As a trusted resource on people-centered digital transformation, we recently launched a Blueprint for Digital Trust and Inclusion, outlining 7 “Big Bets” that philanthropic donors can influence through collective investment opportunities.  

To unpack these areas further, we’re co-hosting a series of Digital Dialogues, designed to be structured, time-limited engagement processes. With our range of expert stakeholders, we’re developing actionable insights to help overcome obstacles to digital wellbeing, particularly in the context of digital public infrastructure (DPI). Some of our previous initiatives have followed a similar model, such as the Charter for Digital Public Goods (DPG Charter) and the Joint Learning Network on Unlocking Data for Climate Action (Climate Data JLN).  

With our latest Digital Dialogues, we’re focusing on two key components of good digital public infrastructure: Online Dispute Resolution and Impact Metrics.  

Online Dispute Resolution  

The need for – and potential of – online dispute resolution (ODR) to improve the efficiency and transparency of judicial processes and of consumer complaint handling have long been recognized. The benefits of ODR are widely accepted, and usage is certainly growing in legal systems worldwide, especially post-Covid. Yet, despite the advantages of ODR, so far, its use has been limited within the digital public infrastructure (DPI) ecosystem. 

Core DPI layers like payments, digital identity, and data exchange have already increased the number and range of people connected to widespread digital services. These systems, while providing important benefits, can also present risks. That’s why effective and efficient online dispute resolution is needed – both to ensure that users are fairly treated and promote the trust needed to achieve widescale use. Through this Digital Dialogue, we’re unpacking how best to integrate effective online dispute resolution into the design of digital public infrastructure.  

We’re proud to be collaborating with the following experts:  

• David Porteous, Integral Solutions   
• Deepti George, Dvara Research 
• Sachin Malhan, Agami 
• Matt Grasser, Cambridge Suptech Lab 
• Ahmed Dermish, UNCDF 
• Melissa Koide, FinRegLab 
• Chittu Nagarajan, Odr.com 
• Tanushka Vaid, Center for Digital Public Infrastructure 

Impact Metrics   

Today, there are significant gaps in standard, systematically collected measures of digitalization. To the extent there are metrics, they skew heavily toward connectivity access and usage and, to a lesser extent, digitally enabled services. Beyond those, there is little consensus, resulting in a fragmented set of tools to measure people’s trust and experience, the degree of competition in the marketplace, and meaningful enactment of data protections. This lack of a shared understanding undermines our opportunity to advance -and track – progress towards more inclusive and trustworthy digital systems and services.  

As investments into Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) accelerate, we have an opportunity to solidify a shared understanding of impact – one that takes a holistic view of both the opportunities and risks of digitalization – and establish common metrics to track progress against this shared understanding. Through this Digital Dialogue we’re highlighting strategic investments that can help strengthen the DPI impact measurement ecosystem.   

We’re proud to be collaborating with the following experts:  

• Mansi Kedia, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations 
• Marela Lovely Andres, Philippine Statistical Authority 
• Jake Kendall, DFS Lab 
• Noella Dushime Kajeneri, Irembo 
• Ravi Chaturvedi, The Fletcher School at Tufts University 
• Dr. Christian Johannes Meyer, Oxford Martin Programme & Tabiya 
• Dr. Emrys Shoemaker, Caribou Digital & UNDP 
• Jordan Sandman, Co-Develop 
• Matthew McNoughton, Co-Develop 
• Niloy Sarkar, Aspire to Innovate, Government of Bangladesh 

If you’d like to learn more about our Digital Dialogues, reach out to us at info@dial.global.