Digital Public Goods - fostering innovation and collaboration at a national level.

The biggest challenges the world faces today are those that must be solved together. 

Whether it be the environment, sustainability, global health and education, or social and economic development, only truly collaborative approaches have a chance at making a meaningful impact.

It is in this spirit of openness and collaboration that DPGs, or Digital Public Goods, have a crucial role to play in helping the world achieve its sustainable development goals, especially in emerging economies.

Outside the digital realm, most of us are very familiar with the notion of public goods - think of street lights, public parks, broadcast television and radio signals, scenic views, clean air, knowledge, ideas, and even language.

These public goods are non-rivalrous, meaning they can be consumed or used by one person without diminishing the availability or consumption opportunities for others. And they are non-excludable, meaning it is difficult or impossible to exclude anyone from accessing and using the digital good once it is available.

The digital versions referred to in DPGs are digital products, services or resources that are generally ‘open’, as in open source software, open data repositories, open educational resources or open AI models.

But how can these DPGs contribute to a more equitable, sustainable prosperous world, particularly in emerging markets?

Much of the value of Digital Public Goods is in their accessibility, whereby they can help to foster innovation, enabling - even encouraging - global collaboration and knowledge sharing. By providing a shared foundation of resources that can be built upon and improved collectively, DPGs drive innovation.

DPGs are especially important in their ability to help bridge digital divides since they enable equal access to valuable digital resources, tools, and services, no matter the socioeconomic status or geographic location.

Further, by leveraging open source software, open standards, and shared digital infrastructure, emerging markets can reduce costs and increase efficiency, using those savings to allocate resources more effectively towards development priorities.

This is why they are so attractive for emerging markets on the path of digital transformation at a national level.

Some of the more notable examples of Digital Public Goods that focus on sustainable development goals, or are built specifically to support government e-Citizen Services, include: 

• Digital Identity, for example MOSIP, ID pass, OpenID Connect, OAuth, or Inrupt and Solid Protocol

• Open payment standards, such as Mojaloop, India’s UPI, Thailand’s PromptPay, or Brazil’s PIX

• Civil Registration and Vital Statistics: OpenCRVS is an example of an open-source digital solution for civil registration, designed specifically for low-resource settings

• Social Benefits delivery: OpenG2P is an example of an open-source platform that enables governments and humanitarian organizations to deliver critical social benefits directly to those who need them

• Open Data Repositories e.g., GenBank for genetic sequences, and open mapping initiatives such as OpenStreetMap

• Open AI Models, including LLaMA 2, Falcon 180B, Mixtral 8x22B…

While DPGs offer significant potential benefits in terms of accessibility, collaboration, and innovation, there are significant challenges and considerations that need to be addressed in order for their successful development, adoption, and long-term sustainability.

First, no matter the quality or attractiveness of the technology, effective governance and robust quality assurance mechanisms are essential to mitigate risks - and unintended consequences - associated with the use and scaling of DPGs, such as privacy, security, and ethical concerns. Governance of the DPGs must include clear decision-making processes which involve a diversity of stakeholders, to support the initial development, ongoing maintenance, and eventual evolution of DPGs.

Further, governments must develop supportive policies and frameworks that encourage adoption and incentivise the private sector to contribute to the ecosystem by adding value through innovative products and services built in tandem with these DGPs.

Secondly, there must be a significant focus on ensuring long-term sustainability through secure funding mechanisms, resource allocation, and community engagement strategies. Because these public goods are intended to be built upon, scaled, and woven into the national digital public infrastructure fabric of the communities they serve, it is imperative that the long-term vision promotes awareness and adoption, and encourages contributions and participation from government ministries, businesses and citizens.

And finally, governments which adopt and implement DPGs must prioritize reliability, security, and performance in order to build trust and confidence among users and stakeholders. If a culture of transparency, accountability, and quality assurance (via independent verification mechanisms) is fostered, DPGs will be able to realize their full potential and provide great value to their government, citizen and business stakeholders.

In many ways, the DPGs of today are an extension of the internet which was created 50 years ago, as a public service, intended to be open, free and inclusive. Like the internet, DGPs provide a shared foundation that can be freely accessed, used, and built upon by individuals and communities worldwide.

When governments in emerging markets make the strategic decision to adopt Digital Public Goods, they pave the way for a robust and resilient digital public infrastructure backbone that supports a wide range of digital services and applications, and thereby make significant progress in advancing their national development roadmaps.