Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) - Part 2 Q&A

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) is a relatively new term which is slowly working its way into the public lexicon, most often in the context of national development roadmaps - where it’s seen as an accelerator of SDG goals and an enabler of national identity programs - or as part of broader discussions on the future of infrastructure in general.

We provided a broad overview of DPI in this Part 1 article, and here in Part 2 we’ll do a Q&A format to address some of the most common DPI questions. 

What is DPI? Where did the term come from?

The idea of digital infrastructure was already being explored in the 1990s with the internet and GPS coming of age, and by the 2000s notions of a digital commons, digital public goods, and ‘government as a platform’ were being discussed.

The idea of digital public infrastructure further coalesced in the early 2010s as countries like China, India, and Estonia began to build digital government and national digital identity platforms, and in doing so needed to build the digital infrastructure to support their initiatives.

By the 2020s the term was being used to describe the interoperable digital building blocks essential for delivering public and private services, and during India’s G20 presidency, an official description was proposed and agreed by the G20 group of countries.

How is DPI different from other types of digital infrastructure?

DPI differs from conventional digital infrastructure models in its emphasis on interoperability, open standards, and enabling population-scale access through public-private collaboration under robust governance focused on public interests like innovation and inclusion.

DPI takes a modular, minimalist approach focused on solving core bottlenecks rather than relying on monolithic, proprietary, vendor-locked systems. DPI actively facilitates and requires participation from private players across innovation, adoption and execution layers.

Finally, DPI embeds legal obligations, privacy safeguards and standards directly into the digital architecture for trust and accountability.

What was the big conceptual shift in thinking that led to DPI’s growing popularity?

Much of the thinking that led to the DPI boom was pragmatic - in order to build population scale systems, cost was a factor, and so moving away from the Traditional Custom Build model, i.e. proprietary, expensive, slow and rigid systems, was a necessity. 

DPI was maturing at the same time that decentralized computing, cloud infrastructure, and APIs were also gaining traction, so a shift to open standards and protocols to take advantage of those new technologies was a significant shift. This allowed governments to focus on more cost effective foundational infrastructure layers, with the private sector then being able to design, innovate, and flourish on top, in many different forms.

The thinking behind this ‘layered innovation’ was that if the traditional vertical pipes could be unbundled, then APIs could be layered on top of each other, and a dramatic change in pace of innovation could happen which otherwise might not have happened.

Perhaps the biggest conceptual shift, then, was in the development of principles, instead of designing technological specifications.

What are some of those key principles of DPI?

The key DPI design principles are generally accepted to be:

• Minimalist, Reusable Building Blocks: DPI takes a modular approach focused on creating minimalist, reusable digital building blocks, so that one system doesn’t need to do everything, but rather only focus on the specific area in which they are experts.
  

• Interoperability: DPI emphasizes interoperability between different systems and solutions through the use of open standards and specifications. This allows components to work together seamlessly.

• Enabling Ecosystem Innovation: The DPI architecture aims to enable and promote diverse innovation by various ecosystem players (private sector, startups, etc.) by providing open APIs and building blocks.
  

• Federated and Decentralized: DPI solutions prefer remaining federated and decentralized rather than centralized, to prevent monopolies and enable competition.
  

• Security and Privacy by Design: DPI embeds robust security, privacy safeguards and standards directly into the digital architecture from the outset to ensure trust and accountability.

Which countries are most active in implementing DPI?

India pioneered the concept of DPI through its India Stack, which includes the Aadhaar digital ID system, Unified Payments Interface (UPI), and Data Empowerment and Protection Architecture (DEPA). India is actively sharing its DPI expertise and offering access to the India Stack architecture with developing countries.

Estonia introduced the X-Road interoperability platform in 2001, considered the backbone of e-Estonia which allows secure data exchange between public and private organizations.

Brazil has undertaken several DPI initiatives like Cadúnico (social registry), PIX (instant payments), Gov.br (digital platform for public services), and digital ID. Brazil is also working on data governance frameworks and expanding broadband connectivity to more than 40 million households across rural areas through programs like PNBL, and PBLE.

Bhutan has implemented National Digital Identity infrastructure, and countries like Sri Lanka, Morocco, and Philippines have started adopting components of India Stack, indicating growing global interest in the DPI model.

Who are the most active funders and supporters of DPI?

A diverse range of philanthropies, countries, multilateral institutions, and financing vehicles are actively funding and promoting the development of digital public infrastructure worldwide.

International organizations like the ITU, UNDP, World Bank, the IMF and others are mobilizing funds and technical assistance for the UN High Impact Initiative on DPI to support 100 countries in developing DPI by 2030.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has a strong focus on ensuring digital infrastructure that is open, accessible, and empowers everyone, and the Rockefeller Foundation’s “Co-Develop” is a first-of-its-kind philanthropic fund dedicated to helping countries adopt inclusive and safe DPI. Along with the Centre for Digital Public Infrastructure, the Digital Public Goods Alliance, the UNDP, they are supporting the “50 in 5”, a country-led advocacy campaign which aims to help 50 countries design, launch, and scale components of their digital public infrastructure by 2028.

What is the role of the Private sector in DPI?

For DPI to be successful at scale, widespread adoption by the private sector is essential. DPI aims to solve only the minimum bottlenecks, leaving ample opportunity for private players to innovate and provide final solutions and service delivery to citizens.

Significant private sector participation is required for the execution and implementation of DPI components, typically through technology service providers and system integrators.

The private sector is expected to drive innovation by building ancillary services and solutions on top of the core DPI components, for example, by developing lending, e-commerce, and other use cases leveraging the interoperability and verifiable credentials enabled by DPI.

DPI is the perfect opportunity to introduce Public-Private Collaboration, with the government laying down the rules and guidelines, and the private sector driving execution, adoption and value-added services.

In essence, the private sector plays a vital role across multiple layers - innovation, adoption, and execution - while the government facilitates the core DPI framework, ensuring the principles of public interest, inclusion, and fair competition are upheld.

What are some of the main use cases for applications built on DPI?

National digital identity is one of the first use cases that takes advantage of DPI. This is important because a trusted and secure digital identity system is necessary for other services and products to be built in a seamless, secure, and consent-based way.

Payments is another early use case that has been implemented in various countries. India, for example, introduced Unified Payments Interface (UPI), an interoperable real-time mobile payments system allowing transfers between different banks/wallets, soon after the introduction of their identity system. And Kenya's M-Pesa mobile money system and Brazil's PIX instant payment system are other early DPI-enabled applications.

Fintech and e-commerce sectors are also among early innovators, leveraging other components such as e-KYC and e-Sign for innovations in lending and financial services.

It is expected that applications for sectors like health, education and agriculture will soon emerge.

What are the major benefits of DPI?

In some ways, DPI’s biggest benefit is that it serves the public, individual citizens, first and foremost. Through this vision, a host of other benefits emerge:

1. Enabling Efficient and Inclusive Public Service Delivery: DPI streamlines and automates delivery of e-Citizen Services, and financial services like cash transfers, making them more efficient, accessible and equitable for citizens. During crises like the COVID-19 pandemic, countries with DPI components could provide emergency relief and social protection to a larger share of the vulnerable population.
   

2. Fostering Innovation and Economic Growth: DPI provides open APIs, standards and building blocks that enable private sector innovation and introduction of new digital services rapidly. It stimulates entrepreneurship, public-private collaboration and drives competition - unlocking economic opportunities and inclusive growth.
   

3. Improving Access to Financial Services: Core DPI components like digital ID and payment systems enable rapid expansion of financial inclusion by allowing people to open bank accounts, receive wages digitally and access credit seamlessly. This enhances economic empowerment, especially for underserved groups like women.
   

4. Enhancing Healthcare Access and Delivery: DPI facilitates seamless data exchange between healthcare providers, reduces duplication of efforts and streamlines processes like vaccine delivery. It improves healthcare affordability and accessibility for citizens.
   

5. Advancing Digital Inclusion and Rights: DPI emphasizes principles like interoperability, open standards and accessibility to promote digital inclusion for all. It enables exercising of digital rights and data ownership for citizens through robust governance frameworks.
   

6. Mobilizing Financing for Sustainable Development: DPI can be leveraged to enhance transparency, data sharing and unlock innovative green financing mechanisms aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals.
   

7. Enabling Data-Driven Governance: Robust DPI implementations allow governments to leverage data for evidence-based policymaking, monitoring progress and delivering citizen-centric services effectively.

In essence, DPI provides a foundational layer facilitating efficient public service delivery, private sector innovation, financial/digital inclusion and sustainable development when implemented through a rights-based, people-centric approach backed by good governance.