Interview with Mei Lin Fung

Exploring the Future of Digital Public Infrastructure with Mei Lin Fung 

At GovStack, we focus on supporting Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) that drives inclusive, people-centred transformation. To better understand how DPI can reshape societies and empower communities, we sat down with Mei Lin Fung, Chair of IEEE and Co-Founder of the People-Centred Internet and a pioneer in the field of digital innovation. With decades of experience at the intersection of technology and humanity, Mei Lin shared her insights on GovStack’s role in shaping the future of DPI and how it aligns with a regenerative, community-first vision.   

A Vision Rooted in Humanity 

Mei Lin’s career has been driven by one core belief: technology should serve humanity. Reflecting on her journey, she shared, “Growing up in Singapore, I found out the difference social institutions can make in enhancing prosperity or NOT […]. From my work in the 1990s on the first ERP / CRM systems at Oracle to 2011-2013 leading socio-technical initiatives for the US Federal Health Futures (FHF), I have sought to stay at the “bleeding edge” of technology innovation […] I know policy can and must make a practical difference for all.    I have focused on making data a shared resource, like water, whose benefits are accessible to all. Water needs high-quality standardized infrastructure, principles and processes to be of the quality we expect to provide value – just like data.” 

Through initiatives like the Federal Health Futures (FHF) and policy advocacy at global forums, Mei Lin has championed the idea of building inclusive ecosystems where technology adapts to societal needs—not the other way around. 

When asked about the importance of DPI, Mei Lin was unequivocal:

She emphasized that “DPI isn’t just about building digital services, it’s about creating a framework of interconnected systems, protocols, and platforms that serve as a foundation for everything from public service delivery to private innovation.” It must function as a digital utility that fosters both public service delivery and personal growth. GovStack’s modular building blocks align with this vision, offering countries the tools they need to create interoperable, scalable systems tailored to local needs. “GovStack promotes a cooperative framework,” she explained. “Where countries can experiment with and refine digital services under aligned frameworks and compatible standards while having the flexibility of incorporating local feedback to reflect cultural context and sensitivities. I see GovStack as a collective network where countries can learn from each other’s experiences and adapt globally beneficial solutions to local realities, helping drive sustainable, community-focused digital public services that align with both national and global needs, building better regenerative capacity faster.” 

The Path to Inclusive Digital Transformation 

For Mei Lin, DPI’s true potential lies in its ability to bridge divides and empower underserved communities. She highlighted the importance of decentralized approaches: “Every government has a right to address their cultural and society’s expectations, it is important that we are able to implement this cultural uniqueness within each country’s technology. But being unique in some things does not mean that everything needs to be unique. So, where we have things in common, these are the situations where we can share our learnings and experiences and converge on solutions, such as similar building blocks. Decentralization allows us to separately keep and develop what we want to keep unique while integrating both unique and common building blocks as components in the ecosystem.” This approach fosters interoperability and interconnectedness, ensuring that DPI is inclusive and sustainable while respecting local autonomy.  

Despite its potential, Mei Lin acknowledged that implementing DPI comes with challenges. A significant hurdle she sees is the lack of awareness among decision-makers once many leaders are still unfamiliar with what DPI is and the opportunities it offers. That is why it is important that “the decision makers are informed and aware of trade-offs and know how to assess and evaluate designs and implementations even given conflicting and ambiguous goals […] Educating the leaders about DPI is a critical key to the success of DPI adoption.” 

Another gap is the underrepresentation of the informal sector and community-driven contributions in digital ecosystems. She stressed, “The importance of social intelligence and emotional intelligence in designing DPI has led to “funding-driven” solutions, and de-valued “community-driven” or “people-driven” approaches to design and implementation. Digital Asset Registries (DARs) and data cooperatives are essential tools to capture this broader contextual data and to value the informal and too often overlooked social and emotionally intelligent counsel and contributions of those outside the mainstream. By incorporating cultural and social context, parallel experiments can converge to a regenerative DPI that respects the full diversity of human experience. “ 

Building a Sustainable and Inclusive Future with GovStack 

Sustainability must be at the heart of GovStack, according to Mei Lin. “GovStack should prioritize energy-efficient solutions and foster sustainable digital ecosystems that strengthen communities rather than deplete resources,” she said. Drawing inspiration from Paul Hawken’s concept of regeneration, she emphasized the importance of creating digital services that restore and enhance ecosystems. “GovStack is a healthy way to achieve sustainability for digital government products and services,” she added. “Instead of the waste caused by reinventing wheels and spending resources on doing the same thing again and again, the focus will be on creating new innovations and services on top of these building blocks that do not need to be continuously rebuilt.” 

As we wrapped up our conversation, Mei Lin shared a powerful message for governments: “Governments should champion Digital Public Infrastructure as the next wave of the Internet by building on past insights to foster resilience, enhance regenerative capacity, and incorporate feedback from people and businesses—ensuring practical benefits reach everyone, not just a privileged few.”  

Her advice for women starting in tech is equally inspiring: “Lead with resilience and embrace your unique perspective, advocate for technology that respects human dignity, drives inclusivity, and contributes to a regenerative future for all.” 

Mei Lin’s vision for DPI aligns with GovStack’s mission to create scalable, interoperable, and inclusive digital solutions. Together, we are working toward a future where technology empowers people and strengthens communities, one building block at a time. 

We sincerely thank Mei Lin for her continued support as a valued member of our Advisory Board and for taking the time to share her insights with us in this interview.