You don’t need to re-engineer everything to transform a huge organizational, social or economic system; all you need is one good innovation implemented effectively. This can then produce wider changes through a kind of ripple effect, as a combination of different socio-technical elements interact with one another. This is what is sometimes described as ‘combinatorial innovation’.
There are many instances of combinatorial innovation. From the mobile phone to cloud computing, wherever we see new opportunities being opened up by a single technological innovation, we’re likely witnessing combinatorial innovation in action. Today, one particular technology has the potential to ignite combinatorial innovation in government and social service organizations around the world: national digital identities.
Why national digital identities?
National digital identities are sometimes viewed with skepticism, even suspicion. Citizens may regard them as instruments of surveillance while governments can view them as costly and cumbersome projects that are difficult to implement successfully. However, while there are undoubtedly challenges and risks when introducing national digital identity schemes, they should be understood as something that has the capacity to radically transform and improve the relationship between the state and its citizens by simplifying the way public services are both accessed and managed.
For citizens, a national digital identity can make it much easier to access services; they can even move between services and institutions without the often stressful and frustrating frictions that come with large bureaucracies. For government organizations, meanwhile, national digital identities can simplify the way they manage access to services, ensuring better value for money and allowing them to dedicate more resources to services themselves.
National digital identities, then, should not be seen as another bureaucratic database which opens up a new space for malevolence or incompetence, but instead as a kind of operating system for public services. They have the potential to be the missing link between services, reducing friction for everyone and, ultimately creating a multitude of second-order benefits as adoption grows.
Aadhaar: National digital identity in India
To be sure, this isn’t just science fiction. The benefits of national digital identities can already be found in the real world — and Thoughtworks is playing an important role in making it happen.
India’s Aadhaar system is one of the best examples of the sort of impact national digital identities can have; indeed, it demonstrates just how effective they can be for igniting combinatorial innovation. Introduced by the Indian government to help get resources and benefits into the hands of people that really need it, the core of the initiative was actually simple: give every citizen a bank account into which the government could directly pay support funds. One of the immediate benefits was that the improved efficiency of the payment process reduced the possibility of corruption. Financial middlemen, which many citizens relied on to access the funds they needed, could immediately be cut out; this means citizens have a new and more frictionless relationship to their services and the institutions that provide them.
However, many other benefits emerged as Aadhaar adoption grew and as the initiative evolved:
Because the new system speeds up ID checks, small loans (of around $100) have become viable; this means financial inclusion for many citizens.
With the scheme expanding to become a digital wallet that can securely hold digital copies of critical documents, people can now verify themselves and access their information through a biometric login. This is invaluable if documents are lost or destroyed in events such as natural disasters.
During the COVID19 pandemic, Aadhar helped the government track and roll out vaccines. It also ensured that, even when lockdowns began, citizens could still access their benefits — including new benefit recipients who suddenly found themselves unable to work.
Aadhaar in action
As an example of Aadhaar’s impact, take a young person who aspires to start a business as a delivery driver. Before Aadhaar, there were numerous financial and operational blockers preventing them from getting their idea off the ground. However, with Aadhaar in place, they can now secure the small loan they need to purchase their first motorcycle. With their digital identity, meanwhile, they can quickly identify themselves as a verified businessperson, ensuring trust with customers. Finally, they can even take digital payments for the services they provide through an e-commerce platform within the Aadhaar ecosystem.
The importance of adaptability
An integral part of Aadhaar’s success is its adaptability. It is not a ‘one-and-done’ project that is built and then left to the government to manage. Instead, it is designed in such a way that it can be adapted according to new contexts and situations, whether a change in policy or a global pandemic.
For instance, when people could no longer use their fingerprint for biometric identification during the pandemic (because of the risk of transmitting the virus), the enrollment system was changed in just a matter of weeks to use facial images as its primary form of biometric identification. Similarly, when the initiative was made available to non-resident Indian citizens (somewhat unexpectedly) that functionality was rolled out in just a week.
Of course, those kinds of changes require teams that are responsive and adaptable — but it also needs to be embedded in the principles and the design of a national digital identity system.
One Login for Government
The success of Aadhaar can act as inspiration for national digital identity initiatives all around the world. For the UK government currently moving ahead with its One Login for Government (OLfG) project, looking at the way national digital identity has been implemented and, more importantly evolved, in India is particularly important.
Our experience partnering with Aadhaar over the past five years has taught us the importance of:
Technical expertise to ensure your design can evolve as user needs and tech capabilities change at pace.
An ethical tech delivery focus - including trust and privacy but also inclusive user-centered design so that adoption is high and every citizen can benefit.
Delivering a high quality end-to-end experience, from enrollment through consent through support and issue resolution.
However, to really unlock the most impactful social and economic benefits requires consistently high situational awareness and an ability to rethink your priorities and plans in response to emerging opportunities. We’re proud that our portfolio of national digital identity work is helping those opportunities emerge more quickly, benefiting citizens and governments around the world.
Disclaimer: The statements and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Thoughtworks.
