Call for research proposals
Announcing the 2025 Selected Finalists!
- SECTIONS:
As Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) becomes increasingly implemented to impact how individuals access services, exercise agency, and participate in the digital economy, it is reshaping the foundations of public service delivery and market participation. From digital ID systems to real-time payments and data exchange frameworks, DPI is being rapidly adopted globally, often with ambitious goals around inclusion, efficiency, and innovation.
As DPI systems scale, they raise a series of critical and unresolved questions. How can DPI systems be designed to advance inclusion and empower users- without entrenching state or corporate control? What institutional and governance models have proven viable across diverse political economies? How can countries sustain and continuously improve DPI over time -balancing financial sustainability, continuous innovation, and public accountability? And what consumer outcomes DPI can drive beyond inclusion- such as improved financial health?
Over the next three years, CFI will lead a Global DPI Insights Community to explore these questions through country-relevant, context-specific research rooted in ongoing DPI initiatives. The initiative is not designed to champion any single model, but to support rigorous, grounded research and enable constructive debate around various complex and context-dependent forces shaping DPI design and its longer-term impacts. We are particularly interested in long-term impacts on inclusion, fair competition and choice, sustainable growth, and consumer outcomes from using financial services delivered on these rails.
CFI manages the Global DPI Insights Community independently, while working in close collaboration with anchor technical experts who bring a wealth of knowledge and resources to the design and implementation of DPI systems, and with financial funders who are committed to advancing inclusive, sustainable approaches to digital infrastructure. These financial partners contribute strategic perspectives, technical input, and financial support, while CFI retains full responsibility for shaping the research agenda, selecting grantees, and ensuring the independence and rigor of all outputs.
Through this initiative, we:
- Support new research: Provide targeted grants up to $40,000 USD to researchers and institutions exploring how DPI is being implemented, governed, and adapted in different contexts.
- Connect perspectives: Bring together a learning network of academics, policymakers, technologists, civil society, and private actors to examine the long-term viability and societal impact of DPI.
- Extract insights: Synthesize research into timely, actionable guidance for decision-makers shaping the next generation of infrastructure.
- Organize consultative gatherings: Through convenings and consultative gatherings, that we curate and contribute to through industry participation and engagement.
We are especially interested in research that:
- Examines consumer/end user outcomes through use of services delivered on DPI rails, focusing on themes like accountability, consumer protection, public private partnerships, innovation, fair competition, value creation, and trust.
- Explores how DPI systems can move beyond pilots and donor dependency to become financially sustainable, while maintaining openness, transparency, and public value.
- Explores avenues for fair competition, levels the playing field for all stakeholders, creates avenues for public-private partnerships and evaluates value creation through private sector engagement.
- Analyzes emerging governance models — particularly in systems with deep private sector involvement — and how they affect accountability, sustainability, innovation interoperability, and public trust.
- Surfaces innovations in building strong consumer protection measures, maintaining user-centricity, including feedback loops, grievance mechanisms, and tools to measure and improve outcomes.
- Investigates how DPI influences the delivery of financial and non-financial services, and the resulting implications for consumer protection, competition, inclusion, and market dynamics.
- Uncovers learnings through comparative analyses of countries that have implemented DPI and are at advanced stages- such as India and Brazil.
- Understands the impact DPI systems drive beyond access to financial services.
What we offer through this initiative:
- Access to up to $40,000 USD of seed funding for new research
- Opportunities to share findings with practitioners and policymakers
- A platform for collaborative inquiry
This work is driven by a core concern: how DPI can generate tangible, equitable outcomes for individuals — especially those historically excluded from the formal economy — while remaining adaptive, trusted, and fit for purpose over time. The initiative is not designed to champion any single model, but to support rigorous, grounded research and enable constructive debate around the real trade-offs shaping DPI, particularly its long-term impact on inclusion, competition, and customer outcomes.
2025 Finalists – Call for Research Proposals
For the 2025 Global DPI Insights Community grant cycle, we received over 300 proposals from 67 countries. It was a very competitive process, and we thank those who submitted a proposal for their participation. We invite you to explore the finalist proposals.
Summary
Geographical Focus: Ethiopia
This study explores how Ethiopia’s Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) and Instant Payment System (IPS) governance models can evolve to better serve citizens by building consumer trust, enhancing protection, and fostering fair competition. It goes beyond examining financial access to ask what real outcomes these systems are delivering for ordinary people. The research is rooted in Ethiopia’s ongoing digital transformation agenda, from Digital Ethiopia 2025 to new data protection laws and fintech regulations, making it both timely and relevant.
To address the question, the study adopts a mixed-methods, convergent parallel design, integrating desk research, key informant interviews, and user-centered fieldwork. Policy and institutional analysis through desk reviews will establish the current governance landscape and benchmark Ethiopia against global pioneers such as India, Brazil, Kenya, Rwanda, and Ghana. Conversations in KIIs with regulators, FSPs, civil society, and thought leaders will provide insider perspectives on how these systems operate and where the gaps lie. At the same time, the voices of consumers will be placed at the center through FGDs in Addis Ababa and Dire Dawa, where small business owners, young people, and women entrepreneurs will share their experiences of using digital services, including their frustrations, trust levels, and hopes for greater protection.
By combining these perspectives with survey data on adoption, trust, and grievances, the study will build a richer picture of how PKI and IPS affect people’s daily lives. The triangulated findings will highlight not just usage patterns, but also disparities across gender, geography, and income, and will benchmark Ethiopia’s safeguards against international standards.
Ultimately, the research will deliver practical recommendations for regulators and service providers. It aims to guide Ethiopia’s journey toward more inclusive and trusted digital infrastructure, while also offering lessons for other countries seeking to put consumers at the heart of their digital transformation strategies.
Researchers and Affiliation
Maida Zafar
Research Director
Regional Manager, Amarante Consulting
Girum Fekadu Diriba
Lead Researcher
DFS Risk Manager, Ethiopost
Zena Senay
Principle Investigator
Project Manager, Ambassador Micro Finance S.C
Summary
Geographical Focus: Multi-Country across Africa
When DPIs Fail is a comprehensive research on critical failure points of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in Africa and their direct impact on citizens. Conducted by CybAfrique, the research moves beyond technical analysis to explore the governance gaps, human impact, and the resulting erosion of public trust.
The core of the research is a multi-country comparative case study focusing on Nigeria, Kenya, and South Africa — countries chosen for their socioeconomic importance and differing approaches to DPI implementation and the unique security challenges they face. The study’s conceptual framework is built around the CIA triad of security (Confidentiality, Integrity, and Accessibility). Following analysis of documented cases of DPI failures in the countries of interest, the research hypothesizes that DPIs have been implemented without adequate consideration of unique demographic, technological, and socioeconomic factors in African countries, leading to critical security failure points. These failures have then led to tangible socio-economic harm and rights violations for citizens, thereby undermining trust in digital systems.
The methodology is a mixed-methods approach, combining desk research, qualitative and quantitative data collection, and comparative mapping.
The final report will produce a detailed analysis that identifies flaws and provides a pathway forward for policy and practice — ultimately setting motions to build a robust, evidence-based roadmap for creating more secure, trustworthy, and rights-respecting DPI systems in Africa and across the global south.
Researchers and Affiliation
Olatunji Olaigbe
Principal Investigator
CybAfrique
Funmilayo Obasa
Co-Principal Investigator
CybAfrique
Adebayo Abdulrahman
Coordination Lead
CybAfrique
Summary
Geographical Focus: Ghana
Ghana is rapidly advancing its digital future through foundational platforms like the Ghana Card, MoMo and GhanaPay, which are crucial for financial inclusion and improving public services. However, this digital transformation risks leaving the most vulnerable citizens behind, including rural women, informal sector workers, and persons with disabilities, who face significant barriers and are often most exposed to digital fraud, data privacy breaches, and exclusion. A critical gap exists in understanding how these groups can report issues and find solutions when things go wrong.
This research project, led by John Mensah of Digital Infra Ghana Limited and Helena Nti of the University of Health and Allied Sciences, directly addresses this challenge. Over six months, our team will investigate the real-world experiences of vulnerable users interacting with these digital systems in both urban and rural communities. Through in-depth interviews, user workshops, and engagement with key stakeholders from government and industry, the study will identify the primary barriers to digital trust and effective recourse.
The ultimate goal is to produce concrete, actionable recommendations for policymakers, regulators, and service providers. By focusing on the lived experiences of those most at risk, this project will provide a clear evidence-based roadmap to build a more inclusive, equitable, and trustworthy digital ecosystem. The findings will help ensure that Ghana’s digital public infrastructure serves as a true foundation for equitable progress, protecting every citizen and reinforcing Ghana’s position as a leader in people-centric digital transformation in Africa.
Researchers and Affiliation
John Mensah
Principal Investigator
Director, Digital Infra Ghana Limited
Helena Nti
Co-Principal Investigator
Lecturer and Nutrition Scientist, University of Health and Allied Sciences
Summary
Geographical Focus: Global
Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI), which includes digital payments, digital ID, and data exchange, is now critical to the delivery of government and financial services in many countries. Despite widespread enthusiasm for DPI, particularly with the use of open-source DPGs (such as MOSIP, OpenG2P, and X-Road), financial sustainability challenges remain poorly understood.
Similar to more traditional digital transformation activities, DPI faces barriers of lack of scaling, donor dependency, and a failure to deliver the benefits beyond the initial donor funding, often believed to be from a lack of financial support.
There is limited evidence on which funding and governance models best enable DPI, and associated DPG systems, to remain accessible, relevant, practical, and secure over time. While some projects succeed through hybrid public-private models or community stewardship, others collapse under the weight of unaddressed costs, misaligned incentives, or unclear ownership.
This research will address cost effectiveness versus functionality, funding opportunities, and recommendations to ensure long-term financial sustainability beyond initial donor financing.
Researchers and Affiliation
Siobhan Green
Lead Researcher; Digital Government, ID, and Data Exchange Expert
CFO and Senior Technology Specialist, Fenix Digital
Molly Dean
Development Finance and Digital Payments Expert
Senior Advisor, Fenix Digital
Samantha Chen
Research Coordinator and Project Manager
Partner and Research & Insights Practice Lead, Fenix Digital
Summary
Geographical Focus: Colombia
This study investigates how Colombia’s evolving Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)—specifically instant interoperable payments (Bre-B, a real-time payment system), as well as the platforms Transfiya, Redeban, and Visionamos—can enhance secure, efficient, and inclusive access to international remittances for migrant women. Against the backdrop of mass Venezuelan migration, women play a central role in managing household remittances yet face significant barriers: limited digital literacy and connectivity, restrictive identification and Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements, trust deficits, and socio-cultural constraints.
This research investigates how Colombia’s DPI digital ID, payments, and data-exchange systems impact migrant women’s financial inclusion, and identifies the technological, regulatory, and socio-cultural factors influencing their adoption and sustained use.
Adopting a mixed-methods approach, the study combines:
- Quantitative surveys with 500–700 migrant women in key Colombian cities to generate descriptive insights and cluster profiles on digital access, remittance behaviors, and barriers.
- Qualitative interviews, focus groups, and case studies with migrant women, DPI developers, regulators, and financial providers to capture lived experiences, trust dynamics, and usability challenges.
- Document and institutional analysis of policies, ID systems, and DPI governance frameworks.
- Cross-country benchmarking of comparable systems (e.g., Pix in Brazil, CoDi in Mexico, Yape in Peru) to draw transferable lessons for Colombia.
The study tests hypotheses on whether gender-responsive DPI design, participatory co-creation, and integration with financial literacy initiatives improve adoption, trust, and empowerment outcomes for migrant women. Special attention will be given to Bre-B’s interoperability, onboarding processes, fraud protection, pricing transparency, and acceptance of QR (Quick Response) codes by merchants.
Expected outputs include persona profiles, inclusion heatmaps, scheme/rail scorecards, and policy recommendations for key stakeholders. The project will provide guidance to ensure Colombia’s DPI transition supports safe, affordable, and empowering remittance experiences for migrant women, advancing financial inclusion with a sensitive approach to gender and migration.
Researchers and Affiliation
Angélica Cardozo
Co-Principal Investigator & Project Coordinator
Head of Digital Solutions, Fundación Capital
Jorge Zavala
Co-Principal Investigator
Head of Research and Data, Fundación Capital
Summary
Geographical Focus: India
India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) now processes more than 83% of the country’s digital transactions, reaching ₹24.77 trillion (USD $281.14 billion) in March 2025, yet reported losses of ₹4.85 billion (USD $55.05 million) to UPI-related fraud highlight serious risks. While national surveys show that one in five UPI users has faced fraud, there is no systematic evidence on how elderly citizens experience these scams. Older adults, who often have limited digital literacy and weaker support networks, remain largely invisible in existing data and policy responses.
This six-month study directly addresses that gap by generating the first comprehensive Delhi-based evidence on the intersection of ageing, digital finance, and cybercrime. It will document how people aged 60 and above adopt or avoid UPI, the barriers they face, and the financial and psychological consequences of fraud. It will also critically evaluate the adequacy of grievance redressal, customer protection, and legal safeguards from the perspective of elderly users.
The research design is deliberately rigorous and mixed methods. A multi-stage stratified sample of 250 elderly residents across diverse income, literacy, and urban & rural settings in Delhi will ensure representativeness. Quantitative surveys will map usage patterns and vulnerability, analysed through descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, and binary logistic regression to identify predictors of fraud exposure. Complementary qualitative methods, including focus-group discussions and key-informant interviews with bank officials, fintech agents, and family caregivers, will undergo thematic and sentiment analysis to capture lived experiences and emotional impact.
Deliverables will include:
- Data-driven insights on adoption gaps, scam typologies, and the real cost of fraud for the elderly.
- Policy and design recommendations for regulators, fintech platforms, and banks to build elder-friendly, fraud-resistant payment systems.
- A publicly disseminated report to guide national strategies on secure digital finance.
With its focused six-month timeline and rigorous methodology, this project promises high impact and immediate applicability, equipping policymakers and industry leaders with the evidence needed to protect India’s ageing population in an increasingly cashless economy.
Researchers and Affiliation
Dr. Santvana Kumar
Principal Investigator
Assistant Professor, IILM University
Akshay Jain
Co-Investigator
Assistant Professor, IILM University
Jainendra Kumar Sharma
Co-Investigator
Assistant Professor, IILM University
With the announcement of the selected finalists to receive grants awarded by the Global DPI Insights Community, CFI reflects on the selection process and how the 300+ research proposals received surfaced critical tensions and opportunities at the heart of current DPI innovation.
FAQs
Please email insightscommunity@accion.org if you have any questions about this call for proposals.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
Yes, but we prefer the team has representation from researchers who have lived experience in the intended markets.
Networking and dissemination of findings. The best research will be featured at leading industry convenings organized by CFI, allowing the opportunity to present to leading policymakers and experts in the field.
Yes. This is part of a rolling call for proposals over the next three years and we will have multiple rounds after this one is completed.
Founding Funder
Anchor Technical Experts
Meet the Experts
The Community’s digital public infrastructure experts focus on responsible product design and identifying and mitigating risks in an evolving digital world.
David Porteous
Founder and CEO,
Integral: Governance Solutions
Edoardo Totolo
Deputy Managing Director, Center for Financial Inclusion
Jayshree Venkatesan
Senior Director, Consumer Protection & Strategic Industry Engagement, Center for Financial Inclusion
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DPI Resources
Brief
DPI’s Unspoken Trade-Offs
While digital public infrastructure is celebrated for its speed and reach, these systems often advance faster than the evidence on their long-term effects. This brief argues that the success of DPI depends on managing trade-offs between three objectives: delivering public value, fostering market dynamism, and safeguarding system integrity.
