Digital Innovation for Sustainable and Inclusive Development: Pathways and Policy Implications

Abstract

Sustainable and inclusive digital innovation will analyze how environmental and social equity as well as inclusive economic development can be carried forward using digital technologies. In the context of focusing on a sustainable future, these technologies can be efficient in resource management, minimize the environmental footprint, contribute to climate surveillance, and facilitate the implementation of the circular economy. The advantages of digitalization are, however, not as equal as they are portrayed to be. The fact that persistent digital divisions, algorithmic bias, unequal access to infrastructure, and the concentration of power in the large technology firms are threatening to solidify the already available social and economic disparities. In addition, the digitally based infrastructure has a negative impact on sustainability goals due to its environmental footprint, e.g., energy-consuming data centers and electronic waste. This brings about the necessity of designing inclusively, governing responsibly and structuring policies that consider equity and the well-being of the society in the long term. This abstract believe that sustainable and inclusive digital innovation is not an intuitive extension of technological innovation but a planned action and a strategic one. The process of achieving it is done through governmental technology, private sector, civil society, and the local community coming together to establish ethical technology development, universal connectivity to digital, skills training, and climate and development goal. The digital technologies are tools of shared prosperity, strength and equitable economic advancement by placing sustainability and inclusivity as a part of its digital policies.