Page 59 - Building digital public infrastructure for cities and communities

Key governance mechanisms that anchor digital trust include embedding privacy-by-design
protocols in alignment with global frameworks like the GDPR or the African Union’s Data Policy
Framework. Additionally, ensuring algorithmic transparency – particularly in AI-powered DPI
applications – is essential to guard against systemic bias and discrimination (Cobbe et al., 2021).
Crucially, accessible and enforceable redress mechanisms must be provided so that individuals
can challenge automated decisions or report data misuse. City leaders must actively address
digital exclusion by closing digital literacy gaps and ensuring accessibility for marginalized and
underserved groups. Without such attention, DPI risks replicating existing inequalities rather than
transforming them.

While DPI offers a wide range of benefits, it also presents challenges and potential risks that need
to be addressed to ensure the development of effective and trusted systems that contribute to
better digital societies and leave no one behind. Exclusion arises when DPI is not designed to
address the needs of minorities or groups with specific requirements, including but not limited to
the elderly, migrants, individuals with disabilities, or those with limited digital literacy (OECD, 2024).

8.4 Strengthen public-private partnerships and innovation ecosystem

A vibrant DPI ecosystem is built on dynamic partnerships that span government agencies, private
firms, civil society organizations and academic institutions. Multistakeholder collaboration plays
a crucial role not only in strengthening technical capacity but also in ensuring inclusive design
processes. As highlighted by the World Economic Forum in 2023, participatory engagement
fosters locally appropriate solutions and accelerates the development of human capital essential

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