The Digital Ecosystem Country Assessment (DECA) Toolkit Research Checklist is your technical “North Star” to be used throughout the DECA process. It includes guidance and questions for each DECA topic. You should try to answer most of the questions in this checklist, but Mission priorities and country context may require being flexible. The DECA is a broad assessment and is not designed to be an authoritative, all-inclusive source. Each country’s context is unique and may require the inclusion of additional topics; add them as pertinent.

For each DECA pillar, this Checklist presents:

i) A concise definition.

ii) The Ideal State frames the “ideal” digital ecosystem for comparison, broken down at the government, institution, and individual levels. 

iii) Key Stakeholders guide interviewee identification.

iv) Guiding Questions help identify initial interviewees, unpack the current state and its impact, and reveal perceptions of a variety of relevant stakeholders.

v) Key Resources will serve as a good starting point for further exploration, although they are not the only resources you should refer to.