Unveiling the NGI Impact in Shaping Europe’s Digital Future
In a pivotal moment for Europe’s digital landscape, the release of the comprehensive study report, “Benchmarking the Impact of the Next Generation Internet Initiative,” marks a significant milestone. This detailed evaluation highlights the transformative impact of the Next Generation Internet (NGI) initiative, an EU programme aimed at developing an internet that prioritises human values and aligns with European principles. The findings underscore the essential role NGI plays in fostering a sustainable, sovereign, and EU-aligned tech ecosystem.
NGI’s Journey: Catalyzing Innovation
Launched in 2019, the NGI programme drives innovation across Europe. With approximately €140 million invested over five years, NGI supports over 1,000 grassroots open-source projects. These projects encompass a wide array of key technology areas, including decentralised social media, secure messaging, digital identity, collaborative tools, and crowdsourced data/AI. The initiative’s focus on digital rights, sustainability, and compliance with EU legislation remains central to its success.
Key Findings from the NGI Impact Study
The NGI Impact Study reveals significant contributions of NGI projects across various dimensions. Nearly three-quarters of these projects enhance safety, security, and individual empowerment, with 59% focusing on centering people’s rights in digital transformation and 57% ensuring online freedom of choice.
About 39% of NGI projects support compliance with GDPR, 30% align with the Cyber Resilience Act, and 23% aid in implementing the Digital Services Act and Digital Markets Act. Additionally, more than half of the projects collaborate with standardisation organisations like W3C, IETF, and OASIS, impacting internet protocols and standards such as Solid, HTML, CSS, WebAuthn, and DNSSEC. The study also highlights that 57% of NGI projects provide viable alternatives to existing market solutions in domains like productivity tools and social media.
Post-funding, 74% of projects continue to operate, with 32% securing additional funding, often from NGI itself, leading to the creation of around 80 new sustainable legal entities. Furthermore, NGI funding has fostered collaboration, engaging an estimated 50 open-source contributors per project and around 80,000 individuals contributing on platforms like GitLab and GitHub.
TrustChain: A Beacon of Trust and Innovation
Under the NGI umbrella, TrustChain launched in January 2023 to address critical challenges in digital identity, data governance, and sustainability. With a focus on decentralized digital identity, user privacy, and energy-efficient data pathways, TrustChain is developing a portfolio of NGI protocols and decentralized software solutions that uphold the highest standards of human rights, ethics, and sustainability.
Through its five Open Calls, TrustChain distributes €8.8 million to support top internet innovators, including researchers, startups, and SMEs. These calls focus on:
- Decentralized digital identity
- User privacy and data governance
- Economics and democracy
- Multi-chain support for NGI protocols
- Green, scalable, and sustainable distributed ledger technologies (DLTs)
Each open call lasts nine months, during which innovators receive funding and support for mentoring, coaching, and implementing a human-centric approach.
The NGI Impact Study showcases the significant strides made by the NGI initiative in fostering a more human-centric internet. By driving innovation, promoting sustainability, and aligning with EU values, NGI and its projects like TrustChain pave the way for a digital future that prioritizes human rights, ethics, and democratic principles. As Europe continues to navigate the digital transition, the insights and achievements of the NGI initiative undoubtedly play a crucial role in shaping a secure, inclusive, and sustainable internet for all.
Explore the full report to gain deeper insights into NGI’s achievements and future direction.
The text in this blog post has been adapted from the NGI website.
