Digital public infrastructure and public value: What is ‘public’ about DPI?

Paper by David Eaves, Mariana Mazzucato and Beatriz Vasconcellos: “Digital Public Infrastructures (DPI) are becoming increasingly relevant in the policy and academic domains, with DPI not just being regulated, but funded and created by governments, international organisations, philanthropies and the private sector. However, these transformations are not neutral; they have a direction. This paper addresses how to ensure that DPI is not only regulated but created and governed for the common good by maximising public value creation. Our analysis makes explicit which normative values may be associated with DPI development. We also argue that normative values are necessary but not sufficient for maximising public value creation with DPI, and that a more proactive role of the state and governance are key. In this work, policymakers and researchers will find valuable frameworks for understanding where the value-creation elements of DPI come from and how to design a DPI governance that maximises public value…(More)”.