USAID’s Digital Democracy Principles in the Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance Policy

The DRG Policy at USAID.gov Full DRG Policy PDF, downloaded 1/22/2025

USAID released a new Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance Policy July 2024. The Policy is framed around 4 strategic changes, or “Pivots”, to adapt USAID’s work to today’s world. Pivot 3 is “Advance digital democracy by supporting rights-respecting approaches to data and technology.” The Agency describes this as USAID will promote inclusive, rights-respecting approaches to the development, deployment, use, and governance of digital technologies and data to foster vibrant democracies and counter the rise of “digital repression.”

One core element of Policy Pivot 3 is the “Digital Democracy Principles” (page 16) which were written by Chris in consultation with over one hundred people from with civil society organizations, private sector companies, and USAID missions. These principles are designed to be easy to understand high-level concepts that can help those who are not experts to ask questions about the unexpected negative consequences and second-order effects of their technology applications.

###The Digital Democracy Principles

  1. Harness opportunities to strengthen democratic institutions, governance, and norms to advance rights-respecting digital ecosystems.
  2. Collaborate with the private and public sectors to encourage rights-respecting digital investment and innovation.
  3. Prioritize Do-No-Harm protections and support safeguards to prevent and minimize adverse impacts of digital technologies and data systems.
  4. Facilitate and strengthen multi-stakeholder alliances, foster learning, and improve coordination among donor governments.
  5. Prioritize digital inclusion, including by supporting local research and leveraging resources from local digital ecosystems.