WG2
Digital Government
The Digital Government Working Group invites innovative papers on the influence of information communication technologies (ICT) on government, public administration, public policy and the public sector. NISPAcee’s focus and differentiation of regarding this topic is discovering some of the special challenges originating from the CEE region but also contributing to the general discourses on the digital transformation of citizens, institutions and governance.
Important information
From participants of this working group full paper is required before the conference.
25/11/2024
Extended deadline for submissions of Paper Proposals.
10/05/2025
Deadline of full paper submission*
*in case you apply for awards deadline is 10/04/2025
Register for 33rd NISPAcee Annual Conference 2025
Call for papers
I. Introduction: Focus and working aims of the WG
The Digital Government Working Group invites innovative papers on the influence of information communication technologies (ICT) on government, public administration, public policy and the public sector at large. The focus and differentiation of NISPAcee regarding this topic is discovering some of the special challenges originating from the CEE region, but also contributing to the general discourses on digital transformation of citizens, institutions and governance.
II. Concrete specific goals for 2025. Invited topics for 2025:
Spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, public institutions the world over, and maybe even more so in Central and Eastern Europe, are trying to access the benefits of the digital transformation of their societies and communities, while, at the same time, aiming to minimize the perils that increasing digitalization and interconnection brings. As the world navigates through simultaneous challenges—pandemics, economic fluctuations, climate change, and geopolitical tensions—digital government not only influences but is also profoundly influenced by these crises. Digital strategies and technologies can be optimized for resilience, effectiveness, and inclusivity in governance processes. The current poly-crisis brings both opportunities and obstacles for digital transformation efforts. At the same time, new technological domains evolve with frightening speed. AI and its applications (chatbots, generative platforms) offer new possibilities and new worries for public servants, and their integration in the day-to-day operations could spell the difference between successful and not so successful institutions.
We welcome papers that touch on the challenges and opportunities new technologies bring for the public sector.
1.Topics related to digital data: how it is collected, how it is used and what changes (if any) an increasing amount of data bring to the public institutions.
2.Topics linked with the implementation of AI tools in the back-office or front-office of public organizations, including collaborations between different stakeholders involved in the development of such tools (private companies, NGOs).3.Topics related to implementation of digital transformation projects: moving from the planning phase into the real world. Anecdotes and some recent studies seem to show that the pace of change quickened, but more research is needed on this subject.
4.Topics related to security and privacy; how citizen’s rights are protected and how governments, both national and local, aim to strike the correct balance between increased internal connectedness (essential for more and more sophisticated online services) and the need to safeguard the privacy and security of the collected information (essential for trust between citizens and governments). Within this stream of research, we are especially looking for case studies or empirical findings on these topics.
5.Topics related to technological tools that foster citizen’s involvement: bespoke tools or commercial ones (social media, forums, etc.). We encourage authors to submit papers related to innovative use of such tools in local or central government that help citizens, companies or NGOs to be involved in policy-making processes or project implementation. The pandemic forced even more of these processes to move online, and we are keen to know more about their impact on governance. Beyond these invited topics, the working group is also open to presentations of other evergreen aspects of e-governance research such as the concepts of open data, online service design and delivery, transparency, and new dilemmas of multilevel governance. The contributed articles may take the form of a case study, a report of cross-country or cross-sectorial survey, comparative analysis of showcases or policies, even policy proposals or policy analysis. We encourage and advice authors to bravely use interesting new theories applied to e-governance and the application of innovative qualitative and quantitative research methodologies.
III. Selection criteria. Guidelines for the contributors.
2.Elaborating and thoroughly introducing new, innovative theories which enhance our knowledge of ICT in government and public administration, and which enlighten the challenges differently, leading to a deeper understanding of their nature or of their potential creative solution.
3.Enhancing the methodological rigor of e-government research, by presenting papers with systematically
Coordinators
Nicolae Urs
Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania; [email protected]
Nicolae Urs, a vice-dean of the college, is interested in everything related to technology. More specifically, he has been studying and researching the way in which public institutions employ new technologies, the changes that the new social networks brought about in communication, the opportunities provided by "big data" and the way in which visualising statistical data can help decelerate social trends. He has a PhD in online communication, to which he added an internship in the United States. He teaches courses related to e-Government, to the use of new technologies, and to online communication. He is actively involved in public institutions' digitization projects, both at the level of the city of Cluj-Napoca, as well as at a national level.
David Špaček
Masaryk University, Czech Republic, [email protected]
David Špaček is an associate professor at the Faculty of Economics and Administration, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic. In his research he has been focusing on administrative reforms, strategic planning and management, quality management, digitalization and participatory initiatives.
More information is available here.
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Steven Nommik
Department of Innovation and Governance, Tallinn University of Technology in Tallinn (TalTech), Estonia. E-mail: [email protected]
Steven N?mmik is an Early Stage Researcher and the NISPAcee Steering Committee member representing young generation of PA professionals. His PhD thesis focuses on the various forms of collaborations within the public sector to create and maintain innovation with both the collaborative processes and impacts being studied. His main research interests are connected to public management, coordination, collaborative governance and innovation studies. For his work he has been involved with different national and EU funded projects - RITA1/02-96 „Machine learning and AI powered public service delivery", EUPACK project and H2020 project TROPICO. In the Nurkse school he has been teaching a course in Classics of Social Sciences and has been assisting courses on the basics of EU institutions as well as public ethics and corruption. Furthermore, he is a member of the Master's thesis defence committee for the HAAM Master’s programme and a member of the TGDT Master's programme council. He was also a recipient for the NISPAcee Best Graduate Student Paper Award at the 29th NISPAcee Annual Conference for his paper „Cross-organisational collaboration management of digital innovation in the public sector - the case of the Estonian Employment Register".
Information for Paper holders
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