of care for a single patient and analyzing
disease patterns across an entire population.
assisted in studying compliance with stay-at-
home orders and their economic impact.
thening the case for However, the data passing through other DPI
investments in DPI. systems is also valuable. This value could be
generated by an individual or business using
These private and public uses of data need
to be balanced with an effort to protect users
“their” data. For example, a small business and data. There are ways of achieving both
owner might send her record of transactions use and protection, but none are perfect.
over a payments platform to a bank in order
to qualify for a loan. In other cases, the value
might be generated by analyzing patterns
25CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
How we co-develop tools for
data use and empowerment
Balancing and resolving the apparent conflict
between use and protection of data is an
active area of experimentation that stretches
far beyond DPI systems. Some promising
practices and ideas are:
Promote standardization of data Invite stakeholders from research and
structures across countries and systems policy communities into conversations
to make analysis and portability. about DPI design early on to understand
their data needs and show them
potential DPI applications.
Create rules and mechanisms for data
portability, giving users the ability to
Create institutional processes that Invest in the development and use of grant consent for others to access
can steward data by making decisions privacy-preserving computing methods data about them, to move it between
about who can access which data, that allow insight to be generated from services, and to download it. India’s
for what purpose, and under what individual records while still limiting data Digital Empowerment Architecture
conditions. exposure, such as federated learning. is a promising experiment in this.20
26CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
5. Greater support for cross-functional, Budget, procurement, and development
cross-agency capacity promotes a DPI assistance policies need to be modernized to
Private and public capacity,
mindset. For example, the creation of encourage good practices in developing DPI
particularly in implementing
government digital service teams that provide and in using DPGs. For example, traditional
countries expertise and coordination across silos leads risk-mitigation practices encourage rigid,
to a horizontal approach to problem solving detailed specifications up front. This works for
and the use of common tools.21 highway construction, but cripples the fast,
iterative process of modern digital product
DPI requires a different set of capabilities
National digital strategies that specify the development. Alternative risk-management
from more traditional infrastructure: human-
role of DPI and an approach to DPGs can help approaches—such as shorter project cycles—
centered research and design, product
set overall vision, so long as they are specific, can both improve results and allow smaller
development, social outreach and training,
flexible, and realistic. local vendors to bid successfully.
cross-sector planning, data governance and
security, and never-ending iteration and
DHIS2 and its global community Other models exist for helping
improvement.
successfully proved the strategy that governments and other DPI-implementing
supporting implementation-oriented entities access talent from the private sector
This is both a challenge and an opportunity
academic programs relevant to DPI and or peer governments. Secondments and
for governments, academia, and businesses
DPGs can serve as long-term generators short-term rotations are one; organizations
in every country. These capabilities can be
and repositories of expertise. such as iSPIRT or US Digital Response, which
rare and costly, but investing in them has the
deploy well-qualified volunteers alongside
potential to spill over beyond DPI, energizing
Governments need people at every level their peers in government, are another proven
local tech sectors and making government
who can take ownership of a vision for DPI method.22
more effective.
and set direction, whether or not they rely on
outside help for execution. Salaries are often Good data governance and data
a barrier, but changing other barriers—such protection rules, both general and specific
How we co-develop capacity
as job titles, hiring requirements, and remote to DPI, are important, but must also be
work or professional development policies— supported by institutions and processes that
Governments, development agencies, and
can also help. enforce and update them.
international organizations will all need to
invest more in capacity and shift the types of
capacity they prioritize. Crucially, “capacity”
should be understood broadly, including
policies and processes as well as skills and
technical tools. Some specific ideas include:
27CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
6.
Silo-busting, built-for-purpose
coordination, funding,
and financing
DPI poses a challenge for the governments,
businesses, and development finance
institutions charged with supporting its
creation for the following reasons:
DPI has impacts that stretch across DPI needs to be continually developed
specific projects, organization, sectors, over time, yet can still have substantial
and problems, making it difficult to up-front costs delivering long-term
value, justify, and coordinate in returns, making it neither a capital or
institutions that are built around operating expense.
programmatic and project silos.
Funding and procurement processes Many official institutions still treat
intended to reduce uncertainty can digital systems as a novelty sitting
eliminate the fluidity that constitutes outside of core programs or bury
best practice in digital product them as a lower-level priority within
development, as described above. program silos.
28CO-DEVELOP: DIGITAL PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR AN EQUITABLE RECOVERY
Individual governments can reach out to
How we co-develop better
each other directly or via entities such as the
coordination, funding, and
Digital Public Goods Alliance (See Example 4)
financing
to find governments with similar needs to
co-develop tools.
Resourcing is a critical part of the
development cycle for DPI, and governments
Reform procurement and funding policies
and development institutions can help by
to accommodate best practices in developing
changing how they work and coordinate
digital systems and a wider range of vendors.
practice at both the domestic and
international level.
Provide more longer-term support for DPI
and DPGs-for-DPI to account for continual
Invest more in DPI by justifying its value
evolution and development, and to build
across multiple programmatic objectives.
confidence in their stability.
Create horizontal coordinating
Consider pooled funding approaches
mechanisms and strategies that can help
meant to help with all of the above. The Bill
identify opportunities to invest in DPI rather
& Melinda Gates Foundation commissioned
than siloed funding for potentially duplicative,
early research that estimated a coordinated
isolated systems (e.g., discrete systems for
fund to accelerate progress on DPI for
vaccinations and HIV could be replaced with
identification, payments, and health data
a general health information management
exchanges might initially need $160–$340M
system with modules for each objective).
annually, supplementing existing funding
for DPI. This would have three streams: core
Increase investment in common tools
DPG-for-DPI projects, technical assistance
(such as DPGs) that can be adapted to
and capacity building, and support for the
multiple contexts and roles, and encourage
early stages of implementation in certain
projects to take advantage of these whenever
countries.23
appropriate, rather than developing their own
tools from scratch.
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