Digital Public Infrastructure

#concepts

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) refers to a set of digital systems and solutions that enable countries to efficiently provide essential functions and services across society in both the public and private sectors. DPI encompasses several key aspects and foundational components, serving as the backbone of a country's digital infrastructure, much like how physical infrastructure connects people and goods.

Foundational Components

DPI typically includes four core components:

Digital Identity Systems: These provide a unique digital identity to individuals, enabling secure access to various public and private services. Examples include national ID systems and biometric identification systems.
Registries: These include various digital registries like Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS), social registries, farmer registries, and disability registries, which maintain critical records for different sectors and purposes.
Digital Payment Systems: These facilitate electronic transactions and financial inclusion through secure, efficient, and accessible digital payments, including mobile money platforms and government payment portals.
Data Exchange Systems: These platforms enable the secure and seamless exchange of data across government departments and between the public and private sectors, ensuring interoperability and data security.

Cross-Cutting Nature

DPI is designed to be foundational and cross-cutting, serving multiple sectors such as finance, health, agriculture, and education. It provides a shared means to various ends, enabling digital transformation across society. This cross-cutting nature ensures that DPI supports diverse applications and services, promoting holistic digital development.

Open and Interoperable

DPI is built on open standards and promotes interoperability. This approach allows for the creation of reusable digital building blocks that can be mixed and matched to address various use cases. Open standards ensure that different systems can work together seamlessly, fostering innovation and preventing vendor lock-in.

Inclusive and Scalable

A key goal of DPI is to promote inclusive economic participation and the efficient delivery of public services. DPI aims to create open and competitive digital economies that can scale to serve entire populations. This inclusivity ensures that all individuals, including marginalized and vulnerable groups, have access to digital services, reducing inequality and promoting social justice.

Governance and Ecosystem

DPI involves not just the technology itself but also the enabling governance frameworks and a community of innovative market players. This ecosystem approach drives innovation across public programs and services. Effective governance ensures that DPI is implemented ethically and responsibly, respecting privacy and human rights.

Public and Private Sector Collaboration

While often initiated by governments, DPI is designed to enable both public and private sector innovation. It creates "digital rails" that allow for broad participation in the digital economy. Collaboration between public and private entities leverages the strengths of different stakeholders, enhancing the robustness and sustainability of digital infrastructure.

Risk Mitigation

The implementation of DPI must consider and mitigate risks such as the exclusion of those without digital access, cybersecurity threats, and personal data protection vulnerabilities. Addressing these risks is crucial for maintaining trust and ensuring that the benefits of DPI reach all segments of society.

Global Relevance

DPI has emerged as a point of convergence across countries, recognized as a powerful strategy to drive inclusive and sustainable economic growth. By implementing robust DPI, countries can enhance their ability to deliver services, foster economic growth, and build resilience in the face of challenges like the COVID-19 pandemic. DPI's global relevance highlights its potential to transform governance and development worldwide.

Infrastructure Thinking

The Center for Digital Public Infrastructure (CDPI) emphasizes the importance of "infrastructure thinking" in developing DPI. This approach involves designing reusable digital building blocks that can be applied to multiple use cases, rather than creating bespoke solutions for individual problems. Infrastructure thinking promotes efficiency and scalability, enabling governments to address a wide range of priorities effectively.

References

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DPI