Bridging Policy and Research Gaps for a Just and Democratic DPI | Brazil and South Africa

Digital Public Infrastructures have officially entered the global policy lexicon, but a critical gap remains between the technical attributes of these systems and the democratic governance required to ensure they serve the public interest and respect fundamental rights. Too often, DPI strategies prioritize interoperability, scalability, and cost reduction over accountability, transparency and equity, creating risks of exclusion, surveillance, and inequality, particularly in the Global South. This panel launches Bridging Policy and Research Gaps for a Just and Democratic DPI, a two year joint initiative by InternetLab and Research ICT Africa. The project starts from the premise that technical success does not guarantee social justice. Even well-functioning systems can reproduce harm when governance structures and data flows remain opaque. Focusing on Social Data Ecosystems of Brazil and South Africa, the project seeks to open the “black box” of digital welfare through a methodology that combines institutional mapping with bottom-up “Data Journey” tracing, connecting legal and institutional design with lived experience to identify real-world risks of exclusion and rights violations. The panel will share early methodological insights, including initial Visual Citizen Journey Maps and a preview of an interactive data-flow visualization tool designed to make government data sharing visible and accountable, inviting dialogue, critique, and collaboration as the research unfolds.