Expanding the Digital Public Goods Alliance
Evolving the DPGA through Roadmap Participation and Membership.
The transformative potential of DPGs cannot be fully or equitably realised unless we also transform the complex systems, structures and practices in which DPGs are embedded. That’s why, after a year of consultation and engagement with more than 16 organisations, the Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA) released a 5 Year Strategy, outlining a vision and four strategic objectives that must be achieved in order to unlock the full potential of digital public goods.
Each objective is complex and will require aligned and coordinated effort across multiple like-minded organisations. The purpose of the DPGA is to drive that effort by collaborating with a diverse set of stakeholders that unite around a common vision, strategic objectives, definition, and standard for DPGs. With the launch of the public strategy, the DPGA Secretariat has begun expanding and formalising the community of stakeholders working to advance digital public goods for a more equitable world.
Over the coming months the DPGA Secretariat will invite stakeholders whose activities are significantly advancing the strategic objectives outlined in the strategy, as shown above, to be a part of the DPGA Annual Roadmap.
Growing the Multi-Stakeholder Alliance through the Roadmap
Organisations all over the world are already working to support and advance digital public goods. However, we need to align and coordinate our efforts to collectively reduce fragmentation and duplication, and to increase transparency and overall impact.
To facilitate this joint effort, we have developed the DPGA Roadmap — a tool for transparent alignment, coordination, engagement, and communication across activities that significantly advance the DPGA’s strategic objectives.
Being part of the Roadmap represents an organisation’s commitment to advancing a shared vision, transparently monitoring and sharing relevant activities, and working collaboratively to advance digital public goods.
The Roadmap serves as a public visualisation of key activities undertaken by stakeholders to advance digital public goods in a specific year (multi-year activities can be rolled over into the subsequent Roadmap). On a bi-annual basis all stakeholders listed in the Roadmap provide updates on the progress of their activities. This will be compiled into a public report by the DPGA Secretariat, providing an overview of DPG activities and – over time – their impact.
Activities can be coordinated – meaning they are driven by stakeholders in partnership or close coordination with the DPGA Secretariat. Or, aligned – which are independent activities driven by stakeholders in alignment with the DPGA strategic objectives.
For activities to be added to the Roadmap they must:
- Advance DPGA strategic objectives;
- Be expected to have “significant impact” based on the size/scope and unique value add; and
- Drive alignment around DPGs and the DPG Standard.
The DPGA Secretariat will invite stakeholders to add their activities to the 2021 Roadmap based on submissions to, and assessment of, activities in this public form. Stakeholders who participate in the Roadmap will also be invited to formalise this status, and their relationship with the DPGA, by becoming DPGA Members.
DPGA Membership is not obligatory, and Roadmap participants will have the opportunity to highlight coordinated and aligned activities through DPGA social media, blog posts, newsletters and the end-of-year report, as well as the opportunity to promote, coordinate and align work across the network. However, DPGA Members have exclusive use of the DPGA brand and logo and the ability to speak on behalf of the DPGA as members.
Digital Public Goods Alliance Governance Updates
Accompanying the expansion of the DPGA, the Alliance’s interim governance structure will evolve to a Board which will function as a strategic decision-making body for the DPGA. The new board will consist of current Interim Strategy Group (ISG) organisations which consists of the four co-founding members of the DPGA, as well as 2-4 additional member organisations invited by the ISG to ensure broader representativeness and sustainability.
Day-to-day functions of the DPGA will continue to be driven by the DPGA Secretariat, as a neutral body co-hosted by UNICEF and Norad and potentially other members allocating resources for core secretariat functions. The Co-Leads of the Secretariat will continue to manage the DPGA Secretariat and report directly to the Board.