How Blockchain Helps the Public Sector

By CIOReview | Monday, June 7, 2021

Governments globally are researching different blockchain initiatives, with some of these concepts already being tested.

FREMONT, CA: Blockchain technology is a disruptive technology and is considered by several to be as revolutionary as the internet. The reason is that it can completely change how business is conducted globally. Like the rise of the internet, its present use is confined to several key areas, but its potential applicability to various other sectors is becoming increasingly recognized. Having ledgers distributed and shared across the network makes it impossible for the ledger to ever be tampered with. Read more here.

Blockchain ledgers can be public or private. Anyone can have access and propose transactions in a public network – these are permissionless, whereas, in a private network, only specific authorized users can participate. Permissionless ledgers enable anyone to contribute data to the ledger and for everyone in possession of the ledger to have copies; permissioned ledgers, on the other hand, limit contributions to a limited of users who have been provided rights. Permissioned ledger is the most applicable types of ledgers for the public sector.

In the public sector, smart contracts can offer certainty and transparency in several transactional processes. Smart contracts on a blockchain include automating the registration of land registry deeds were. Provided the immutable nature of blockchain records, citizens would then be able to review a full record of a property’s ownership or using the system to impact social services payments. Eligibility verification and disbursement of funds could seamlessly be worked into a smart contract that could process the needed steps from the initial application to the eventual payment.

Finally, in the area where blockchains are being leveraged across the public sector spectrum, there is the potential to integrate them to make operations more efficient. This would mitigate the cumbersome bureaucratic challenges often associated with public sector departments, reduce the duplication of information and ensure that various departments across governments would have access to the same trustworthy information.