Donors and International Organisations

In this chapter the authors examine the response of the international development community to Blockchain and frontier technologies. It considers multilateral, bilateral organisations, and non-government organisations, and their role in curating the design and implementation of these technologies. The authors conclude that the global development community need to be active regarding the digital future. International development organisations have a key role to play in building the evidence on how technology can contribute to making development co-operation more effective, impactful, and inclusive. There is a widespread view that Blockchain and frontier technologies offer an important opportunity to accelerate progress towards the SDGs. It is time for international development organisations to lean in and help shape the new technologies as they rapidly accelerate and galvanise a more systematic and joined up international development approach to the digital future.

Blockchain for Universal Health Coverage

In this chapter the authors provide an overview of where Blockchain is being used in high resource settings and explore its potential use in emerging health systems for universal health coverage. There is opportunity to address issues in emerging health systems through adaptation and testing of Blockchain, especially in the management of patient records and data, financing, supply chain management, health workforce management, and surveillance processes. It also has complementary relevance for identity and financial inclusion, which are vital for improving the health of the poor in emerging economies. Reference is also made to the use of Blockchain for displaced people and humanitarian settings, which is the subject of Chapter 7 of this book. There remains, however, a need for more research and evaluation as these technologies are implemented and increased user participation in design to ensure that privacy and security issues are addressed. Furthermore, greater attention to local implementation and health sector applications in low resource settings is required.

Can Blockchain Really Help the Poor?

It is the firm belief of the authors that Blockchain and other frontier technologies will be an important tool for social impact globally. It is now possible, with technology, to envision a world where everyone has an identity, where everyone can be connected to the economic system, where farmers get fair deals for their crops, and land registration is incorruptible. Advances in solar, battery, and digital commerce make it possible to imagine even the smallest village in Africa being able to produce and trade small amounts of energy. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were a visionary leap to a future state where the world can be a better place for humankind. However, they will not be achieved without harnessing the potential of technology. Nor will they be reached alone. In this chapter, the authors profile innovative case studies in Blockchain, which, if brought to scale, may realise the technology's potential. It is through this learning and experimentation that we will learn how to deploy this technology globally for social impact.

Blockchain, the Digital State, and the New World Order

Governments across the world are grappling with the emergence and integration of new technologies. Front runner Estonia provides the model for how a country might completely transform their government operations, economy, and society through a purposeful, strategic program of digitization. This chapter considers how such countries are approaching digital transformation, outlining considerations for governments and submitting the new paradigm outlined in the BS4SC model of a citizen-centric, data-driven, and decentralised economy.

Blockchain Introduced

This chapter provides an introductory explanation of Blockchain technology and how it works, concentrating on its potential for social impact. It describes the history of the development of Blockchain, which is a form of distributed ledger technology.

The Emerging Future

This chapter draws together the various chapters of the book, summarising the high-level points from each. It highlights how Blockchain and other frontier technologies will be an important tool for social impact globally. A renewed focus and promise on emerging economies is highlighted as they now have a way to access knowledge, talent, capital, and to share their talent and ideas and to seek global investment in ways that were not possible before. Some of the policy and governance challenges which will emerge from Blockchain economies are raised as well as the need for more research and discovery. It reinforces the links to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the ways that Blockchain and frontier technologies can exponentiate impact towards the SDGs and should be a focus of governments, international institutions, and indeed, the entire ecosystem.

Emerging Markets

While most of the development and implementation of Blockchains has taken place in Western countries, arguably its greatest potential resides in emerging markets: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Qatar, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, and United Arab Emirates – all countries that are evolving and disrupting traditional methods of production like agriculture and the export of raw materials to invest in modern manners of productive capacity. This chapter examines the sectors in which Blockchain is being used to innovate in emerging markets to enable financial inclusion, improved asset and supply chain management, education, and healthcare.

Introduction

This chapter introduces Blockchain technology and its potential for social change. It explores the exponential growth of new technologies, highlighting key challenges in Blockchain applications. For context, the authors draw upon management literature for an historical overview of the constructs of social change including charity, stewardship, corporate citizenship, corporate social responsibility, and the triple bottom line. The advent and rise of each construct are presented to explain the dynamics that have contributed to the global focus on social change and the opportunities it creates.

Refugees and Humanitarian Settings

Mass migration has become one of the 21st century's greatest challenges. With an estimated 214 million people on the move internationally and forced displacement at a record high, population mobility is one of the leading policy issues of the 21st century. Women and children with no identity can be missed by national social programs in addition to the risks posed by being on the move. Developments in Blockchain can enable the tracking and delivery of in-kind aid and facilitate cash assistance programs in humanitarian settings and coordinate, collect, and analyse data in crisis to enable a timely and appropriate response. This chapter presents the ways in which Blockchain is being deployed in humanitarian and refugee settings and a series of case studies from Finland, Moldova, Kenya, and Iraq. While promising progress has been made, there remains a need for more research and evaluation as these technologies are implemented, increased user participation in design, and to ensure that privacy and security issues are addressed.

Transforming Cities

Chapter 5 explores the use of distributed ledger technologies in cities to help improve citizen-centric services: land registries, health care, welfare payments, identity, supply chains, and voting. McKinsey analysts predict that by 2020 the number of smart cities will reach 600 worldwide, and 5 years later almost 60% of the world's GDP will be produced in them. Digital technologies could become an engine of economic progress, and Blockchain could be one of those technologies. This connectivity, however, comes at a cost. How will cybersecurity evolve with Web 3.0 and 4.0 technologies to protect cities from cyber-attacks? This chapter introduces how Blockchains may be used to resolve a range of city-based challenges arising from broader global concerns like national population increases, urban density, anthropomorphic climate change, urban pollution and mobility, local and national citizen services, and infrastructure.