DPI can affect how people access services, participate in the economy, interact with the government, and how their information is used. The decisions made while building these systems can therefore have consequences well beyond the teams responsible for developing them.
When DPI is designed without engagement from civil society, the private sector, or communities who are the end-users, important needs, risks, and perspectives can be missed. In some cases, consultation can also come too late to influence decisions. An ID system, payments system, or data-exchange layer that is live but not used can quickly become a sunk cost for governments, failing to deliver its intended public value. Beyond the economic consequences, social consequences can also be exacerbated: digital systems that are not used or adopted lead to deteriorated public trust in the government, and rebuilding this requires still more capacity.
Multistakeholder collaboration can help address these challenges and strengthen the trust, reach, resilience, and public value of DPI. Bringing different stakeholders into DPI processes can help:
Build trust and buy-in by designing shared goals and connecting DPI initiatives to the needs and aspirations of wider society.
Identify needs and risks earlier by bringing diverse user experience into design and implementation, and preventing harm to specific communities.
Learn and adapt as systems develop and new challenges emerge.
Maintain trust over time by giving people opportunities to raise concerns and see them addressed.
Strengthen transparency and accountability so people can better understand how decisions are made, how their information is used, and who is responsible when things go wrong.
This approach emphasises building on governments' existing consultative processes and convening power to widen who is in the room when DPI is being developed. In many contexts, collaboration can begin by making existing consultations, workshops, design processes and feedback mechanisms more participatory and consequential and by creating opportunities for continued engagement.
