Open-source Ecosystem Enablement for Public Services Innovation

Digital Public Goods (DPGs) offer tremendous opportunities, including the potential to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Defined in the UN Secretary General’s roadmap on digital cooperation, DPGs are open-source software, open data, open AI models, open standards, and open content that adhere to privacy and other applicable laws and best practices, do no harm by design, and help attain the SDGs. As open-source software, DPGs can be re-used because its design or “source code” is made publicly accessible. 

The EU aligns with the foreseeable benefits of developing and implementing Digital Public Goods / Digital Public Infrastructure in the context of eliminating the digital divide, as part of the EU’s digital policy and the Global Gateway. The EU promotes a values-based human-centric digital transformation through the multilateral system, whilst supporting the EU’s vision of multistakeholderism. In this context, the development of local digital eGovernance ecosystems and networks for open-source software fits in an objective of enhancing local digital capacity and strengthening digital citizenship. 

Many governments are still reluctant to implement open-source solutions due to resource limitations, knowledge gaps, uncertainties around cost, and the lack of local and global ecosystems. This Action aims to work on understanding and developing those ecosystems. Eco-systems require support to thrive and scale. Through the shared work of UNDP and ITU the barriers to a stronger DPG ecosystem are well understood.  The project is a joint programme implemented in partnership with UNDP, who implements 50% of the activities in the project.