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Please be aware that the content herein has not been peer reviewed.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.
Digital Legal Identity Governance in Namibia: Promoting a rights-based approach as central to digital transformation in Namibia
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.
BIG BET
Challenge statement: What is your challenge? (Please answer in specific terms: "Our challenge is that...”.)
Our challenge is that digitalisation is catalysing the need for several institutions to develop digital systems; many of them seeking to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. However, the digital systems also collect personal and biometric data to both authenticate and verify an individuals' identity. The governance of such systems as well as managing and storage captured personal data in the absence of a legal and policy framework is a challenge as this poses risks in terms of privacy. How might we introduce digital and legal identity safeguards while promoting UNDP's Model Governance Framework for Digital Identity as an entry point for ethical, accountable and improved service delivery?
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 e-Governance Strategy and Action Plan launched by the Namibian Government and the 4th Industrial Revolution Report underscores the importance of information technology, the need for digitalisation and subsequent operations requiring human labour, with numerous new jobs created. While it will take a long time to develop those systems, and while building them, there is a duty to be able to accommodate and meet the needs of the citizenry while upscaling and rescaling. While many institutions at both private and public sector are digitalising and automating there has to be a conscious decision to educate all Namibians while maintaining those systems and introducing safeguards while also creating new jobs in future.
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.
4IR Task Force completes Namibia readiness report - The Brief is Namibia’s leading Daily Business, Finance and Economic News publication
E-Governance Text(Final-2)-5(26April2005)-2(PRINT).FH11
Government in the midst of finalising the Cyber Crime Bill and consolidated National ICT Policy | Namibia Economist
Namibia does not have a data protection and privacy law at the moment, but the right to privacy is enshrined in the Constitution12. Various sector-specific laws are in place to protect client information, including in the legal and banking sectors2. The Namibian Government has published the Draft Data Protection Bill, 20212.
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.
Namibia does not have a data protection and privacy law at the moment, but the right to privacy is enshrined in the Constitution. Various sector-specific laws are in place to protect client information, including in the legal and banking sectors. The Namibian Government has published the Draft Data Protection Bill, 2021. Equally, the Ministry of Information and Communication Technology is slow to advance the promulgation of the Cyber Crime (security) Bill, highlighting the numerous risks at all levels.
Data-Protection-During-COVID-19-Study-in-Namibia.pdf (isocnamibia.org)
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?
There is no other UN Entity that is actively and as well positioned as UNDP given its role in advancing governance amidst the emerging digitalisation and tech revolution. The new portfolio approaches that UNDP appears to be leading on provide the Lab with an opportunity to set up a new digital and innovation portfolio as a service to the current programmes focusing on the traditional environment, inclusive green growth and governance agendas.
Short “tweet” summary: We would like to tweet what you are working on, can you summarize your challenge in a maximum of 280 characters?
#DigitalLegalIdentityNamibia advocates for whole of society approaches to protect identity and rights while ensuring access to equitable services
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 Home Affairs, Immigration, Safety and Security, Ministry of Information and Communication Technology, Office of the Prime Minister, UNDP's Chief Digital Office
What sector does our partner belong to?
Government (&related)
Please provide a brief description of the collaboration.
The Accelerator Lab reached out to the Chief Digital Office to advocate for the Model Governance Framework to be implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs during its active civic registration campaign in preparation for the upcoming election in November. The AccLab played an instrumental role in providing and opportunity to conduct the assessment which was the first Country worldwide to undertake this assessment.
Is this a new and unusual partner for UNDP?
Yes
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?
If we highlight the importance of digital legal identity through this assessment, we will popularize the need to advance the process of e-governance reform in improving service delivery. Through the process, we seek to influence polices which emphasize a rights - based approach while reinforcing safeguards to protect data and identity in receiving service delivery.
To what stage(s) in the learning cycle does your learning question relate?
Test, Grow
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?
Namibia is the first country to undertake this assessment which supersedes many of the early digital assessments undertaken by UNDP and other Agencies. The Assessment will inform the governance and safeguard mechanisms of data collected and stored by the Ministry of Home Affairs and encourage other use cases by other Ministries and Entities wishing to digitalize and verify the authentication of identity.
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?
Administrative records: While there is a drive to digitalize administrative data prior to 1980, there is still a backlog which has to be linked to the National Population Register.
Baseline Survey and Digital: Since this is the first Country to be assessed using this Digital Legal Identity Governance Model, baseline data is currently informing the use of the tool and assessment.
Focus Group and Qualitative Interviews: The main methodology used during the assessments are focus group sessions.
Policy Regulation and Laws: This has the ability to influence the current Legal Framework currently in Bill form.
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?
Other Ministries, Offices and Agencies, the Private Sector, The Citizens and broadly, the UN
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9Industry, innovation and infrastructure
16Peace, justice and strong institutions
17Partnerships for the goals
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