Digital public goods are public goods in the form of software, data sets, AI models, standards or content. These goods are generally free cultural works and are intended to contribute to sustainable national and international digital development.
The term "digital public good" has been in use since at least s April 2017, when Nicholas Gruen wrote Building the Public Goods of the Twenty-First Century.[1] The concept has attracted attention as new technologies are increasingly seen as having the potential to benefit society, leading to the development of evaluation frameworks for competing projects.[2] Some countries, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and private sector entities have identified digital technologies as a tool for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).[2] This application of public goods in digital platforms has led to the use of the term "digital public goods".
Various international agencies, including UNICEF and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), are investigating digital public goods as a possible approach to enhancing digital inclusion, particularly for children in emerging economies.[3]