On 7 December 2022, the Secretariat of Public Innovation of the Chief of Cabinet issued Resolution 17/2022, which establishes the National Blockchain Committee and approves the National Guidelines on Blockchain.
The committee aims to reduce costs and increase the transparency and efficiency of public services through the optimisation of processes managed by the public sector, considering that transactions will have higher levels of security. In addition, the government believes that blockchain will facilitate citizens’ access to public information.
To achieve its objective, the committee will work with government agencies that can contribute to the development of public policies and technological solutions based on blockchain. It will act as an interlocutor of the local ecosystem of this technology and promote the creation of pilot projects.
The guidelines describe the benefits of using blockchain technology and its possible applications. They establish two immediate uses of which the government could take advantage:
- an audit – citizens will have easier access to state transactions, such as tenders, purchases, subsidies, certifications and awards. Currently, access is difficult due to the size and complexity of government structures. The use of blockchain technology will allow citizens to easily follow public domain procedures; and
- certification – the aim is to prevent forgery and fraud in the different documents and titles granted by the public administration, such as national identity cards or passports.
The guidelines also describe some of the most promising use cases of blockchain technology for the public sector:
- identity management – public administration provides an important source of information regarding the identity of citizens. The state administers all types of certificates that allow to identify citizens, including birth and death certificates. When relying on centralised certification authorities,…
