Page 51 - Building digital public infrastructure for cities and communities

2. Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).
3. Private Sector & Start-ups.

4. Academia & Experts.

5. Public Sector Agencies.
6. International Partners.

Designing inclusive engagement mechanisms

Meaningful stakeholder engagement is essential to the legitimacy, usability and long-term
sustainability of DPI. To support this, policymakers can adopt a variety of participatory tools and
mechanisms. Digital assemblies and public town halls offer structured spaces to gather community
feedback on DPI priorities and service design. Citizen panels and co-creation labs bring end-
users into the process of testing and refining DPI components such as digital identity systems or
consent dashboards, ensuring solutions reflect real-world needs. Open consultations, where draft
policies, technical standards, or architectural frameworks are published for public input, promote
transparency and inclusive governance.

Equally important are continuous feedback loops such as helpdesks, user satisfaction surveys
and digital feedback forms, which provide mechanisms for ongoing input, redress and iterative
improvement. These approaches not only foster trust and responsiveness but also help build shared
ownership of DPI as a public good.

Building institutional mechanisms for trust

Trust in DPI is not only earned through transparency but also institutionalized through governance
practices. For policymakers, building trust in DPI means going beyond aspirational statements about
transparency or ethics. Trust must be operationalized through concrete institutional mechanisms
that are transparent, responsive and accountable by design. This involves establishing clear rules,

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