International Conference on Public Finance in the Digital Era

The International Conference on Public Finance in the Digital Era, hosted by ODI Global and The Collaborative Africa Budget Reform Initiative (CABRI), took place in Johannesburg, South Africa, from 19-20 November 2024.

LoGRI’s Chair Wilson Prichard and Program Director Moyo Arewa hosted a session the lessons learned from IT-led reforms, leveraging insights from LoGRI’s research and reform projects.

Prichard and Arewa discussed that while there is widespread optimism about how digital advancements can enhance government performance, past experiences with expensive information technology (IT) failures have tempered this enthusiasm. Despite these setbacks, digital public infrastructure (DPI) has continued to emerge as a key element of the global development agenda, raising public expectations of government efficiency and transparency.

Meeting these heightened expectations requires more than just adopting the latest technologies; systems must be reflect local realities and capacities. To get IT-led reforms right, LoGRI has been working with a private provider to develop a new, locally owned and fit-for-purpose, open-platform IT solution, while simultaneously exploring ways to support the development of new open-source offerings.

A detailed programme can be accessed here.