In a landmark step toward advancing government modernization and public administration reform, the Dominican Republic’s Executive Branch has formally enacted Decree No. 714-26, a comprehensive regulatory framework designed to streamline coordination of strategic digital infrastructure and cross-agency public sector investments. The new rules address longstanding inefficiencies in the country’s public digital ecosystem, with core objectives that include boosting the efficiency of public technology spending, cutting down on redundant investments, strengthening cross-system interoperability, securing sensitive state data, and guaranteeing the long-term security, sustainability and uninterrupted operation of digital public services for citizens.
Overseeing full implementation of the decree will be the Ministry of Public Administration (MAP), which has been granted authority to lead end-to-end management of all strategic digital projects: from initial identification and technical evaluation of proposals to prioritization and ongoing monitoring of contracts and investments. This oversight covers a broad range of digital assets, including internal government systems, public service platforms, cloud computing services, and cutting-edge emerging technologies.
Public Administration Minister Sigmund Freund emphasized that the new regulation represents a defining milestone for the country’s national technology governance. For years, he noted, public sector digital development has been held back by fragmented spending patterns and siloed, uncoordinated investments across individual government institutions—problems the decree is explicitly designed to resolve.
A key provision of the new rule, outlined in Article 6, formally designates the integration, modernization and strengthening of the Dominican State’s sovereign digital infrastructure as an issue of national strategic importance. All large-scale strategic digital investments are now required to complete a mandatory prior technical evaluation, and most cross-agency projects must include formal inter-institutional coordination or joint management structures.
The decree also imposes a new requirement for all Executive Branch institutions seeking to acquire complex digital platforms and custom solutions: they must first obtain a formal technical evaluation from MAP before moving forward with procurement. To cut costs and deliver greater value for public funds, the framework explicitly enables coordinated joint procurement across multiple government entities, allowing agencies to leverage economies of scale and generate significant savings for the state.
To support sustained coordination and implementation, the decree establishes a new Inter-institutional Technical Commission for Strategic Digital Contracting and Investments, bringing together key stakeholders from across the public sector. The commission’s membership includes MAP, the Ministry of the Presidency, the Ministry of Finance and Economy, the Office of Government Information and Communications Technology (OGTIC), the General Directorate of Public Procurement, and the National Cybersecurity Center.
A core policy priority woven into the new regulation is advancing Dominican digital sovereignty. The framework requires all technological solutions procured by the state to guarantee data portability, cross-system interoperability, and technical reversibility. Explicitly prohibited are contract terms or system designs that create exclusive commercial dependencies on a single vendor or erode the Dominican government’s full control over its own data.
For contracts involving artificial intelligence and advanced automation technologies, the decree mandates additional critical safeguards. All AI-powered deployments in the public sector must include provisions for mandatory human oversight, full traceability of algorithmic decisions, and transparent operating processes to ensure accountability.
Importantly, the new regulatory framework does not override existing public governance rules. All public institutions remain subject to pre-existing requirements for public procurement, public budgeting, transparency, cybersecurity, personal data protection, and all other applicable national laws.