- The governance of digital public infrastructure (DPI) and digital public goods represents a paradigm shift, as governments move from isolated systems to common digital building blocks, such as identity, payments, and data. The key challenge is not only technological, but also defining who decides, how decisions are made, and under what rules.
- Adequate governance is essential for DPI to work at scale. Without shared rules, coordination, and standards, problems such as duplication, lack of interoperability, and loss of public trust emerge.
- DPI requires more than technology. It involves leveraging open-source software and digital public goods, along with institutional capacities, such as open-source program offices (OSPOs), to ensure sustainability, technological sovereignty, and scalability. Solutions such as IDB's Code for Development are assisting governments in closing these gaps.
Digital public infrastructure is an approach that enables governments to build shared digital capabilities through common and reusable components, such as digital identity, payments, and data exchange, to deliver public services more efficiently, interoperably, and inclusively. When we talk about DPI governance, we refer to the structures, rules, and processes that determine how a country develops and implements its digital infrastructure.
DPI governance answers three fundamental questions:
- Who decides?
- How are those decisions made?
- Under what rules and safeguards?
In practice, this translates into operational decisions, such as:
- Which entity is responsible for digital identity?
- What standards should institutions follow to exchange data?
- How are shared components financed and maintained?
The Impact of DPI on Citizens
In recent years, digital public infrastructure has become a central issue for governments seeking to improve service delivery for citizens and increase state efficiency. However, a recurring question remains: How can governments move from isolated digital solutions to systems that truly scale and remain sustainable over time?
DPI is not just a set of tools. It is a shift in how governments approach digital transformation. Unlike traditional models, in which each institution develops its own systems, DPI proposes building common and reusable building blocks, such as identity, payments, and data exchange, for the whole of government.
This introduces a challenge: DPI is cross-cutting, and governments are not always designed to operate that way. This gives rise to recurring challenges, such as duplication of efforts, conflicts of authority, lack of incentives to share data, and fragmented decision-making. That is why advancing DPI involves more than digitizing public services. It requires coordinating key actors, aligning incentives, and establishing common rules. The answer is not technological: it is about governance.
When this governance fails, citizens feel the impact. For example, a person who already has a digital identity may be required to verify it again for another procedure, while someone else may receive contradictory messages from different social programs.
Behind these cases are governance problems, such as institutions that do not reuse existing infrastructure, a lack of common standards, and the absence of clear rules for data exchange. When this happens, the cost is measured in trust, time, and state efficiency.
The Importance of Open Source for DPI
In this context, open-source software (OSS) has become a key enabler. More than a technical option, governments are adopting it as an essential component for building DPI that is sustainable, interoperable, and scalable over time.
Many DPI solutions are built on digital public goods: open software, data, and standards that can be adapted and reused by different countries. This enables governments to build on existing and proven tools.
As discussed in the post “Digital Infrastructure and Open-Source Software: Cases in Latin America,” countries that have made progress in implementing DPI share one element in common: control over their technological infrastructure. This allows them to protect digital sovereignty, adapt quickly, and scale solutions across sectors.
Using OSS enables governments to:
- Accelerate implementation by leveraging existing solutions instead of developing from scratch
- Strengthen technological sovereignty by reducing dependence on single providers
- Enable interoperability and scalability through open standards and reusable components
However, these benefits do not materialize automatically. OSS adoption also introduces real challenges:
- Procurement frameworks that are not designed for OSS
- Legal uncertainty around licenses
- Lack of clarity on maintenance and ownership
Without a clear institutional structure, the potential of open source as an enabler of DPI may remain limited.
The Role of Open-Source Program Offices
Open-source program offices (OSPOs) are often perceived as technical units or IT departments, but they go further. OSPOs enable governments to use, adapt, and scale OSS strategically.
Their value lies in bringing order to what is often dispersed by defining policies and guidelines for the use, supporting procurement and legal compliance processes, coordinating technical teams and communities, and facilitating reuse across institutions. In other words, an OSPO helps turn open source into institutional capacity.
The Role of the IDB and Code for Development
In Latin America and the Caribbean, where many countries face these challenges, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is working to close the gap between interest in and adoption of digital solutions through Code for Development.
This means facilitating access to open-source tools, strengthening institutional capacities, connecting demand with technical ecosystems, and supporting strategic government decision-making in real-world contexts.
Lessons for Advancing DPI Governance
Based on the course experience, these are three key lessons for advancing DPI:
- Governance is a key practice
Defining strategies is not enough. Real mechanisms for decision-making, coordination, and execution are needed. - Technology without coordination does not scale
Systems may exist, but without common rules and clear authority, they do not generate systemic value. - Open source requires governance, not just adoption
OSS creates opportunities, but only if institutional capacities exist to manage it.
Now more than ever, governments are seeking to scale digital services, make systems interoperable, and better respond to citizens’ needs. In this context, the ability to make strategic decisions through optimal governance can make the difference between isolated progress and sustainable transformation.
The authors thank Benjamin David Roseth (Inter-American Development Bank), Jesenia Rodríguez (Code for Development, Inter-American Development Bank), Jon Lloyd (Digital Public Goods Alliance), and Jaclyn Carlsen (50-in-5) for their support in co-designing the content of the course.