Case study
Creating a government blockchain strategy with user protection at the forefront.
The Government of Colombia created a Blockchain Reference Guide for the adoption and implementation of blockchain technology for the Colombian State.The Opportunity
As governments grapple with the opportunities and challenges that blockchain technology brings, consumer protection is top of mind. The Ministry of Information Technology and Communications and the Presidential Council for Economic Affairs & Digital Transformation in Colombia created a Blockchain Reference Guide to equip government entities with best practices related to the technology.This way, Ministries and other government entities can build and evaluate projects with a clear understanding of how it would affect end-users – and what tradeoffs may be involved in various technical decisions.
The guide aims to provide public entities inputs and tools that allow them to understand what blockchain technology may be used for and how they can implement simple use cases of blockchain. This unified strategy will support digital transformation and position Colombia as a pioneer and leader in the region for the implementation of initiatives with the use of emerging technologies.
Implementation of the guide is helping reduce barriers that may slow down or prevent the advancement of blockchain in the public sector. It seeks to transcend theoretical concepts and alleviate conceptual, cultural, and technological barriers or gaps. It does so by:
(1) Providing concrete principles that should govern how blockchain technology is developed in the public sector (within which the Presidio Principles is included)
(2) Establishing how blockchain technology should be implemented for the State, including technical and qualitative systemic-level guidance
How we used the Presidio Principles:
The Principles were included in Section 5 of the Reference Guide, “Implementing Blockchain.” This section described how public entities could get their projects off the ground, with a particular emphasis on “starting from those benefits that would be obtained by the user, and putting the user and the citizen at the centre of the design.” The Principles were included as a reference point for minimum standards that the technology providers might consider to align with this vision.Public entities of the national order must develop their blockchain projects in accordance with the reference guideline provided by the government. In this regard, entities must carry out a review of each of the dimensions by the Presidio Principles.
The government will develop virtual socialization spaces for the Guide, likewise, it will have a virtual space to promote, test and experiment with blockchain in a safe and agile way.