Press Release: ANU and NLUD awarded grant to collaborate on international standards for blockchain
The ANU Tech Policy Design Centre (TPDC), in partnership with ANU College of Law, and the Centre for Communication Governance at National Law University Delhi (CCG-NLUD), are the successful recipients of a 3-year AUD$750,000 grant to spearhead international conversations on blockchain standards.
Awarded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the grant was conferred as part of the second round of the Australia-India Cyber and Critical Technology Partnership (AICCTP) program.
The project will research trends shaping non-financial uses of blockchain technologies. It will assess the opportunities and effectiveness of existing international blockchain standards and make recommendations to encourage the development of international standards consistent with Australia and India’s shared vision of an open, free, rules-based Indo-Pacific.
Professor Johanna Weaver, Director of TPDC, said the importance of international standards discussions in shaping technology is too-often overlooked.
“Blockchain will be at the heart of the solutions to many global challenges – clean tech, food security, supply chain verification, and natural resources management to name just a few.”
“This project aims to ensure international standards evolve in a manner that prioritises and embeds privacy, security, and safety into the foundations of the blockchain technologies of today and tomorrow.”
Jhalak Kakkar, Executive Director of CCG-NLUD, said that often development of technology and related standards do not account for the contextual realities of Global South countries and diverse groups.
“This project endeavours to bridge this gap by engaging with stakeholders on blockchain standards development and use cases across the Indo-Pacific region. We will analyse blockchain developments that are scalable and replicable across the Indo-Pacific that also support gender equality and women’s empowerment.”
Professor Sally Wheeler OBE MRIA FAcSS FAAL, Deputy Vice-Chancellor (International Strategy), welcomed the grant.
“The recommendations and the community built through this project will enable more meaningful engagement in international standards discussions by Australia and India.”
“It’s fitting that Australia and India’s national universities are partnering to help shape blockchain standards, given the unique national roles of our respective institutions, our shared values, and our joint commitment to an open, free, rules-based Indo-Pacific.”
The Faculty Advisor to the CCG-NLUD and Associate Professor with the National Law University Delhi, Dr. Daniel Mathew, expressed his enthusiasm for the cross-disciplinary partnership stating that the blockchain project will be a vehicle for building strong momentum for rules-based order across the Indo-Pacific – an imminent need, given the fact that the region will play a vital role in setting the context and contours of technological innovation for the coming decades.
The research will be conducted in consultation with key stakeholders in the blockchain ecosystem of India and Australia, the first joint report was released in November 2022.
For more information, or to get involved in the research project please contact us.
The Centre for Communication Governance is an academic research centre at the National Law University Delhi. The Centre aims to ensure that Indian legal education establishments engage more meaningfully with information technology law. It undertakes academic research, provides policy inputs at the domestic and international level, and builds the capacity of key stakeholders as part of its endeavour to embed good governance and constitutional principles in the information technology law and policy domain.