数字公共工程：利用数字技术使公共工程的设计和交付现代化

NOVEMBER 2025|NO. 26-04 Digital PublicWorks HIGHLIGHT Rapid advances in digital technology aretransforming how people learn, work andaccess public services. At the same time,digital skills and work experience are in-creasingly important for economic inclu-sion and jobs. This shift presents bothopportunitiesand challenges for socialprotection systems, including public worksprograms (PWPs), which have traditionallyfocused on low-skill jobs and physical in-frastructure. Digital PWPs offer an inno-vative response that leverages the spreadof digital technology and integrates digi-tal work and tools into PWPs. Participantsmay,for example,use mobile phonesto map infrastructure, digitize public re-cords, or collect data for local planning,gaining digital work experience while cre-ating valuable digital public assets. By en-abling remote, flexible, and non-physicalwork, digital PWPs can expand the reachand relevance of conventional PWPs. Thebrief outlines their key features, potentialbenefits and challenges.Public Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure AuthorizedPublic Disclosure Authorized Leveraging Digital Technologyto Modernize the Design andDelivery of Public Works Jonathan Stöterau and Marko Buciki KEY MESSAGES •Digital PWPs adopt digital tools andplatformsto manage the work process.This can enable programs to become moreefficient, flexible, and tailored to individualcircumstances. •Digital PWPs can complement conventionalpublic works by combining a social protectionprogram with digital work opportunities andthe creation of digital public assets. •Digital PWPs typically involve work that isremote, flexible, and non-physical, which canmake these programs more accessible andattractive to groups typically underserved byconventional PWPs such as women, urbanyouth, and people with disabilities. •Digital PWPs also have challenges as theyrequiredigital infrastructure,skills,andequipment. These can entail high initial costsand demand substantial technical expertise. •Many challenges related to digital PWPscan be overcome by tailoring their designand implementation to the context. Futureprograms should assess how to maximizetheircost-effectiveness and enable theirintegration within (digital) social protectionsystems. •Digital PWPs produce digital public assets—forexample,datasets or maps—whileenabling participants to gain digital skills andwork experience. These new types of publicassets can support the digital transformationof public governance and the economy Harnessing Technology to Expand the Scope of Public Works “Digital public works” have been developed as aninnovative approach that can complement conven-tional PWPs.In recent years, governments worldwide havesought out ways to enhance their social protection systemsusing digital technologies with the goal of making themmore cost‑efficient and resilient against shocks. Meanwhile,governments also have increasingly explored new techno‑logical solutions to crowdsource information needed forpublic policy, such as datasets to manage urban disasterrisks.The trend toward digital government solutions hasgone hand in hand with an increasing awareness of theneed to provide workers with the digital skills and workexperience. The concept of “digital public works” respondsto these needs by extensively leveraging digital technologiesin the design and implementation of public works. PWPs are widely used social protection measuresin low- and middle-income countries but theireffectivenessand inclusiveness have beenquestioned.PWPs differ from other social protectionmeasures by combining three objectives: providing tempo‑raryincome support, generatingpublic assets or services,and enhancing participants’skills to increase their earningopportunitiesafter they exit the program.However,conventional PWPs have been questioned for a lack ofcost‑effectiveness and inclusiveness. Evaluations suggestthat many programs have little impact on post‑programearnings and incur high implementation costs.1 They alsooften fail to reach some of the most vulnerable groups,such as women and youth, unless specifically designed totarget them.2 What are Digital Public Works Programs? By incorporating all three core features, digital PWPs gobeyond initiatives that digitalize selected delivery mecha‑nisms of conventional public works, such as outreach andregistration.ii,iii Digital PWPs integrate digital work opportunitiesand the creation of digital public assets.Theseprograms follow the same three objectives as conven‑tional PWPs but address them through a distinctly digitalapproach. To this end, digital PWPs involve three corefeatures (Figure 1): •They engage participants indigital work, providing themwith opportunities to gain digital skills and experience.•They createdigital public assets or services.•They usedigital tools and processes to manage thework activities. Source: Authors. Digital work opportunities with smartphones—this can make a digital PWP moreinclusive to diverse target