Why the Digital ID Community Should Embrace DPI

If you saw my recent post, you know that my contract with Digital Impact Alliance (DIAL) concluded at the end of February.?

I joined DIAL last July as part of the merger between DIAL and ID2020 to facilitate the transfer of ID2020’s intellectual property and help DIAL develop a more nuanced understanding of digital ID and the role it can play in a people-centric model of digital public infrastructure (DPI).

I have relished having a couple of weeks to recover (this was my first significant break since joining ID2020 in January 2020), reflect on the whirlwind of the past few years, and distill some of my thoughts about the opportunities and barriers facing the digital ID industry.??

Having worked at the forefront of social change for 30 years (in government, politics, and various international development nonprofits), I recognize that I spend more time than most of my colleagues thinking about digital ID's potential for social impact (and, while I won't get into it here, the risks and potential harms, as well). Over that time, I have grown increasingly frustrated by traditional donor-driven approaches to development that have proven unsustainable over the long term.

Having said that, I am exceedingly optimistic that, IF we can align the right incentives, there is an opportunity to achieve tremendous social impact while also creating almost limitless commercial opportunities for ID solution and service providers. Win-win!!!

So…let’s talk about the opportunities…

For emerging economies, digital IDs will be a game-changing catalyst for social and economic development. They will substantively improve lives by streamlining delivery and promoting equitable access to a variety of government and commercial services, including healthcare, education, livelihood opportunities, financial inclusion, humanitarian relief, and much more. In my view, digital IDs are one of the most impactful investments we can make to ensure equitable, inclusive, and sustainable growth.??

In countries with more advanced digital economies, digital IDs offer an equally compelling set of benefits. They will underpin a trusted digital economy, improve data security, promote portability, make interactions and transactions faster and more convenient, and allow individuals to selectively share their data where, when, and with whom they wish….and much more!

There is a tendency to think of the Global North and Global South as offering distinct opportunities and challenges. And, while that is sometimes true, it is also true that our economies are increasingly interconnected and interdependent, both regionally and globally.

But...if we are going to talk about the opportunities, we must also talk about the barriers.

We will not reap the full benefits of digital ID until we address the issue of global, cross-border interoperability.?And, here, I am concerned that the digital ID community is missing a crucial—and limited—window of opportunity by thinking too narrowly about the technology (and individual commercial interests) and not paying enough attention to the larger ecosystems and market dynamics that will drive widespread implementation and adoption.???

When you engage with policymakers from around the world, as I have over the past four years, they are quick to point out that for the foreseeable future, government-issued IDs will remain the authoritative means of identification for most (if not all) government and many commercial services, especially in regulated industries such as telecommunications, banking, and health care. Whether we like it or not, this is the world we live in, and governments are loathe to give up that control. ?

So, then, what do we do?

We skate to the puck (or run to the ball...whatever...I come from a football/soccer family)!!!

In September 2023, the G20 issued the strongest endorsement to date of digital public infrastructure and its potential to accelerate progress toward the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) .?

DPI represents a novel way of thinking about government digital transformation and typically combines three core building blocks—identity, payment, and data exchange—to enable governments to “safely and efficiently deliver economic opportunities and social services to all residents.” According to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation , DPI is expected to accelerate economic growth in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) by an estimated 20% to 33%.?

Our challenge is that the global bodies promoting DPI (including multilateral organizations like the World Bank and various UN agencies, governments, bilateral funders, private foundations, civil society organizations, etc.) and the “digital ID community” seem to be operating in silos. If we have learned one thing from the last several years, it is that without early, proactive, and ongoing engagement, governments (often the EU, not hating, just saying) will make technical decisions that may or may not be in the best interests of their constituents (and here, I mean people).?

The digital ID community can leverage this momentum and JOIN the growing community coming together behind DPI to proactively force alignment around the specifications and standards that will enable technical interoperability—and, ultimately, maximize the commercial opportunities—of digital IDs. This may, however, mean focusing less on the endless internecine battles over specs and standards and instead working collaboratively to create a robust digital ID solutions and services market.

Ultimately, we need systems that serve the day-to-day needs of real people. Taken alone, digital ID does not offer a particularly compelling value proposition –?either to individuals or to governments. However, as part of a comprehensive digital transformation strategy that enables unprecedented access to services, economic opportunity, and more it becomes a much more exciting opportunity.

Will we choose to take it?