How the DPG Standard and the Universal DPI Safeguards Framework are Charting a Safe and Inclusive Digital Future
Digital systems are shaping how millions of people access essential services, from healthcare and education to financial inclusion. The stakes for getting these systems designed and implemented right from the outset have never been higher. This was evident during the recent Annual Members Meeting of the Digital Public Goods Alliance (DPGA) in Brazil, which highlighted how countries are increasingly leveraging open, interoperable building blocks to power their digital infrastructure.Digital public goods (DPGs) sit at the heart of this digital transformation. When integrated into the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) approach, these technologies can unlock unprecedented opportunities for inclusive development. But opportunity alone is not enough. The technologies and systems being built must be inherently safe and inclusive, and uphold fundamental human rights from the ground up. This article explores how recent updates to the DPG Standard and the Universal DPI Safeguards Framework are working in lockstep to nurture a cohesive ecosystem where technologies originating from the DPG community are designed to be safe and inclusive by default.The DPG Standard serves as the global benchmark for recognizing not only digital public goods, but technologies that can be safely adopted, adapted and scaled to advance sustainable development. To qualify as a DPG, a solution must be open source, contribute to advancing SDGs, and meet rigorous additional criteria outlined across nine indicators in areas such as licensing, documentation, privacy, security, and platform independence. Recent updates to the DPG Standard establish a stronger, more explicit safety-by-design foundation. The revised criteria clearly articulate expectations for privacy, security and responsible AI, ensuring these safeguards are integral to how DPGs are assessed. As a result, technologies recognized as DPGs demonstrate, from the outset, clear baseline commitments to user protection, data transparency and accountability.The Universal DPI Safeguards Framework, first released in 2024 by the DPI Safeguards initiative is the result of extensive global multi-stakeholder consultations involving 44 working group members, global convenings, consultations with international organizations, and local in-country engagement. The Framework was updated in 2025 following feedback from the ecosystem to ensure its continued relevance and practicality. It provides a comprehensive, rights-based approach for governing and ensuring responsible DPI implementation across the whole DPI lifecycle. The Framework is structured around 18 Foundational and Operational Principles that are designed to mitigate risks grouped into three core categories: safety, inclusion, and structural vulnerabilities.
