Supporting Government Design to Develop a National Digital Strategy

Innovation methods

Data sources

SDG(s)

Sustainable Development Goal(s)

11Sustainable cities and communities

16Peace, justice and strong institutions

17Partnerships for the goals

Disclaimer:

Please be aware that the content herein has not been peer reviewed. It consists of personal reflections, insights, and learnings of the contributor(s). It may not be exhaustive, nor does it aim to be authoritative knowledge.

Title

Please provide a name for your action learning plan.

Co-creating and developing a Digital Strategy with stakeholders and government to improve governance, efficiency and effective service delivery.

Challenge statement

Challenge type: If you are working on multiple challenges, please indicate if this is your "big bet" or "exploratory" challenge. Please note: we ask you to only submit a maximum of 3 challenges - 1x Big Bet, 2x Exploratory. Each challenge must be submitted individually.

EXPLORATORY

Challenge statement: What is your challenge? (Please answer in specific terms: "Our challenge is that...”.)

The government does not adopt and embrace the whole of government and systems thinking, resulting in siloed interventions that do not consider the contextual realities of the Namibian Digital Ecosystem

Background: What is the history of your challenge? What is causing or driving it? Who is involved? How does the current situation look like? What undesired effects does it produce?

The National e-governance policy has not been effectively implemented. The design of a digital strategy needs to be one that is fit for purpose.

Quantitative evidence: What (official) data sources do you have on this challenge that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge? You can add text, a link, or a picture.

The e-Governance Policy launched in 2006 has not made much difference to improved service delivery.

Qualitative evidence: What weak signals have you recently spotted that characterizes its urgency? Please provide qualitative information that better exemplifies the importance and urgency of this frontier challenge. You can add text, a link, or a picture.

The COVID Pandemic has heralded an urgency to find new ways of doing things that would enefit all.

Value proposition: What added value or unique value proposition is your Accelerator Lab bringing to solving this challenge? Why is it your Lab that needs to work on this challenge and not other actors within UNDP, other stakeholders in the country respectively? Why is it worth investing resources to this challenge?

The Lab will use its participatory and collaborative approaches to add new value contributed by the citizens and those most affected by the policy.

Short “tweet” summary: We would like to tweet what you are working on, can you summarize your challenge in a maximum of 280 characters?

Accelerator Lab Namibia: Contributing towards the National Digital Strategy in creating digital ecosystems to improve citizen-centred service delivery

Challenge classification

Partners

Who are your top 5 partners for this challenge? Please submit from MOST to LEAST important and state Name, Sector and a brief description of the (intended) collaboration.

Please state the name of the partner:

Ministry of Information and Communication Technology

What sector does our partner belong to?

Government (&related)

Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.

The AccLab is collaborating with the Ministry and stakeholders to co-design an inclusive national digital strategy

Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?

Learning questions

Learning question: What is your learning question for this challenge? What do you need to know or understand to work on your challenge statement?

How might we co-create and design a national digital streatgy that considers context and improves service delivery but also the lives and livelihoods of all across Namibia?

To what stage(s) in the learning cycle does your learning question relate?

Test

Usage of methods: Relating to your choice above, how will you use your methods & tools for this learning question? What value do these add in answering your learning question?

We will use them during the stakeholder meetings which the Ministry is organizing.

Existing data gaps: Relating to your choice above, what existing gaps in data or information do these new sources of data addressing? What value do these add in answering your learning question?

Qualitative and citizen led data important for engagement and collaboration

Closing

Early leads to grow: Think about the possible grow phase for this challenge - who might benefit from your work on this challenge or who might be the champions in your country that you should inform or collaborate with early on to help you grow this challenge?

The government, citizens and underserved communities, private sector, tourists and investors explained below.

END OF ACTION LEARNING PLAN: Thank you! The form saves automatically and your submission has been recorded. You may now exit this window.

1. National Champions Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) is central to policy alignment and standard-setting across ministries. With their influence, digital governance can shift from isolated pilots to national systems thinking. Ministry of Information & Communication Technology (MICT) are stewards of ICT policy and digital rights, crucial for interoperability frameworks, cybersecurity, and the broader digital transformation agenda. The Ministry of Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety & Security (MHAISS) and our work on the eID, birth registration, and legal identity already orients them as a strategic anchor: digital trust begins with legal identity. National Commission on Research, Science & Technology (NCRST) provides the bridge into academia and research ecosystems. They can support multi-disciplinary digital governance R&D, standards for data sovereignty, and AI ethical guidelines. 2. Sectoral Multipliers Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST) – Tech Hub is already set up as a living lab for testing digital public infrastructure, prototyping AI applications, and training future civil service talent in digital governance. The Bank of Namibia & Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC)'s work touches financial inclusion, fintech, biometrics, and the regulatory guardrails for data-sharing. Allies in policy agility. Namibia Statistics Agency (NSA) & National Planning Commission (NPC) are aligned around evidence-based decision-making. Data governance and interoperability solutions could transform monitoring, evaluation, and public transparency. 3. Civic & Community Champions Youth and Innovation Hubs (e.g., RLabs Namibia, CC Hub, Tech Hub) provide spaces nurturing Namibia’s next generation of digital entrepreneurs, grassroots data stewards, and civic tech innovators. Digital Rights and Civil Society Actors like the Legal Assistance Centre (LAC), Access to Information coalitions under the Institute of Public Policy and Research, The Internet Society of Namibia, and gender rights networks such as Positive Vibes ensure human rights, transparency, and inclusion in the digital rollout. Traditional Authorities and Local Leadership are essential allies when crafting digital services that must build trust across contexts, from rural to urban to mobile-first communities. 4. Regional and Global Partners Smart Africa Alliance provides cross-country interoperability frameworks and insights into digital public infrastructure across the continent. GovStack, Digital Public Goods Alliance, and MOSIP provide Ready-to-use building blocks. These alliances align with UNDP’s own Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) workstreams and give Namibia a chance to leapfrog. Japan, EU, and GIZ are existing co-funders with demonstrated interest in digital governance, AI readiness, and data ecosystems in Africa. 5. Inside UNDP – Thought Partners UNDP Chief Digital Office & Digital Governance and AI Team are vital for anchoring learnings from Namibia into UNDP’s global playbook. Early engagement brings global visibility and resourcing potential. UNDP Africa Bureau Innovation teams / Timbuktoo could help expand small successes to multi-country collaborations and attract additional financing to Namibia. Why This Matters Now This network of actors can transform Namibia’s digital strategy from a tech-forward roadmap into a governance-led national project, rooted in care, inclusion, sovereignty, and trust. The Lab’s role was to act as the primary experimentation engine, validator, and storyteller showing how digital identity, data governance, and AI readiness create real value, responsibly. Bringing these players in early at roundtables, briefing notes, joint hackathons, sandbox pilots, or shared publications makes the eventual whole-of-government approach more robust, less siloed, and more citizen-centered. The real engine of growth will come from recognizing that digital governance is not an IT issue; it’s a transformation of the state’s social contract. A cross-ministry “Digital Readiness Circle,” seeded with these champions could be set up, and grown through open dialogue, co-design, and public engagement channels, from national broadcasters to grassroots radio. Your Lab has the credibility, experience, and bridge-building DNA to make it real.