Doing Development in a Digital World

"DFID’s Digital Strategy 2018-2020 sets out a vision and approach for doing development in a digital world."

This policy paper from the Department for International Development (DFID United Kingdom) describes its goals and strategies to accelerate progress towards the Global Goals using digital technology, particular mobile phone and internet technology. To overcome barriers such as lack of access and possibilities of "harmful concentration and monopoly, rising inequality, and state and corporate use of digital technologies to control rather than empower citizens", DFID aims to: support making the internet more widely available with services scaled for economically poor people; collaborate across government through common platforms, technologies and systems, redesign is own departmental services to be more responsive to  the UK public, beneficiaries, and partner countries, suppliers, and civil servants; and use data to inform delivery of the UK Aid Strategy and Global Goals.

In detail, the policy document, in its key messages, suggests that digital development offers opportunities to:

• "Stimulate growth, jobs and financial inclusion.
• Cut fraud and empower citizens to hold governments and other institutions to account.
• Provide better response in humanitarian emergencies.
• Improve learning outcomes for children in some of the poorest countries.
• Increase inclusion by providing access to services previously out of reach to marginalised groups such as girls and women and people with disabilities.
• Enhance traceability and transparency of aid funding throughout the delivery chain.
• Deliver real-time feedback and direct engagement with our beneficiaries and the UK public."

The strategy section lists: 1) direction setting for how digital technologies and approaches are incorporated into policy, programmes and  operations; 2) identifying and embedding good practice in using digital solutions in aid programmes; 3) promoting common principles and standards for digital development throughout the aid system, with particular attention to inclusion, redesigning services around the needs of users; and 3) collaborating across government through common platforms, technologies, and systems. By increasing DFID’s internal capacity and developing new tools and products, as well as specialist professional competency frameworks, particularly in the area of data, DFID will have the capacity for delivery that will support country offices, be cost-effective, and respond to needs through its Aid Management Platform (AMP) and management information tools.

A part of planning is to collaborate with donors on the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) and use the data to inform delivery of the UK Aid Strategy and Global Goals, in part through engagement, including a series of "Digital Trailblazers" to focus on applied learning as demonstrators.