BSI´s Development Solution

Building digital trust through International Standards

Program in a Nutshell

Created in 2021

5 activities carried out​

Services

  • Policy Dialogue
  • Capacity Building and Development

Donors

UK Aid – UK Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO)

Geographical scope​

Regional Economic Status

Partner : BSI

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About

The British Standards Institution (BSI)’s international standards-based digitalization toolkit/programme aims to demonstrate how international standards and National Standards Bodies (NSBs) can help build trust and provide confidence in the digital transformation process and facilitate digital trade.

It will help stakeholders in the national digital ecosystem to understand and use international standards as a powerful additional tool in their cyber policy portfolio, complementing legislation and regulation, to build cybersecurity, resilience and trust in digital systems to the benefit of citizens and businesses alike.

The toolkit/programme consists of:

  1. A national digital policy roundtable aimed at senior stakeholders within the digital ecosystem (policy makers, regulators, the NSB, trade associations, industry and development banks), to create a common understanding on the role that international standards can play in digital transformation and digital trade, as well as raise the profile of the NSB in this policy dialogue
  2. A 4-day national capacity building programme, aimed at key practitioners in the digital ecosystem, on the role of standards to ensure the security of digital networks, protection of privacy, secure digital ID and interoperability/cloud. The aim is to provide guidance and clarity on the key international standards available and to increase their confidence to use international standards in digital systems.

Services

  • Policy Dialogue

    • The adoption of a new approach to cyber security and digital resilience is a strategic policy decision that has to emanate from the top. The policy roundtable dialogue, organized in partnership with the Ministry of ICT, the National Standards Body and BSI, will:

      • Raise awareness among senior policy makers from various ministries on the value and importance of embedding international standards in digital policies/strategies and programmes to help build a resilient digital economy that meets the present and future needs of the country.
      • Create a common understanding within the digital ecosystem on the role of standards and the importance of collaboration between ministries, regulators, NSBs and the wider Quality Infrastructure System.
      • Introduce senior policy makers to the capacity building (training programme) that will be delivered by BSI to embed trust, cyber security and resilience in the digital economy through the use of standards. It is intended to encourage the relevant institutions to send their staff to the 4-day capacity building programme.
  • Capacity Building and Development

    • The four-day international standards-based capacity-building programme is aimed at key practitioners within the institutions that are driving national digital transformation and trade programmes, who hold responsibilities and decision-making power within the organization.

      It will ensure:

      Better digital skills based on international standards:

      • Deepen their understanding of how international standards can help tackle the issues the country is grappling with, complementing regulation and legislation
      • Provide guidance on the key digital standards to build national digital resilience and draw out the main concepts therein:
          • Information and Cybersecurity
          • Protection of Privacy
          • Digital ID
          • Interoperability and Cloud
      • Provide ideas of how to effectively embed standards in strategies, processes and projects, which will help drive transformation within the institution
      • Increase capacity to use international standards in digital systems, which will give credence to the claims of digital resilience and maturity within the participant’s institution.

      Better coordination:

      • Establish a network of ‘standards champions’ across the digital ecosystem to ensure collaboration and coordination among departments/agencies

       

      BSI - National Digital Resilience

Highlights

  • Digital transformation built on trust: International Standards - Examples of Kenya

    • With the support of the UK Government’s Digital Access Programme (DAP), BSI has delivered its International Standards based Digitalization Toolkit/programme in Kenya.

      As a result of the UNCTAD – BSI collaboration/partnership on the eTrade Readiness (eTReady) assessment framework, UNCTAD incorporated a standards lens in its policy framework, as an additional tool in the cyber portfolio to build trust and resilience, and included National Standards Body as a new stakeholder group to consult in the assessment process. This version of the eTReady was applied in Kenya and the results were very clear: the Kenyan public and private sector, view international standards as ‘very important’ in promoting trust in e-commerce. For areas such as system security, it is as high as 89% and 2/3’s view capacity building on international standards as the top 4 priorities for eCommerce Skills development.

      Based on these stark results, UNCTAD, together with the Ministry of ICT of Kenya (MoICT), invited BSI, together with the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), to participate in the national consultations and validation workshop of the Kenya eTReady, as well as the National eCommerce Strategy development workshop which took place in June 2022. With the support of the UK Government’s Digital Access Programme (DAP), and within the framework of the Kenya UNCTAD workshop, BSI ran a policy roundtable discussion with senior policymakers highlighting the role of international standards as a tool to build digital trust in eCommerce, complementing regulation and legislation and the need for capacity building to bolster the digital economy. This secured commitment from senior policymakers in the Kenya digital ecosystem resulted in the inclusion of a strategic focus on standards and capacity building in the National E-commerce Strategy (ECS). Furthermore, to meet the capacity building needs of Kenya identified by the eTReady and referenced in the ECS, BSI, in partnership with MoICT and KEBS, and through the support of the UK Government’s DAP programme, delivered a 4-day capacity building programme to 35 practitioners from key institutions within Kenya’s digital ecosystem in February 2023 to create a network of ‘standards champions’. The programme deepened their understanding of how international standards can help tackle the issues Kenya is grappling with and provided ideas on how to effectively embed standards in strategies, processes and projects, which will help drive transformation within the institution.

  • Digital transformation built on trust: International Standards - Examples of Indonesia

    • With the support of the UK Government’s Digital Access Programme (DAP), BSI has delivered its International Standards based Digitalization Toolkit/programme in Indonesia.

      In collaboration with the Indonesian Ministry of Communication and Informatics (KOMINFO) and National Standardization Agency of Indonesia (BSN), and with the support of the UK Government, BSI has delivered the Standards Based Digitalization Toolkit in Indonesia. On 18 October 2022, BSI delivered a digital policy roundtable, convening 55 senior policy makers and practitioners within the digital ecosystem, to discuss how a more active approach to the adoption of international standards can support digitalization in Indonesia. The aim of the workshop was to create a common understanding on the role that international standards can play in building trust and resilience in support of government policy in key sectors, in promoting digital trade, and in delivering important public services. The challenges Indonesia faces in promoting digitalization, and the steps it might take to elevate Indonesia’s performance and position in the global digital maturity landscape were discussed. The senior stakeholders, who attended the workshop, agreed on the need to increase the use of international standards to meet the ambitions of the Digital Indonesia Roadmap for 2021-2024. To meet this need, BSI delivered its 4-day capacity building programme, as part of the digitalization toolkit, to 30 practitioners from the digital ecosystem in Indonesia between December 2022 and January 2023.

Publications

For Whom

Policy makersNon-governmental organizationsBusiness AssociationsMSMEsSMEsExpertsDecision makersMiddle Managers

Partners

  • National agencies or bodies

    • Ministry of Information, Communications and The Digital Economy (MOIC-DE), Kenya
    • Kenya Bureau Of Standards (KEBS)
    • Ministry of Communication and Information Technology (Kementerian Komunikasi dan Informatika), Indonesia
    • National Standardization Agency of Indonesia (Badan Standardisasi Nasional)
  • International organizations

    • UNCTAD

UN SDGs

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