White Paper Digital Policy Playbook 2017

The Digital Policy Playbook 2017 examines diverse national approaches to digital governance, categorized into four challenge areas: innovation in access, smart public services, digital economy growth, and protection of infrastructure and rights. Through case studies from countries such as Brazil, Singapore, Estonia, and India, the report argues that agility, committed political leadership, and multistakeholder collaboration are essential for navigating the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

• Multistakeholder governance models are identified as uniquely effective for managing the complexities of networked societies because they balance competing interests and increase legitimacy. Brazil is cited as a leading example through its Brazilian Internet Steering Committee (CGI.br), a non-regulatory body where no single sector, including the government, holds a majority of votes.
• Successful digital government transformation often follows a three-stage journey: first, automating and making services available online; second, integrating these into a single mobile platform for simplicity; and third, using AI and data analytics for predictive, personalized services. Singapore is highlighted as a leader in the third stage, focusing on user-centricity and a willingness to experiment with technologies like blockchain and robotics.
• Digital identity systems can serve as foundational infrastructure for broad socio-economic transformation. India's Aadhaar system, which has issued IDs to over 1.15 billion residents, has enabled direct benefit transfers (DBT) that have disbursed over $31 billion directly to beneficiaries and saved the government an estimated $1 billion annually by reducing pilferage.
• Growing a digital economy requires a combination of education, government support, and entrepreneurship. Sweden's success is attributed to a 'risk-friendly' environment created by a strong social safety net and a specific late-1990s policy that allowed citizens to offset the purchase of PCs against tax, which helped 1 million people gain computer access.
• Developing nations can drive economic growth by investing in core bandwidth and fostering local innovation hubs. Kenya's strategy included commissioning undersea fibre cables in 2006 and supporting the M-PESA mobile payment platform, which handles an estimated 40% of the country's GDP.
• Small nations can attract high-tech foreign investment by offering efficiencies and tax incentives rather than large domestic markets. Costa Rica used its Free Trade Zone regime to waive corporate income and customs taxes, attracting companies like Intel and ensuring the ICT sector accounts for 32% of its exports.
• Effective national cybersecurity requires a comprehensive strategy that protects critical infrastructure and establishes institutional response mechanisms like Computer Emergency Response Teams (CERTs). Australia's 2016 strategy allocated A$230 million over four years to enhance cyberdefences and create a national cybersecurity innovation network.
• Israel's cybersecurity approach is based on three operational layers: market robustness (reducing attack surfaces), systemic resilience (information sharing to reduce cumulative damage), and national defence (managing campaigns against severe threats).

APA

World Economic Forum (2017). White Paper Digital Policy Playbook 2017. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/White_Paper_Digital_Policy_Playbook_Approaches_National_Digital_Governance_report_2017.pdf

Chicago

World Economic Forum. White Paper Digital Policy Playbook 2017. 2017. http://www3.weforum.org/docs/White_Paper_Digital_Policy_Playbook_Approaches_National_Digital_Governance_report_2017.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Economic Forum |title=White Paper Digital Policy Playbook 2017 |date=September 2017 |url=http://www3.weforum.org/docs/White_Paper_Digital_Policy_Playbook_Approaches_National_Digital_Governance_report_2017.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldeconomicforum2017white, author = {{World Economic Forum}}, title = {{White Paper Digital Policy Playbook 2017}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2017}, month = sep, url = {http://www3.weforum.org/docs/White_Paper_Digital_Policy_Playbook_Approaches_National_Digital_Governance_report_2017.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }