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Governments deploying DPI should engage in concerted efforts to close all digital divides, Quad Leaders say
Acknowledging that digital technologies and systems have the potential to profoundly transform societies, Quad Leaders have come out with a set of principles for the development and deployment of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI). The principles, announced at the 6th Quad Leaders’ Summit in Wilmington, Delaware, on Saturday (September 21, 2024), aim to address issues like inclusivity, interoperability, and scalability in addition to security and privacy.
“We, the members of the Quad, acknowledge that digital technologies and systems have the potential to profoundly transform societies and offer unprecedented opportunities to accelerate the realization of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the achievement of its Sustainable Development Goals. While leveraging the potential of digitalization, we also underscore the importance of fostering an inclusive, open, sustainable, fair, safe, reliable and secure digital future in furtherance of our shared prosperity and sustainable development,” the Quad Leaders said in an official statement.
Digital public infrastructure (DPI) is an evolving concept described as a set of shared digital systems that are secure, reliable and interoperable; built and leveraged by the public and private sector to provide equitable access and improve public service delivery at scale; governed by applicable legal frameworks and enabling rules that provide for a level playing field and fair competition to drive development, inclusion, innovation, trust, and competition, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
“Both safeguards for fundamental freedoms and robust cybersecurity measures are necessary for DPI to be implemented in a way that respects human rights and upholds our democratic principles. Governments deploying DPI should engage in concerted efforts to close all digital divides,” the statement noted.
The Quad leaders laid down the following principles for the development and deployment of DPI:
1. Inclusivity: Eliminate or reduce economic, technical, or social barriers to enable inclusion, empowerment of end-users, last-mile access, and avoid erroneous algorithmic bias.
2. Interoperability: Enable interoperability by using and building on open standards and specifications with a technology neutral approach, wherever possible, while accounting for appropriate safeguards and keeping in view the legal considerations and technical constraints.
3. Modularity and Extensibility: Extensible approach implies a building block or modular architecture to accommodate changes/modifications without undue disruption.
4. Scalability: Use flexible design to easily accommodate any unexpected increase in demand and/or to meet expansion requirements without changing existing systems.
5. Security and Privacy: Adopt an approach that embeds key privacy enhancing technologies and security features within the core design to ensure individual privacy, data protection, and resilience based on standards offering appropriate levels of protection.
6. Collaboration: Encourage the participation of community actors at different stages of planning, designing, building, and operating to facilitate and promote a culture of openness and collaboration. Enable the development of user-centric solutions and facilitate widespread and sustained adoption and allow innovators to develop new services.
7. Governance for Public Benefit, Trust, and Transparency: Maximise public benefit, trust, and transparency while respecting applicable frameworks. This means that laws, regulations, policies, and capabilities should seek to ensure that these systems are safe, secure, trusted and transparently governed, and also promote competition, and inclusion, and adhere to principles of data protection and privacy.
8. Grievance redress: Define accessible and transparent mechanisms for grievance redress, i.e., user touchpoints, processes, responsible entities, with a strong focus on actions for resolution.
9. Sustainability: Ensure sustainability through adequate financing and technological support and enhancements to facilitate uninterrupted operations and seamless user-focused service delivery.
10. Human rights: Adopt an approach that respects human rights at every stage of the planning, designing, building, and operating.
11. Intellectual Property Protection: Provide adequate and effective protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights for the rights-holders of technologies and other materials used based on existing legal frameworks.
12. Sustainable Development: Seek to develop and deploy these systems that contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.
“We, the members of the Quad, acknowledge that digital technologies and systems have the potential to profoundly transform societies and offer unprecedented opportunities to accelerate the realization of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the achievement of its Sustainable Development Goals. While leveraging the potential of digitalization, we also underscore the importance of fostering an inclusive, open, sustainable, fair, safe, reliable and secure digital future in furtherance of our shared prosperity and sustainable development,” the Quad Leaders said in an official statement.
Digital public infrastructure (DPI) is an evolving concept described as a set of shared digital systems that are secure, reliable and interoperable; built and leveraged by the public and private sector to provide equitable access and improve public service delivery at scale; governed by applicable legal frameworks and enabling rules that provide for a level playing field and fair competition to drive development, inclusion, innovation, trust, and competition, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
“Both safeguards for fundamental freedoms and robust cybersecurity measures are necessary for DPI to be implemented in a way that respects human rights and upholds our democratic principles. Governments deploying DPI should engage in concerted efforts to close all digital divides,” the statement noted.
The Quad leaders laid down the following principles for the development and deployment of DPI:
1. Inclusivity: Eliminate or reduce economic, technical, or social barriers to enable inclusion, empowerment of end-users, last-mile access, and avoid erroneous algorithmic bias.
2. Interoperability: Enable interoperability by using and building on open standards and specifications with a technology neutral approach, wherever possible, while accounting for appropriate safeguards and keeping in view the legal considerations and technical constraints.
3. Modularity and Extensibility: Extensible approach implies a building block or modular architecture to accommodate changes/modifications without undue disruption.
4. Scalability: Use flexible design to easily accommodate any unexpected increase in demand and/or to meet expansion requirements without changing existing systems.
5. Security and Privacy: Adopt an approach that embeds key privacy enhancing technologies and security features within the core design to ensure individual privacy, data protection, and resilience based on standards offering appropriate levels of protection.
6. Collaboration: Encourage the participation of community actors at different stages of planning, designing, building, and operating to facilitate and promote a culture of openness and collaboration. Enable the development of user-centric solutions and facilitate widespread and sustained adoption and allow innovators to develop new services.
7. Governance for Public Benefit, Trust, and Transparency: Maximise public benefit, trust, and transparency while respecting applicable frameworks. This means that laws, regulations, policies, and capabilities should seek to ensure that these systems are safe, secure, trusted and transparently governed, and also promote competition, and inclusion, and adhere to principles of data protection and privacy.
8. Grievance redress: Define accessible and transparent mechanisms for grievance redress, i.e., user touchpoints, processes, responsible entities, with a strong focus on actions for resolution.
9. Sustainability: Ensure sustainability through adequate financing and technological support and enhancements to facilitate uninterrupted operations and seamless user-focused service delivery.
10. Human rights: Adopt an approach that respects human rights at every stage of the planning, designing, building, and operating.
11. Intellectual Property Protection: Provide adequate and effective protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights for the rights-holders of technologies and other materials used based on existing legal frameworks.
12. Sustainable Development: Seek to develop and deploy these systems that contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.
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