Ep. 3: Role of Governments in the DPI Ecosystem with Kate Wilson

Talking Digital Public Infrastructure

In this episode, we explore the various roles governments play in the DPI ecosystem along with the political economy, governance, financing, and people considerations that governments need to think about in their DPI journeys.

Our guest for this episode is Kate Wilson, Senior Fellow at People-Centerd Internet. Kate believes that every person should have access to life enhancing services made possible through digital. She has dedicated her career to make this vision a reality by supporting countries that seek to accelerate their national digital transformation efforts.
As a Senior Fellow at PCI, Kate shares perspectives from decades of working closely with national leaders who are charting their national digital journeys. Prior to joining PCI as a fellow, Kate founded the Digital Impact Alliance in February 2016 and led the organization as its CEO until January 2023. Before DIAL, Kate co-founded and led the Digital Health Solutions Group at PATH, the Seattle-based international health organization for nine years. She has also worked in the commercial software sector at Microsoft and Intel, and worked on international trade issues at General Electric and the U.S.-ASEAN Council. Over the last three decades, Kate has led global projects in over thirty countries, working primarily in Africa and Asia.
Readings recommended by Kate (click here for the full list)

1. Tools and Weapons: The Promise and the Peril of the Digital Age. Brad Smith and Carol Anne Browne
2. GovStack: https://www.govstack.global/
3. Development Cooperation Report 2021: Shaping a Just Digital Transformation. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. December 2021.
4. The Case for Digital Public Infrastructure. Ethan Zuckerman | The Knight First Amendment Institute. January 2020.
5. Co-Develop: Digital Public Infrastructure for an Equitable Recovery. Kevin O’Neal and Nicole Rasul | The Rockefeller Foundation. August 2021.
6. Covid-19 spurs national plans to give citizens digital identities. The Economist. December 7, 2020.
7. Digital Public Goods: Guidance for Development, Governance, and Stewardship. Jeff Behrends, Joshua Simons, Kevin Troy, and Harshita Gupta | Justice, Health and Democracy Impact Initiative. July 2021.
8. The Digital Systems Every Country Needs to Succeed in the 21st Century. David Eaves | Harvard Kennedy School, Ash Center. May 2022.
9. Exploring digital public goods. Richard Pope. May 2021.
10. Financing the Digital Public Goods Ecosystem. Digital Public Goods Alliance. March 2021.