Digital transformation and the futures of civic space to 2030
Digital transformation is rapidly altering civic space, challenging the ways in which
members of the OECD Development Assistance Committee (DAC) and other providers of
development co-operation strive to promote an enabling environment for civil society
to contribute to sustainable development. This paper aims to support DAC members and
other providers of development co-operation to integrate the implications of a range
of plausible futures of civic space into positive policy action today. To this end,
it provides an overview of the variables (i.e. current trends, drivers of change and
uncertainties) that may determine the trajectory of civic space in the context of
digital transformation; identifies four plausible futures that emerge from four different
logical interactions of these variables - that could materialise over a ten-year horizon
and be fully realised by 2030; and draws policy implications to support DAC members
and other providers in designing development cooperation policies that best leverage
the opportunities that digital transformation offers while mitigating its risks.
Published on June 10, 2020
In series:OECD Development Policy Papersview more titles