State of the Stack

Welcome to a new season of the podcast! In our rebranded podcast we go into the specifics of DPI design, deployment, innovation, policymaking, and regulatory frameworks.

In this episode we talk to Suresh Sethi, CEO of Protean eGov Technologies that is the deploying DPI across different layers and across India and Africa. We discussed Protean's approach to deploying DPI, their experiences in doing so thus far, and the challenges a systems integrator like Protean faces in this nascent DPI ecosystem.

Our guest, Suresh is a seasoned financial services leader with over three decades of global experience driving transformation and innovation and is currently the Managing Director & CEO of Protean eGov Technologies Ltd. (formerly, NSDL eGovernance Infrastructure Ltd.).

Previously, as Founder CEO & MD of India Post Payments Bank, Suresh pioneered a groundbreaking initiative, harnessing the power of 190,000 postal employees to deliver doorstep banking services to customers of any bank. With a distinguished career spanning Citigroup, YES Bank, and Vodafone M-Pesa across India, Kenya, UK, Argentina, and the US, Suresh has held senior CXO and Managing Director positions, driving business strategy, product innovation, and operational excellence.

You can read more about Protean and Suresh below -

Digital India: Aadhaar, DigiLocker, China & Business Opportunity

Protean's Vision for AI Powered DPI Shaping Global Services

Bridging Digital Divide

Credits

Sound Engineer - Vijay Doiphode

Intro/Outro Music - Manisha Upreti

Hosts - Ritul Gaur and Sarthak Satapathy  

Disclaimer

The views expressed here belong solely to the hosts and the guests, and do not reflect the views of their employer or any other affiliated organization.

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In this episode, Kamya Chandra, Surabhi Hodigere, and I have a conversation about public policy, institutions, administrations, and capacity building for a country's DPI landscape. We also discuss the need for institutionalizing knowledge and models about governance, and management of DPIs as a critical infrastructure for public administrators.

Kamya is the Chief Strategy Officer at the global Centre for DPI which supports countries in their technical architecture. She is also an Advisor on DPI to India's Ministry of Finance and has played a key role in multiple DPI initiatives by GoI in the financial inclusion, consented data sharing, and eKYC spaces. She was also part of the founding team at the World Bank's ID4D Initiative.

Surabhi is a Consultant at the Aapti Institute and is an active researcher and contributor to the governance of digital public goods and infrastructure. She has previously been a civic-tech entrepreneur founding Political Quotient and has been part of the prestigious LAMP Fellowship in India. 

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In this episode, we discuss the role of the Nordic Institute of Interoperability Solutions (NIIS), and how it builds on Estonia's X-Road. Kate Wilson joins me in this episode to unpack data exchange, the key features and approach of X-Road, and NIIS's interesting governance model with Ville Sirviö.

Ville Sirviö is the CEO of the Nordic Institute for Interoperability Solutions (NIIS), known for the X-Road® open-source software with hundreds of millions of end users worldwide. He is also a board member of the Gaia-X European Association for Data and Cloud. 

Recommended resources for the episode

030I_Ville Sirviö, CEO of the Nordic Institute for Interoperability – What is the future for cities? podcast (wtf4cities.com) 

https://x-road.global/xroad-as-a-digital-public-good

https://x-road.global/launching-citizenoriented-digital-services-in-colombia

https://x-road.global/first-steps-towards-interoperability-in-the-public-sector-of-el-salvador 

https://x-road.global/integrity-and-interoperability-the-perfect-match-for-argentinas-public-service

https://x-road.global/scaling-interoperability-across-states-for-national-digital-transformation-in-brazil

https://www.niis.org/blog/2020/3/30/x-road-implementation-models

https://www.niis.org/blog/2022/7/11/from-connectivity-between-databases-towards-an-ecosystem-of-ecosystems

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In the seventh episode of the Talking DPI podcast series, I talk to Chrissy Meier who led the Digital Public Goods Charter work. We discuss the learnings from the first year of consultations regarding the DPG Charter, the role DPGs play in the DPI ecosystem, and the future of the Charter. 

Chrissy is the Director of Policy at the Digital Impact Alliance. She is a recognized thought leader in digital development, with over a decade of experience managing complex initiatives which deliver positive results for people with organizations including the World Bank (CGAP, ID4D and G2Px), the Swiss Capacity Building Facility (SCBF), GIZ, the Center for Financial Inclusion at Accion, USAID and many others.

Chrissy’s writings on DPG Charter’s work - 

5 Things We’ve Learned through the Digital Public Goods Charter

The DPG Charter: Key takeaways on deploying digital public goods as infrastructure

Co-Creating Our Digital Future: How Open-Source Technology Can Expand Inclusive Digital Public Infrastructure

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In the sixth episode of the Talking DPIs podcast series, I talk to Shankar Maruwada from Ekstep Foundation about India’s DPI journey in education (Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing - DIKSHA). We discuss the importance of people and institutions in any DPI journey, and how a combination of policy, technology, and +1 thinking came together in building DIKSHA. 

This episode is special as my formative understanding of DPIs comes from my experiences implementing DIKSHA across India. Conversations with Shankar are always insightful, and I come out learning something new.  

Shankar is the CEO of Ekstep Foundation, which addresses social problems at scale through societal platforms. He pioneered data analytics in India by co-founding Marketics and was also the Head of Demand Generation for India’s national identity program, Aadhar. 

Shankar's writings on DPI -
Fast-Tracking Development: A Building Blocks Approach for Digital Public Goods
Digital Public Goods for Education: The Indian Experience
From Seed to a Forest: The EkStep origin story

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In this episode, we discuss the financing models of DPIs and the challenges with the same. Our focus today is the paper “Financing Digital Public Infrastructures” published by New America.

We have all four authors of the paper on the episode discussing the current state of financing in the DPI ecosystem, the gaps and issues with the same, and proposing alternative models that could benefit the sustainability of the ecosystem.

We have Jeffrey Saviano. Jeff is the EY Global Tax Innovation Leader, and leader of the EY Cambridge Advanced Technology Lab. He is a Principal with EY and a member of the EY global innovation and Tax leadership teams. Jeff is also a Lecturer at the Boston University School of Law, where he teaches Innovation, Technology, and the Law.

Silvana Rodriguez is a fellow with the Digital Impact and Governance Initiative (DIGI) at New America. She was the Director for Strategic Partnerships in the Americas at ConsenSys, a global blockchain company. Prior to that she served as a U.S. diplomat with the State Department from 2006 to 2018.

Fernando Morera is a senior manager at the EY Cambridge Advanced Technology Lab, focusing on technology policy and governance. As a Stanford Transatlantic Technology Law Fellow, he conducts research on the governance of open-source software innovation and the regulation of digital assets in the United States and Europe. He served as an NYU Fellow at the International Monetary Fund, where he contributed to legal policymaking in the area of public finance. 

Jordan Sandman is an associate at Co-Develop and a former senior program coordinator with the Digital Impact and Governance Initiative (DIGI) at New America. Prior to joining New America, Sandman completed a year of service as an AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) team leader.

Readings suggested by the authors (full list can be found in the paper linked above) -

Development Cooperation Report 2021: Shaping a Just Digital Transformation. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. December 2021.

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.

Exploring digital public goods. Richard Pope. May 2021.

Financing the Digital Public Goods Ecosystem. Digital Public Goods Alliance. March 2021.

Government as a Platform: How Policy Makers Should Think about the Foundations of Digital Public Infrastructure. David Eaves, Richard Pope, and Ben McGuire | Kennedy School Review. January 2020.

How Can Digital Public Technologies Accelerate Progress on the Sustainable Development Goals? George Ingram, John W. McArthur, and Priya Vora | Brookings. May 2022.

What is Digital Public Infrastructure? Etha

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In this episode, we explore the intersections of open source software ecosystems and digital public infrastructures. We talk about the role OSS communities play in the DPI ecosystem, the need to think proactively about their governance and financial sustainability. All this while keeping their potential challenges and concerns in mind. 

Our guest for this episode is Govind Shivkumar from the Omidyar Network.  Govind leads Omidyar’s investments and portfolio in upholding governance and technology in the service of an open internet including Open Source Software, Technical Standards, Cyber Security, Digital Public Goods, Internet Governance, and Web3. He chairs the community of practice on disinformation at the UN Oslo Governance Center, is a member of the executive committee at MOSIP, and manages ON’s portfolio in this sector including organizations Global Cyber Alliance, Open Source Tech improvement fund, and Code for Science and Society, Center for Democracy and Technology.

Books and readings on open source software and DPI suggested by Govind -
Cathedral and the Bazaar
Open Road: How to build a sustainable infrastructure system
Avoiding the success trap: Toward policy for open-source software as infrastructure
Digital Public Goods: An Overview of Guidance for Development, Governance, and Stewardship

Govind's writings on DPIs
The growing demand for digital public infrastructure requires coordinated global investment and an ethical lens
How to bring inclusion to people who need it most

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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.

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In this episode, we unpack the role of markets and DPGs in the digital public infrastructure ecosystem, we explore - who are these market players, what are their challenges, and how can they be governed.

Our guest for this episode is Venkatesh Hariharan. Venky, as we call him is the Public Policy Director for FOSS United, an organization that aims to grow the Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) ecosystem in India, and is the India Representative of the Open Invention Network (OIN). He is also a researcher in Digital Public Goods for CoDevelop Fund  and the Digital Impact Alliance, and the co-chair of the Think Tank 20 task force on Digital Public Infrastructure. The recommendations of this task force will support India's G20 agenda during its presidency in 2023.

Venky has 32 years of experience in journalism and public policy with organizations like Indian Express, Red Hat, Google, iSPIRT, and the Data Governance Network at IDFC Institute.

Venky's writings on DPIs/DPGs

• How India is Reimagining Consent to Empower People
• Addressing Demand and Supply Side Issues of DPGs

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this episode are Venky's and not representative of the organizations he represents.

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In this first episode, we understand the concept of digital public infrastructures, its role in the digital economy, and how is it different from the traditional digital development approaches. Our guest for the episode is David Eaves, who’s a thought leader in the DPI and DPG space. 

David is an Associate Professor and Deputy Co-Director of the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose at University College London. At UCL he teaches and writes on the intersection of digital transformation, digital public infrastructure, and the opportunities technology presents to re-imagine public value. David also serves as the Senior Vice President of investments for Co-Develop Fund.

He previously served as a Lecturer of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School. Was co-founder and CEO of ReCollect - a successful civic tech startup that grew to serve over 400 governments across North America. He advises numerous governments on their digital transformation and open data strategies and open source projects like Mozilla and OpenMRS on governance.

David has also had the privilege of working with public interest technologists worldwide, doing seminars with many of the Code for America fellows, White House Presidential Innovation Fellows, and Code for Canada fellows.

David's Writings on DPIs/DPGs -

The Narrow Corridor and the Future of Digital Government
Best Practices for the Governance of Digital Public Goods
The Digital Systems Every Country Needs in the 21st Century

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