Download: GovInsider's Special Report on Digital Public infrastructure

Public rails for private innovation: that’s the promise of DPI - a foundation of interoperable tech that both private sector players and public service providers can build on to improve everybody’s lives. These include digital identity, digital payments, and data exchange infrastructure, but is increasingly referring to a broader approach to whole-of-society digital transformation.

This has been an eventful year for the concept of digital public infrastructure (DPI), a concept that has rightfully exploded in development discourse since 2023, when the G20 Digital Economy Ministers identified DPI as a critical enabler of the Sustainable Development Goals.

This week alone, the United Nations released the Universal DPI Safeguards Framework to promote safe and inclusive DPI, which can be accessed here. Next week, over 100 DPI experts will be attending the first edition of the Global DPI Summit in Cairo, Egypt, discussing topics such as implementation frameworks, regional development trends, and sector-specific DPI solutions. 

GovInsider is also proud to announce that we will be an official media partner of the Global DPI Summit and we are excited to provide coverage of the key sessions at the Summit.

At the start of this year, GovInsider spoke to some key experts to hear from their personal experience on the frontlines of DPI – from leaders who paved the way for open-source data exchange systems, to those tailoring available solutions for their context, and those charting the path for ethical implementation.

These experts include leaders of governments in Estonia, India, the Philippines and Bangladesh, as well as frontliners in the international development space, such as the United Nations and the Co-Develop Fund.

Since these initial interviews were conducted, much has changed: the concept of DPI itself is expanding to include a wide ecosystem of solutions, and time will tell which will catch on. Many more countries have begun rolling out their own DPI initiatives, supported by international players like the United Nations and the Centre for Digital Public Infrastructure.

Last week, the United Nations held a summit to mark the one-year anniversary of the 50-in-5 campaign, announcing that 22 countries are now participating in the landmark DPI programme.

This downloadable report aims to be a useful record of experts sharing from personal experience how DPI is changing the face of the digital economy while empowering the vulnerable; the principles it takes to build sustainable, inclusive, and impactful DPI; and the nuts and bolts needed to make DPI work. 

It is a living document as well: GovInsider continues to report on DPI initiatives from Asia and globally, so do visit our website to stay updated on the ways in which various Asian countries are adopting DPI.

You may read the articles as they were originally published here.