Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) is rapidly becoming a cornerstone of digital transformation strategies worldwide. From digital identity and payments to data exchange, DPI reshapes how people access public services, how states exercise authority, and how markets function. As global momentum around DPI accelerates, driven by multilateral processes, regional strategies, and large-scale investments, the stakes of early design and governance choices have never been higher.
While DPI promises inclusion, efficiency, and resilience, it also carries significant risks when designed or governed poorly, including exclusion, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and entrenched power asymmetries. These risks are not just technical but governance challenges rooted in participation, accountability, and trust.
In this context, the Datasphere Initiative’s newly released report “Sandboxes for DPI: Co-creating the blocks of digital trust” explores how sandbox approaches can support more inclusive, adaptive, and trustworthy DPI development. Sandboxes offer structured environments to test technologies, governance models, and institutional arrangements before population-scale deployment. This report is the first global effort to investigate and categorize how countries are currently experimenting with DPI.
This GSF Insights Session marks the official online launch of the report, following its in-person release at the India AI Action Summit in India in February. The event will bring together early pioneers, policymakers, regulators, civil society, and technical experts to unpack what DPI sandboxes are, where they are emerging globally, and why they matter for building trust in foundational digital systems. The session also looks ahead, inviting participants to engage in future co-creation labs and to help shape the practical how of designing DPI sandboxes.
This GSF Insights Session has the following objectives:
Introduction and welcome remarks
Part 1: Presenting the report – the what and where of DPI sandboxes
This session introduces the core findings of the Sandboxes for DPI report. The Datasphere Initiative team will present what DPI sandboxes are, how they differ from other sandbox models, and why they are emerging at this moment. The presentation will also highlight key insights from the global mapping, including where DPI sandboxes are being deployed, which DPI layers are most frequently tested, and the main trends shaping experimentation across regions.
Part 2: Learning from the pioneers – early experiences of experimentation for DPI
This session will spotlight early pioneers experimenting with sandboxes in the context of DPI, particularly from India, Brazil and Estonia. Speakers will highlight how experimentation has been used to test assumptions, manage risk, and navigate uncertainty in foundational systems such as digital identity, payments, and data exchange.
Part 3: Why sandboxes for DPI? Building trust through experimentation
This panel discussion will unpack the central argument of the report: that trust is the missing infrastructure in DPI, and that sandboxes can function as laboratories for building that trust. Panelists from government, civil society, and the research community will explore why traditional policy approaches can fall short when governing DPI, and how sandbox approaches can support more inclusive, transparent, and adaptive decision-making.
Closing and takeaways
The session will close with a synthesis of key insights and takeaways from the discussion. The Datasphere Initiative will introduce the next phase of work, including planned DPI sandbox co-creation labs, comparative case studies, and the development of practical guidance on how to design and implement DPI sandboxes.
Participants will be invited to engage in this next phase (through collaboration, partnership, and funding support) to help co-create the practical and governance pathways needed to embed trust, inclusion, and accountability into DPI systems.
