The primary items of the "Progressing Toward Digital Equality Program (2020-2023)," which is in accordance with the fourth principle of the "Smart Taiwan Program (2021-2025)," "Digital Inclusivity," include conducting digital development research, current national digital development progress research and analysis, and the provision of digital development research data required for ministries to promote digital equality policies. These help attain goals such as improving Taiwan’s digital inclusiveness, bridging digital divides, realizing actualization through education, and establishing rolling surveys of digital talent and skill level certification.

To implement the aforementioned policies, "digital opportunity research" has transformed into "digital development research" since 2020. Through a system of objective, scientific, and broad-ranged digital development indicators, Taiwan’s national digitalization progress is evaluated and monitored regularly so the government and citizens are informed about the maturity of Taiwan’s digital development. Additionally, based on indicator evaluation, the government can monitor other countries’ progress, assess the external environment where trends in international digital development are rapidly changing, and review and plan digitization policies with digital inclusiveness in mind. In doing so, the government can meet international trends, clearly represent Taiwan’s current progress in digital development, and reinforce connections between research results and policies.

Taiwan’s digital development research system matches the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) "Well-being Framework," featuring 12 dimensions and 74 indicators, some of which are local indicators designed to reflect Taiwan’s national conditions, while others are defined according to OECD’s Well-being Framework.