Article Type: Expert comment

Data, when responsibility unlocked, offers huge promise to tackle some of the most pressing issues within global development. However, the process of unlocking data is a dance between policy and technology. With complex considerations and nuances coming from both sides, it’s essential to have a clear — and collective — understanding of the key language and the ideas underlying it. In this expert comment, we help unpack some of these common terms, providing insights and real-world examples into the world of data.

As the effects of climate change worsen, carbon credit markets are an increasingly important tool in reducing global emissions. Yet, for these systems to be wholly effective, they require access to credible, transparent, and representative data. Digital public infrastructure (DPI) offers one approach to advance the large-scale data exchange needed to mitigate the challenges faced by carbon credit markets, while simultaneously promoting interoperability, scalability, and trust.

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, the importance of citizen portals cannot be overstated. These platforms serve as essential gateways for people to access government services, fostering transparency, trust, and efficiency in governance. Nowhere is the need for such portals more critical than in Africa, where digital inclusion is a driving force behind socio-economic development. 

Data touches everyone, everywhere, making good data policy an inherently a cross-cutting and complex endeavor. Participatory processes for crafting and implementing data policy are one essential step in overcoming governance challenges and fostering an inclusive digital ecosystem.

Over the past decade, millions of people in Africa have gained access to the internet, with the number of internet users surging by 115% between 2016 and 2021. As more individuals, organisations, and governments across the continent embrace digital platforms and services, the need for secure and efficient data exchange becomes paramount. With its UGHub platform, Uganda offers valuable insights for countries across Africa as they seek to implement new digital and data exchange systems.

From driving much-needed economic growth in low-income countries to bridging the digital divide, digital public infrastructure (DPI) offers incredible opportunity. Yet, without a shared vision of the impact of DPI and comprehensive indicators to meaningfully measure the benefits – and risks – we will fall short in understanding whether it has delivered on its promise.