As various aspects of national life go online, digital public infrastructure, such as data exchange mechanisms and payment platforms, is essential if people are to access services and participate economically. A new programme at the Blavatnik School, the Oxford Digital Public Infrastructure Research Lab (OxDPI), will investigate the effects of digital public infrastructure (DPI) on inclusion and wellbeing in low- and middle-income countries, initially focusing on Ethiopia.
The University of Oxford has received funding from Co-Develop to establish the lab, which will be part of the Centre for the Study of African Economies (CSAE) at the Blavatnik School of Government. In many countries, including through the 50-in-5 campaign, various aspects of digital public infrastructure are being deployed in order to take aspects of public service and activity online. The research aims to understand the impact of this on inclusion and the wellbeing of those countries' populations. This includes examining how the infrastructure affects various sectors and societal outcomes, such as financial access, social protection, and refugee integration.
The Oxford Digital Public Infrastructure Research Lab (OxDPI) builds on previous efforts based at the Blavatnik School, such as Digital Pathways at Oxford and the Pathways for Prosperity Commission, which examined the challenges of digital transformation and governance in low- and middle-income countries. This new lab extends that work, focusing specifically on the implementation and impact of digital public infrastructure (DPI).
Faculty member Professor Stefan Dercon will co-direct the lab with Dr Christian Meyer (Oxford Martin School). The initial focus will be Ethiopia's Fayda system, a digital ID initiative aiming to register all residents by 2026. In collaboration with the World Bank's Identification for Development (ID4D) team, the project will coordinate research efforts between the Ethiopian government, the World Bank, and Ethiopian and international researchers. The lab will act as a liaison, supporting the Ethiopian government's National ID Authority (NIDP) and other relevant bodies to facilitate and bundle research efforts, and will work with the government to design the rollout in ways that enable rigorous evaluation. By providing rapid feedback on findings and facilitating studies from mixed teams of local and international researchers, the initiative aims to inform government implementation decisions and build a robust evidence base for digital public infrastructure (DPI).
"Generating systematic evidence on DPI's impacts in low- and middle-income countries is crucial", says Stefan. "Our research in Ethiopia and elsewhere will critically examine the transformative potential of digital public infrastructure, while also assessing whether deployments truly advance inclusion or potentially create new forms of exclusion."
"Our aim is to support 'public good' activities that not only benefit Oxford's research but also make it easier for other researchers to study the impacts of Fayda in Ethiopia", explains Christian. "This includes advocating for randomised roll-out designs where feasible and coordinating shared data collection activities that can support studies in various areas, such as financial inclusion, social protection, and public service delivery."
The project will be based at and will involve researchers from across the University of Oxford, and will actively engage with researchers in Ethiopia. Going forward, OxDPI may explore the rollout of digital public infrastructure in other countries, including Nigeria and Rwanda.
