In an uncertain world, digital government provides the resilience that countries need

In today's landscape of global uncertainty, the role of digital government has become more important as a glue that keeps government and society in constant touch with each other.  

A powerful illustration of this is Ukraine, where the digitalisation of government services has transcended mere convenience.

The digital government has become a vital tool for maintaining governance and facilitating civic participation during the ongoing crisis. 

Even as its physical infrastructure crumbled due to the three-year war with Russia, Ukraine's strong digital public infrastructure (DPI), comprising digital ID, digital payments and data exchange, has become the backbone that has kept the government, society, and economy running and even thriving. 

Ukraine’s “government in a smartphone” superapp Diia continues to power public services, facilitates military intelligence crowdsourcing, and allows the government to rapidly roll out new services such as aid payments, property damage claims, and even online marriages. 

The Ukraine example illustrates how a robust digital infrastructure can become a cornerstone of a country’s economic and societal resilience.  

The lesson to learn from Ukraine’s experience is that governments around the world must proactively strengthen and support their digital infrastructure to deliver inclusive public services and secure operating environments. 

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How digital nations have managed crises and governance 

Digital nations – which are countries that have embraced digital technologies to improve their society, economy and governance – have demonstrated greater resilience in navigating an uncertain world.  

Whether facing wartime, pandemics, or climate disasters, digital nations have been far more effective at managing the impact of crises than their less digitally integrated counterparts. 

For example, Singapore and South Korea's significant investments in a strong digital core - through its legal and technical infrastructure – proved crucial during Covid-19 enabling them to contain the pandemic's spread and manage its impact more efficiently and fairly. 

The rise of open data and open-source innovation have also made participatory governance easier.  

Data acts as a "common language" that governments, citizens, and the private sector can all understand and use together when making public policy, while open-source code allows anyone to inspect how a government develops a solution. 

Such innovations break down the traditional barriers between governments and the people. Instead of a static matrix where the governments provide services and citizens consume them, they have become collaborators. 

This shift also leads to more transparent, accountable, and participatory governance.  

Digital technologies have also been instrumental in connecting diverse stakeholders and facilitating the co-creation of solutions. 

This is evident in the fact that governments around the world are increasingly crowdsourcing and co-creating digital innovations with citizens and the private sector. 

These efforts ranged from Singapore Open Government Products (OGP)’s Build for Good hackathon, Taiwan’s Presidential Hackathon, Ukraine’s new GovTech Lab, to Germany’s CityLAB Berlin. 

Another innovation from Taiwan – that is powered digitally – is its join.gov.tw platform which enables everyone to shape the government’s agenda and influence decisions through petitions. 

If a petition gets more than 5,000 signatures, government ministries will meet twice a month to discuss how to integrate these concerns into policymaking. Over a quarter of these initiatives come from people under eighteen, as reported by The Sydney Dialogue. This is democracy at play. 

Adapting the digital nation to uncertain times 

The Russia-Ukraine war, Covid-19 pandemic and the US-China trade war are among some of the global curveballs driving digital transformation efforts among governments. 

Governments have realised that they need to rapidly innovate, adapt and prioritise digitalisation of public services in an increasingly uncertain world. 

In a move that is contrary to the globalisation push of the past few decades, European governments are increasingly pulling the plug on US big tech - and moving towards open-source alternatives that are sourced within the European Union. 

At the same time, due to increased concerns with regards to data sovereignty and safety, there have been tensions over data flows and the use of technology from certain countries. 

This has led to concerns around the physical location where government data is stored. 

Recognising the limits of individual efforts, many countries are now forging strategic alliances and pooling best practices to build collective resilience against shared digital challenges. 

They are collaborating in areas like digital governance, responsible AI, cybersecurity, and data standards.  

The idea of governments pushing for decentralised and self-sovereign systems would have seemed paradoxical – but is now becoming a practical and necessary approach to secure national IDs in an increasingly interconnected yet vulnerable digital landscape. 

Yet, with cyberattacks jeopardising centralised systems, governments have been increasingly looking at decentralised, self-sovereign identity (SSI) systems. SSI systems shift the control of digital ID from centralised authorities to individuals, allowing them to manage their own data. 

Prioritising inclusivity and trust 

As tech giants in the US and China race for artificial intelligence (AI) dominance through their private sectors, digital governments worldwide face a critical challenge.  

The countries who do not have their own leading AI companies need to determine their role in this rapidly evolving technological landscape. 

The rise of new technologies like AI underscores the crucial role digital governments play in implementing advancements in both governance and inclusive public services. 

Estonia’s Former President, Toomas Hendrik Ilves, acknowledged the realities that prevent Estonia from being an AI creator on the scale of the US or China, but he emphasises his country’s potential to lead when it comes to AI application and governance. 

Hendrik made the point that even if all services digitised, the focus for governments should be to "offer people better solutions to their problems.” 

Similarly for Singapore, its Minister of Digital, Josephine Teo, has highlighted the need for countries to identify their most effective competitive niche in the entire AI value chain.  

“In our case, not a very low-cost operating environment, but one that respects intellectual property. So that is the sort of environment where you can still find something that is meaningful and can be done within your own context,” she said. 

Rather than beating private tech at its own game, Estonia and Singapore offer examples of how governments can focus on skillfully integrating digital solutions to improve public services, as well as carve out unique, impactful niches within the broader tech ecosystem. 

Digital government to steer a whole-of-nation effort 

What this leads to is that the role of the digital government is to steer a whole-of-digital-nation effort.  

This has to go beyond merely digitising existing processes - to focus on reshaping the relationship between the government, private sector, and citizens. 

As Lao PDR Digital Government Centre’s Deputy Director General Vannapha Phommathansy to GovInsider previously: “We recognise that in today's interconnected world, digital technology is not merely an enabler but a driver of economic growth, social inclusion, and sustainable development”. 

The digital government lays the foundation of the modern economy, which includes DPI and the policies and regulations that underpin it. This ensures that the economy grows and operates efficiently in today’s digital-first world.  

Good digital governance also facilitates the digital society, where citizens find it easier to use public services and find information that is important to them. Key to a thriving digital society include digital literacy, trust in online platforms, and overall participation in the digital sphere. 

Digital government creates the ideal conditions for powerful people-public-private collaborations, paving the way for more inclusive and efficient governance. 

However, realising this potential hinges on governments prioritising governance, trust, and security, which are essential to effectively leverage digital capabilities for national security, economic prosperity, and societal cohesion.