The First Ever Sandbox Summer School
Join the Pioneers of Innovation and Become a Sandbox Facilitator
The Sandbox Summer School offers a unique opportunity for civil servants and policymakers to learn how to design, implement, and manage sandboxes in key emerging sectors such as artificial intelligence (AI), digital public infrastructure (DPI), fintech, as well as applications on health, infrastructure and communication services. Over the course of the 5 days program, participants will engage with experts, share experiences, and develop practical knowledge that can be applied to their own contexts. The program includes a hands-on lab to co-create a sandbox, putting theory into practice.
The Sandbox Summer School is offered by the Datasphere Initiative in the context of the Global Sandbox Forum capacity building program.
*20% off if registration done by March 30th
The program includes materials, lunch, tea/coffee. Accommodation is not included.
Module 1: Introduction to Sandbox
This module introduces the concept of sandboxes, their evolution, and types (operational, regulatory, hybrid). Participants will explore how sandboxes foster responsible innovation, legal compliance and regulatory experimentation across sectors like AI, DPI, fintech, health, and infrastructure. It covers the objectives of sandboxes, best practices on sandbox design and implementation, key sector-specific examples, resources needed, and when sandboxes are the right solution. The potential disadvantages of sandboxes (e.g. legitimacy, reduced spaces for civil society participation, transparency, unfair advantages etc) will be presented with their corresponding strategies on how to address them. Participants will also learn how to assess organizational readiness and consider alternatives when a sandbox isn’t suitable.
Module 2: Sandboxes in Action
In this module, participants will learn how sandboxes are applied in key sectors: AI, local initiatives, and cross-border cooperation. They’ll explore AI-specific regulatory frameworks used to incentivize and govern the deployment of real-world existing sandboxes, how municipalities use sandboxes for smart city projects, and the role of cross-border sandboxes in addressing global issues. Case studies from various regions will provide real-world insights into these applications.
Module 3. Step-by-step of a sandbox
This module guides participants through the key phases of the sandbox journey: Initiation, Planning, Implementation, Communication & Engagement, and Exit & Evaluation. Participants will learn how to define a sandbox, plan its structure, engage stakeholders, manage operations, and assess its success with KPIs. The module covers the practical steps of setting up, running, and evaluating a sandbox.Participants will explore real-world examples for these different key phases.
Module 4: Sandbox Lab
The Sandbox Lab provides an interactive, hands-on environment for participants to apply the knowledge and strategies they’ve learned throughout the course. This module is structured around three key approaches: an individual exercise, a co-creation workshop, and a simulation phase.
This summer school is designed for:
By the end of the program, participants will:
The program uses a blended learning approach that combines expert-led lectures, interactive workshops, case studies, and practical labs. Participants will be guided through five key levels of intervention, gaining both theoretical understanding and hands-on experience.
What is a sandbox?
Sandboxes are safe spaces to test new technologies and practices against regulatory frameworks or experiment with innovative uses and means of governing data. Initially used in FinTech, sandboxes are now being applied to broader economic sectors—from transportation to telecommunications to AI. They can be operational, regulatory, or hybrid. Read our 5-minutes introduction.
How do I know if a sandbox is the right option for my context?
The readiness assessment will help determine if a sandbox is a good fit based on your regulatory environment, goals, and available resources and what steps to take to improve your institutional readiness.
What sectors are covered?
The program covers sandboxes as applied in multiple sectors, including AI (read our Sandboxes for AI report), DPI, telecommunications, transportation, finance, and health—each offering unique regulatory challenges and opportunities for sandbox implementation.
Is there any pre-requisite knowledge required?
Basic familiarity with experimental regulation and agile methodologies is helpful, but not required. The program will provide foundational knowledge.
Can I bring my own project to work on?
Yes, the co-creation lab is designed for participants to bring real-world projects or ideas and work on them in collaboration with others.
What about if I already completed my sandbox initiative?
The course will be an opportunity to present the state-of-the-art of evidence and guidance on sandboxes. It could help you with the process of exiting a sandbox, ensuring you have the documentation and evaluation necessary to inform future initiatives.
