DPI Podcast: Demystifying Digital Public Infrastructures
In this first episode, we understand the concept of digital public infrastructures, its role in the digital economy, and how is it different from the traditional digital development approaches. Our guest for the episode is David Eaves, who’s a thought leader in the DPI and DPG space.
My key takeaways from the conversation are -
- The DPI approach is to unbundle the key digital components required to facilitate governance, and build those as infrastructure blocks. They are typically ID, payments, data exchange, etc. The implementation of these blocks is DPI.
- These blocks can be open source, proprietary, or built in house. The open source blocks used in putting together a DPI are digital public goods (DPGs).
- The DPI approach is different from the digital development/ICT4D. It differs by taking a common infrastructure approach and not build siloed solutions for healthcare, social assistance, education, etc.
- The DPI conversation is picking up now because of the last decade saw a few mature models evolve across a few countries. The pandemic accelerated the need for governments to rethink their governance approaches and not see digital as an key enabler.
- Exclusion is a big risk of implementing DPI, and hence thinking through access is a key governance principle.
David is an Associate Professor and Deputy Co-Director of the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose at University College London. At UCL he teaches and writes on the intersection of digital transformation, digital public infrastructure, and the opportunities technology presents to re-imagine public value. David also serves as the Senior Vice President of investments for Co-Develop Fund.
He previously served as a Lecturer of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. Was co-founder and CEO of ReCollect — a successful civic tech startup that grew to serve over 400 governments across North America. He advises numerous governments on their digital transformation and open data strategies and open source projects like Mozilla and OpenMRS on governance.
David has also had the privilege of working with public interest technologists worldwide, doing seminars with many of the Code for America fellows, White House Presidential Innovation Fellows, and Code for Canada fellows.
David’s Writings on DPIs/DPGs -
The Narrow Corridor and the Future of Digital Government
Best Practices for the Governance of Digital Public Goods
The Digital Systems Every Country Needs in the 21st Century
