Article Type: Expert comment

In today’s digital age, technology is the ultimate double-edged sword – holding the potential to benefit or harm, to uplift or undermine. Its true impact on individuals and society lies in the choices we make in its design, deployment, and governance. Amidst this technological balancing act, digital public infrastructure (DPI) offers a pathway to harness digital power for public good – but it must include robust, effective safeguards. Read more in our expert comment.

Trusted, accessible data is crucial to promote a positive digital future. In this expert comment, read about our recent body of work highlighting data exchange, as well as its opportunities, considerations, and impact on people.

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.