The event also serves as the official launch of ODI’s Digital Public Finance Hub, a new learning and technical assistance initiative. The Hub will support governments in managing public resources for service delivery by leveraging digital infrastructure and digital ways of working.

To learn more about the Hub, check out the new initiative page here.

Why a Digital Public Finance Hub?

In understanding the needs of and basis for digital public finance reform in countries, the Digital Public Finance Hub seeks to promote new ways of thinking around the digital transformation of public finance. It will generate evidence, convene communities of practice and build country partnerships.

The Hub will function as a vehicle for original thinking and facilitated learning around the digital transformation of public finance. It will be a ‘one-stop shop’ for identifying what has worked well and connecting emerging good practices from the fields of digital public financial management and digital service delivery to countries.

For more on the emerging problems in these areas, check out our new working papers here.

What will the Digital Public Finance Hub offer?

Ultimately, the Digital Public Finance Hub aims to make it easier for different stakeholders working on the digital transformation of public finance to find information on the problems they are trying address, such as:

● Re-designing PFM processes for the digital era

● Building public sector capabilities for digital PFM

● Improving the digital infrastructure for PFM

● Connecting digital PFM to broader whole-of-government service delivery approaches

In tackling these problems, the Hub will serve the following primary functions:

● Research: Through a combination of working papers, case studies and insight blogs, the Hub will seek to document and disseminate original learning around the capabilities required for public finance in the digital era.

● Communities of practice: Through events and peer exchange fora, the Hub will create a community of practice around the digital transformation of public finance, offering practitioners diverse ways of engaging with each other.

● Country partnerships: By engaging with countries to understand their experiences and needs, the Hub will act as a mechanism for helping governments to find the technical support that meets their needs.

Over time, we hope the Hub will tackle a range of important topics at the intersection of digital government and public finance, including (but not limited to) the use and quality of registries, (fiscal) data governance, and reform and service delivery. It will lay the intellectual foundation for public finance in the digital era, connect countries to good practices and learn from what is working for the benefit of the global community.

Get in touch

The Digital Public Finance Hub is currently managed by a small team of staff from ODI and Public Digital, with generous support from the Gates Foundation, but is planning to expand in the years to come. If you would like to engage further, have an idea for how to expand the activities of the Hub, or are just interested in learning more, email Cathal Long at [email protected]