New DCPC stakeholder engagement tool: Enhancing national digital resilience with digital commons. https://dcpc.info/faq/ Liberal democratic institutions are seen by many citizens as opaque and elitist, leading to widespread crises of trust and confidence. An effective response is the adoption of digital commons, which practically implement democratic principles of transparency, accountability and participation. Digital commons, also called open digital infrastructure, are shared information and knowledge resources such as open source software (OSS) and Open Street Map. They are produced and managed for collective use, and to be modified and redistributed as needed. To help government agencies and employees better understand the benefits of adopting digital commons in preference to closed products and services, the Digital Commons Policy Council is releasing a new stakeholder engagement tool, Enhancing national digital resilience with digital commons. This tool consists of a one-page elevator pitch outlining how adopting digital commons can enable governments to (1) secure digital sovereignty, (2) invest in sustainable resources, and (3) rebuild trust. An online FAQ provides additional information and examples about these points, as well as information and examples about (4) procurement and firm support, and (5) products and services. The one-page elevator pitch and FAQ can both be found here: https://dcpc.info/faq/ Background The Digital Commons Policy Council is an international think tank established in 2021 at the University of Canberra, Australia. It aims to increase the recognition of the benefits of digital commons such as open source software and Wikipedia, and of the volunteer labour which produces these common goods. It does so by producing evidence-based public reports and other resources and by organising workshops which bring together diverse stakeholders. Enhancing national digital resilience with digital commons was conceived during the DCPC/CDC 2025 Workshop held on 21-23 May 2025 at the University of Liverpool’s Civic Health Innovation Labs (CHIL), UK. The event represented the opportunity for 35 attendees from around the world to exchange insights about the latest developments in the digital commons policy and research space. The gathering drew participants from academia, policy, and civil society, including representatives from France’s Agence française de développement and the UK Government’s Digital Cabinet Office. Attendees also included non-profit organisation representatives and researchers from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, France, India, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Uganda and the United Kingdom, with sponsored delegates from low and middle-income countries supported by the organisers. Similarly to the 2024 DCPC/CIS Policy Lab, the 2025 Workshop used an ‘unconference’ format whereby work directions emerged from the attendees’ deliberations. After discussing issues currently impacting digital commons development, the general assembly of participants identified several resources that it would be useful to have. They then self-selected into separate breakout groups to collaboratively create these resources via open documents, with groups reporting at intervals to the general assembly for feedback. The resources are new communication tools for stakeholder engagement, a taxonomy of digital commons, implementation mechanisms for digital commons for healthcare policy and development, and aspirational principles for governments to support inclusive global digital commons. In a final debrief session, many participants declared they had found the event’s positive atmosphere and mix of idealistic and pragmatic outputs inspiring. Following the Workshop, group members have continued working to finalise the resources.
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