Page 58 - Building digital public infrastructure for cities and communities

Fundamentally, DPI should be developed using open protocols and modular services, rather than
monolithic applications that constrain adaptability. Inclusive co-design practices – such as engaging
marginalized communities through user interface workshops, pilot programmes and participatory
service design – have proven effective in increasing system legitimacy and usability. Moreover, DPI
investments must extend beyond initial infrastructure build-out to include regular cybersecurity
testing, system upgrades and preparedness for offline-dominant environments. These measures
are vital to ensure that DPI systems remain secure, adaptive and equitable as they evolve over time.

8.3 Promote human rights and digital trust

DPI can only be as robust and legitimate as the trust it inspires among its users. Trust must be
cultivated deliberately through technical safeguards and institutional accountability. The principle of
PbD, central to the GDC, ensures that user autonomy and control over personal data are embedded
at every stage of system development. Advanced technical approaches such as zero-knowledge
proofs – which allow users to verify credentials without disclosing underlying information – have
gained traction in international forums, including the G20. These innovations are complemented
by legal instruments like mandatory Data Protection Impact Assessments (DPIAs), which enable
governments to proactively identify and mitigate privacy risks before large-scale DPI deployment.

Institutional trust, meanwhile, depends on transparency and procedural fairness. Establishing
independent oversight bodies – such as data protection authorities or digital ombudspersons –
ensures that DPI systems are subject to public accountability. These bodies should be complemented
by real-time transparency tools, including open APIs, public dashboards and audit logs that are
accessible to citizens and watchdog organizations.

Trust and human rights must be treated not as downstream outcomes of DPI, but as design
principles from the outset. The World Economic Forum (WEF, 2023) underscores that DPI systems
grounded in trust frameworks enhance digital sovereignty and enable equitable participation
in the digital economy. As the UN-led DPI Safeguards Working Group released its multisectoral
governance framework. The imperative is clear: address risks associated with safety, inclusion,
structural vulnerabilities through around 300 recommendations and practices to be followed in
DPI design (Digital Public Infrastructure Safeguards, n.d.).

A rights-based approach to DPI further ensures that citizens maintain meaningful agency over their
data, particularly in cross-border data ecosystems characterized by emerging frameworks such
as “Data Free Flow with Trust” (DFFT) (WEF, 2023). To this end, governments must embed ethics
codes, privacy laws and procedural safeguards into DPI architectures.

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