A Practical Guide to the DPG Standard + Exciting Updates to the DPGs for DPI Collection!

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🔍 DPGS FOR DPI COLLECTION

✅ DPG USE CASE ON RESPONSIBLE AI

🇩🇴 ADVANCING DPI IN LAC

As digital public goods explore how AI could strengthen their impact, they face a critical question: how to embrace AI’s potential without disempowering humans or creating new dependencies?
For the team behind Community Health Toolkit (CHT), this meant starting where impact actually happens - with frontline health workers. Facing heavy workloads, limited supervision and little decision support, frontline workers need tools that match their realities and keep them in full control. CHT’s “AI-ready” approach puts those needs at the centre of decisions, ensuring AI serves health workers and local developer teams, rather than replacing them.

In a new case study, Lea Gimpel, Director of Policy and AI Lead, and Bolaji Ayodeji, DPG Evangelist and Technical Coordinator, DPGA Secretariat, dive into how CHT is putting this approach into practice while remaining compliant with the DPG Standard.

To counter big social media platforms that commodify user data, a new Norwegian initiative, the Demokratiløftet, is curating a set of open-source digital building blocks into a toolkit that different organisations can use to directly implement or build their own public discourse and democratic participation solutions. The project leverages digital public goods built on the open protocols that are part of the European Social Stack, and is actively exchanging learnings and open-source technologies with similar initiatives in Denmark and the Netherlands, among others. It is currently piloting approaches that can protect youth aged 13–18 against algorithmic manipulation related to exercise, body image and nutrition, and support more active engagement.

The initiative is inviting Norwegian organisations across all sectors to help scale Demokratiløftet (which translates to Democratic Lift in English), starting in early 2027. The initial project phase is financed by the Fritt Ord Foundation, with open-source technology development led by Devotta, and coordination and support in relevant areas from Fritt Ord itself, the DPGA Secretariat, the Norwegian Sports Federation, and Simula Met AI Safety Department. The Norwegian Digitalisation Directorate is helping ensure alignment with relevant building blocks that are already in place or being advanced by the public sector.

As we look toward the next two decades, the question of how to build more open, community-driven infrastructures and technologies, has never been more critical. We’re excited to share that Lea Gimpel, Director of Policy and AI at the DPGA Secretariat, will tackle this exact topic in her upcoming session, "Building the Internet: What Should the Stack(s) of 2046 Look Like?" at Decidim Fest 26.

Hosted by Decidim, a DPG, this year's festival is centered around the timely theme: “Democracy and Technology in a Multipolar World”. If you are exploring the future of digital common goods, you can catch her session on October 30th, 2026, in Barcelona, Spain.

The Government of the Dominican Republic, a DPGA member, recently hosted the 2026 Regional DPI Forum, a powerful gathering attended by the DPGA Secretariat's Jon Lloyd, Director of Advocacy and 50-in-5 Program, and Ricardo Miron, Chief Technology Officer. The event highlighted a growing regional effort: key actors are pooling their expertise and resources to accelerate digital public infrastructure that deliver real-world results across the region. The multi-stakeholder dialogue discussed complex challenges like cybersecurity, procurement, maintenance, and governance.

A central takeaway from the meeting was that true digital sovereignty doesn't mean building everything in-house. It means having the power to adapt, swap, and control your own technology, a reality that digital public goods make possible.

At the Regional DPI Forum, the DPGs for DPI Collection was officially launched! Co-stewarded with Co-Develop and the Centre for Digital Public Infrastructure (CDPI). This resource makes it easier to discover 18 digital public goods across five core DPI domains—Identity, Payments, Data Exchange, Registries, and Trust Systems—each independently assessed against strict DPI-specific technical criteria.

With real-world successes like the 91 million people registered in the Philippines using a MOSIP-based national ID, and the Mojaloop Foundation supporting a 73-day payment switch in Liberia, these DPGs are driving massive global impact.

Adding to the momentum in Santo Domingo, the 50-in-5 campaign officially welcomed the Government of Chile, represented by the Digital Government Secretariat of the Ministry of Finance. As the 41st country globally and the 9th from Latin America and the Caribbean to join, Chile aims to build on its recent progress in digital identity and inter-agency interoperability.

Maurice Poirrier, Acting Director of the Digital Government Secretariat, emphasised that joining the campaign will facilitate peer learning and help establish a shared technological foundation to deliver simpler, safer, and higher-quality services to citizens. As part of 50-in-05, Chile will open new opportunities for cooperation in open standards, digital public goods, technical capabilities, and governance models, helping the country share its expertise while accelerating its own digital transformation journey.

How can the open-source ecosystem adapt to a rapidly changing world? In September, the fourth Open Source Congress was held in Halifax, Canada, where Amreen Taneja, Standards Lead at the DPGA Secretariat, and Katie Steen-James, Senior US Policy Manager at the Open Source Initiative, discussed how open source is no longer just a collaborative development method, but critical digital infrastructure that is increasingly intersecting with global regulation, AI governance, cybersecurity, and geopolitical dynamics.

The core takeaway from their reflection is that while shared ideals like transparency, interoperability, and "do no harm" are vital, standards are where the rubber actually hits the road. Read their full reflections to learn more about how they propose translating high-level principles into actionable requirements, measurable evidence, and robust governance.

The 2027 Global DPI Summit is calling on national governments to share their stories of digital public infrastructure implementation. As the global DPI community matures, this year's Summit, happening from March 22–25, 2027, in Bali, Indonesia, will highlight real-world progress, cross-sector collaboration, inclusive safeguards, and clear use cases backed by impact metrics.

The most compelling stories will be featured on stage. National governments (civil society and tech partners may collaborate with official government backing) are encouraged to apply. The deadline is extended to November 9, 2026. Please note that existing 50-in-5 Awards entries can be transferred directly in the submission form.

DPGA members the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and GitHub recently joined forces with the DPGA Secretariat to spotlight digital public goods at the GitHub Education Code for Good Webinar. As part of Hacktoberfest, the month-long celebration of open-source contributions, the session focused on quality engagement, responsible AI use, and real-world adoption stories. You can watch the full recording on Twitch here.

If you are looking to get involved, contributions are still open. We recommend focusing on four core pillars for DPGs: code/data contributions, technical documentation, impact storytelling, and implementation or QA testing. Here are a few ways to jump in:

• Explore the DPG Registry to find open-source projects tackling global challenges.
• Browse IDB Open-Source Solutions.
• Find "For Good First Issues" to browse curated, beginner-friendly tasks across social impact repositories.
• Join the DPG General Matrix Chat Room to introduce yourself and coordinate with maintainers.
• Pitch Your Own Scope: Interested in non-code tasks like impact storytelling, localised translations, or UX feedback? Reach out directly to maintainers via GitHub Discussions or open an issue with your pitch.
  

Our vision is that by the year 2030, our open, collaborative, multi-stakeholder efforts have unlocked the potential of digital public goods to ontribute to a more equitable world and accelerate attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals globally.

Learn more about the Digital Public Goods Alliance on ourwebsite. Follow our blog, or share our mailing list. Nominate digital public goods.

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