Digital Public Infrastructure and Interoperability Across Government Services

Abstract

Background: Differences in how institutions address digital public infrastructure raise important questions about accountability, administrative consistency, and effective implementation.

Objective: The research compared approaches to digital public infrastructure and explored which governance features were most closely associated with outcomes involving interoperability.

Methods: A mixed-method observational study was conducted across 11 jurisdictions and 24 institutions. Documentary and administrative evidence was coded with a standardized framework and, where applicable, supplemented with stakeholder or practitioner data. Descriptive and multivariable analyses compared implementation patterns and institutional correlates.

Results: The comparative analysis showed uneven implementation of digital public infrastructure: 48% of institutions reached the procedural-consistency threshold. Coordination was positively associated with performance, with a 28% improvement on the principal measure, while capacity limitations and ambiguous responsibility dominated the barrier profile.

Conclusion: These findings place institutional capacity at the centre of effective governance relating to digital public infrastructure. Accordingly, public-service reforms should reduce administrative friction while preserving transparent eligibility rules, review mechanisms, and equitable access.

Study design: cross-agency implementation study.

Publication history: Originally published in print on 15 June 2025, Volume 5, Article 3. Online abstract record added on 16 September 2026. Full-text PDF will be added when the digital galley is ready.