We Need Standards for Digital Cooperation to Occur

Abstract

This article makes the case for a new regional mechanism to coordinate the development of data standards. Data standards are necessary to achieve digital cooperation. We need standards to create data value chains that string together data collection through collaborative platforms in order to generate insights and solve longstanding problems. Organizations of all sizes, whether public, private, or not-for-profit, need a suite of data governance standards to manage issues such as data ownership and use, security, residency, privacy, and the protection of fundamental rights.1