Guest Editorial: Blockchain and decentralised solutions for social good
Barbara Guidi, Ombretta Gaggi, Andrea Michienzi · IET Networks · 2023
Social good can be defined as actions or tools that provide some sort of positive impact on people and society.In recent years, the scientific community has seen an increase in research relating to social good.In terms of technology, Blockchain, distributed ledger technologies and decentralised technologies in general such as the Interplanetary File System (IPFS), have had a positive impact towards improving social good, such as by introducing transparency, trust and security in supply chains, data sharing and other social good applications.The aim of this Special Issue is to address the following question: 'How does Blockchain impact the social good, and how can decentralisation improve ICT industries?'In particular, blockchain technology can be a driver of innovation and have positive effects on our society, industry, legal systems and economic/financial systems by introducing trust among untrusted parties.Additionally, decentralised technologies can help democratise how services are delivered, therefore increasing the interoperability, transparency and security of Internet services.Lastly, the impact, future and limitations of all these technologies have different effects across specific domains, like industry, economy, society, law, etc.A wide variety of research is being conducted to explore and discover possible challenges and opportunities to exploit blockchain and decentralised solutions for social good.This Special Issue is focused on research ideas, articles and experimental studies related to 'Blockchain and Decentralized Solutions for Social Good' that will advance knowledge concerning the application of the aforementioned technologies in the wide spectrum of social good.