In an extended report recently published by the Coalition for Digital Prosperity for Asia (DPA), it was found that the full potential of Asia Pacific’s digital economy has not yet been realised.

Numbers paint a clearer picture: the value of the region’s digital economy, if captured in full, is estimated to be US$2 trillion in 2021, of which the region was only able to capture a mere 30 per cent.

Within the region, countries sit along the spectrum between “digital isolation”, where digital openness is restricted in order to protect and foster the development of local digital capabilities, and “digital globalism”, where digital openness is encouraged to facilitate cross-border dataflows and foreign direct investments.

By and large, governments have traditionally always needed to make a choice between these two extremes, viewing them as largely incompatible strategies to achieve disparate outcomes.

Yet, with most assumed dichotomies, humanity almost always finds a way to integrate seemingly opposing concepts to reap the best of both worlds, if you will. In this case, the DPA proposes a new approach to governing the digital economy, called “digital prosperity”, which combines the rapid innovation characteristic of “digital globalism” and the nurturing domestic environment of “digital isolation”.

To pursue “digital prosperity”, governments will have to focus on four key enablers of digital economies:

• Policies that facilitate data flow
• The establishment of a competitive business environment
• Strategies to build local digital capabilities
• Setting up the appropriate and adequate infrastructure to support the nation’s digital transformation

Yet, while the directions toward regional prosperity are clear, there is the fundamental groundwork upon which all else is built that is required to ensure that the full value of APAC’s digital economy can be realised.

Also Read: How insurgent brands are redefining India’s consumer growth story

This groundwork is the evolution of our relationship with trust in the digital economy.

Growth from within local economies: Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs)

To illustrate how evolving our relationship with trust is necessary to facilitate “digital prosperity”, let’s explore the critical mechanism by which countries can pursue local enablers of digital economies – the establishment of Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs).

In this piece, we take PPPs to refer to a broader relationship in which public and private stakeholders collaborate and pool resources to achieve a common goal. The World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) succinctly describes the necessity for PPPs in their Global Innovation Index report – PPPs create opportunities to reduce the risks associated with innovation, as it is shared between public and private partners, and this drives the development of new technologies that do not yet exist.

In other words, PPPs are both a means and an end to building local digital capabilities, as well as the set-up of adequate infrastructure to support the country’s digital transformation. In fact, the relationship between PPPs and digital projects is “symbiotic”, as described by the same report.

With PPPs, digital projects are able to find the financial support required for their undertaking, while on the other hand, public sector networks allow the outcomes of these digital projects to be put within reach of citizens – both financially, physically, and digitally.

Take India’s e-Mitra as an example – this is a PPP project that has allowed the government, through local service providers, to deliver e-services to its citizens (such as forms and birth certificates) via dedicated centres and kiosks.

It goes without saying that trust is important in such collaborations. Public and private stakeholders involved must be assured of their mutual participation in the project. Beyond the project’s partnership, if public funding is involved or if the outcome is meant for the larger community, it is important to foster open and trusted communication to earn society’s buy-in and support.

Information quality is the first ticket to building trust between partners and the wider community. In the latest Edelman Trust Barometer report, when it comes to establishing trust for corporates, NGOs, governments, and media entities, information quality is the “most powerful trust builder”. When stakeholders are able to rely on your information, many outcomes instantly become reliable and trustworthy – such as your communications, financials, mission, and vision.

There are numerous ways to preserve information quality, from detailed reporting to effective summaries. The most important element of information quality, however, is the authenticity of the information. Such authenticity (whether the information is true-to-source, has been tampered with, or can be verified) can be achieved through the use of verifiable data – and this is the evolution of our relationship with trust.

Instead of relying on traditional, fallible ways of preserving information integrity, such as official stamps, signatures, and the like, we can create new standards of data formats that have trust built into their structure.

With verifiable data, stakeholders can be assured that the information they are working with is true-to-source and not tampered with – and when in doubt, they can instantly verify the information to validate its truthfulness.

Growth across economies: cross-border partnerships

When it comes to pursuing digital prosperity, we have to look at the other side of “digital isolation” and embrace “digital globalism” in the form of cross-border partnerships.

Cross-border partnerships are key to regional enablers of digital economies by facilitating data flows and the establishment of a competitive business environment. They do so through the creation of opportunities for technology and talent transfer and the influx of Foreign Direct Investments. When managed well, countries can harness such transfers of capability and resources to foster an environment of mutual learning and healthy competition.

Also Read: How technology has revolutionised operational efficiency in consumer finance

In a policy research paper undertaken by the World Bank, technology transfers that can result from cross-border partnerships can be encouraged through the establishment of joint venture partnerships, grant matching, and the improvement of information flows (such as business and regulatory information).

Yet, here is where we face the hurdle of trust again. Quoting Edelman’s Trust Barometer 2022 report, circles of trust are becoming more local, where an individual’s trust in people from other countries has decreased. Increasingly, individuals are more trusting of those who are close to them.

This trend of burgeoning distrust towards “outsiders”, when examined from a policy and business context, is harmful to the pursuit of digital prosperity. It espouses “digital isolation” and rejects “digital globalism”, but for digital prosperity to work and for us to realise the true potential of APAC’s digital economy, we must do both.

Again, we have to change our relationship with trust through the use of verifiable data. If data and information cannot be disputed by virtue of their verifiable and tamper-proof nature, then new doors for cross-border collaboration can open – despite circles of trust retreating inwards.

In fact, one could say that verifiable data is dismantling such circles entirely; when trust is an undeniable and guaranteed fact, when you can take trust for granted, then such circles of trust are no longer necessary.

Embrace the new trust and usher in an age of digital prosperity

To realise the full potential of APAC’s digital economy or even grow the pie, we have to facilitate the smooth transition of local economies towards digital ecosystems and technologies.

We have won half the battle if we begin focusing on the key enablers of digital economies:

• Policies that facilitate data flows
• The establishment of a competitive business environment
• Strategies to build local digital capabilities, and
• Setting up the appropriate and adequate infrastructure to support the nation’s digital transformation

The other half is won through transforming our relationship with trust. The digitalisation of our economies must go a step further than simply adopting digital data but also embrace verifiable data – to create the guaranteed trust necessary for digital prosperity to be possible.

–

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community, or like the e27 Facebook page

Image credit: Unsplash

The post How trust needs to evolve to usher in regional prosperity appeared first on e27.

Source link