Electronic Government

From its earliest stages on, scholars immersed in Electronic Government Research (EGR) have cared for the study domain’s reputation and academic standing. With the publication of “Forums for Electronic Government Scholars” a few years ago, it was established, which academic outlets in EGR (both journals and conferences) the most prolific and influential scholars in the domain preferred, and how these outlets were rated by the very same scholars. Based on sources such as the Electronic Government Reference Library (EGRL) and Google Scholar, various counts and indices have now become publicly available, which make possible to trace each EGR scholar’s productivity and impact at any point in time. However, quantitative citation counts and index numbers, while important, can be misleading for various reasons. This study presents a complementary approach to identify each leading EGR scholar’s “signature” and argues that citation numbers, indices, and signatures when taken together present a far more informative picture of scholarly impact and influence than citation and index numbers alone.

To conduct their business, organizations are nowadays challenged to handle huge amount of information from heterogeneous sources. Novel technologies can help them dealing with this delicate assignment. In this paper we describe an approach to document clustering and outlier detection that is regularly used to organize and summarize knowledge stored in huge amounts of documents in a government organization. The motivation for our preliminary study has been three-fold: first, to obtain an overview of the topics addressed in the recently published e-government papers, with the emphasis on identifying the shift of focus through the years; second, to form a collection of papers related to a preselected terms of interest in order to explore the characteristic keywords that discriminate this collection with respect to the rest of the documents; and third, to compare the papers that address a similar topic from two document sources and to show characteristic similarities and differences between the two origins, with a particular aim to identify outlier papers in each document source that are potentially worth for further exploration. As a document source for our study we used E-Government Reference Library of articles and PubMed. The presented case study results suggest that the document exploration supported by a document clustering tool can be more focused, efficient and effective.

A large part of open data concerns statistics, such as demographic, economic and social data (henceforth referred to as Open Statistical Data, OSD). In this paper we start by introducing open data fragmentation as a major obstacle for OSD reuse. We proceed by outlining data cube as a logical model for structuring OSD. We then introduce Open Statistics as a new area aiming to systematically study OSD. Open Statistics reuse and extends methods from diverse fields like Open Data, Statistics, Data Warehouses and the Semantic Web. In this paper, we focus on benefits and challenges of Open Statistics. The results suggest that Open Statistics provide benefits not present in any of these fields alone. We conclude that in certain cases OSD can realise the potential of open data.

Innovation based on open data lags behind the high expectations of policy makers. Hence, open data researchers have investigated the barriers of open data publication and adoption. This paper contributes to this literature by taking a capabilities perspective on how successful open data re-users create value out of the available data sources. First, a framework of IT, organization and skills capabilities required to innovate with data is derived from literature. Second, a case study including a survey and interview with managers from 12 frontrunners in the Netherlands was conducted. The analysis reveals that skills are valued the highest closely followed by organizational capabilities. Setting up a multi-disciplinary team with motivated employees and giving this team the mandate to experiment with data, is essential when innovating with open data. Theoretically, this study contributes to open data research by offering a new capabilities perspective on the organizational level. Our results highlight the importance of entrepreneurship theories to explain value creation with open data. Practically, our study suggests that digital skills and start-ups are important to the open government data policies.

Since 2009 open data has been growing into a specialized research area, including in the Nordic countries. Historically Information Systems research from this region has managed to develop a distinct identity on the international research arena. Hence, the expectation is that also in the context of open data there exists room for unique contributions of Nordic researchers. However, no systematic overview exists yet of the open data research conducted in these countries or of the emerging research community. This paper, therefore, aims to fill this gap by conducting a comprehensive literature review. Our study focuses on the following aspects: (1) which perspectives and topics are examined and (2) which empirical settings and methods are applied in Nordic open data research. Finding answers to these questions will enable us to propose a future research agenda and thereby stimulate debate in the Nordic open data research community.

The rhetoric of open government data (OGD) promises that data transparency will lead to multiple public benefits: economic and social innovation, civic participation, public-private collaboration, and public accountability. In reality much less has been accomplished in practice than advocates have hoped. OGD research to address this gap tends to fall into two streams – one that focuses on data publication and re-use for purposes of innovation, and one that views publication as a stimulus for civic participation and government accountability - with little attention to whether or how these two views interact. In this paper we use an ecosystem perspective to explore this question. Through an exploratory case study we show how two related cycles of influences can flow from open data publication. The first addresses transparency for innovation goals, the second addresses larger issues of data use for public engagement and greater government accountability. Together they help explain the potential and also the barriers to reaching both kinds of goals.

The purpose of this work is to explore the main differences and similarities between open government policies developed since 2009 by the US and the EU, two major powerhouses in what concerns eGovernment-related policies. For that purpose, the authors analyzed the information on webpages and main policy documents as available to any ordinary citizen. The results show that both the US and EU policy share the same core concepts and goals. However, while the US opted to formulate an autonomous policy under a unifying ‘open government’ umbrella term, the EU choose to incorporate the goals and principles into an already existing eGovernment development effort, emphasizing ‘public services innovation’ instead. As a consequence, in the US case it is easier to identify and understand the policy main goals, and to find policy-related information online. Furthermore, the US policy seems to have had a bigger external impact and recognition.

Open Government poses broad challenges to contemporary parliaments with its emphasis not just on openness and transparency but also on participation and collaboration. The situational awareness obtained from citizen-sourcing and the advances in information and communications technology are key enablers for effective and efficient Open Government in parliamentary institutions. Citizen-sourcing, on one hand, may help parliaments be more sensible and effective because citizens are able to improve parliaments’ situational awareness and then influence direction and outcomes for policy making process. On the other hand, exploiting the opportunities created by the emerging ICT paradigms allows parliaments to put Open Government into practice in an efficient way. This paper presents a situational awareness process model to support effective decision-making with citizens’ insights. Based on this model, an architecture for situational awareness-based information services is presented. This architecture makes use of the opportunities that cloud computing paradigm, social media applications and semantic enrichment offer to provide an efficient implementation of Open Government in parliaments. A motivating scenario of the proposed architecture is illustrated to show a use case of a situational awareness-based information service, which has the potential to function as a new mechanism of relationship between a parliament and its citizens to enable collective knowledge in order to enhance the passage of a draft bill.

More and more data is becoming available and is being combined which results in a need for data governance - the exercise of authority, control, and shared decision making over the management of data assets. Data governance provides organizations with the ability to ensure that data and information are managed appropriately, providing the right people with the right information at the right time. Despite its importance for achieving data quality, data governance has received scant attention by the scientific community. Research has focused on data governance structures and there has been only limited attention given to the underlying principles. This paper fills this gap and advances the knowledge base of data governance through a systematic review of literature and derives four principles for data governance that can be used by researchers to focus on important data governance issues, and by practitioners to develop an effective data governance strategy and approach.

Interagency information sharing (IIS) has been identified as a powerful strategy to improve information and services in the public sector. In order to accomplish effective information sharing across organizational boundaries, the definition and clarity of roles and responsibilities are very important, particularly when the number and diversity of the agencies involved is high. However, there are very few studies that analyze the variables that affect this clarity in interagency information sharing efforts. Based on a review of current literature and a national survey conducted in the US, this paper quantitatively explores the determinants of clarity of roles and responsibilities. Consistent with existing literature, we found a significant and positive influence of diversity of participating organizations, the use of boundary objects, and communication skills on the use and emergence of need for clarity of roles and responsibilities in IIS project. Our findings open avenues for future research about the role of clarity of roles and responsibilities, its determinants, and other variables may play in mediating or directly explaining IIS success.

Interoperability is a major challenge in providing pan-European e-government services (PEGS) across Member State (MS) borders. Improving interoperability in PEGS is expected to increase collaboration and efficiency across public administrations. Yet, a comprehensive approach to develop interoperable PEGS is still missing. Enterprise architecture (EA) is a concept used in the private sector to deal with organisational complexity, interoperability and the multifaceted challenges of information systems. We argue that EA can be used in a similar manner to foster interoperability in PEGS. This paper elicits requirements for constructing an EA framework for PEGS. The requirements are used to argue the suitability of existing EA frameworks and to propose areas of further research to build a customised architecture framework for ensuring interoperability in the design and implementation of PEGS.

The electronic identification and trust service regulation (eIDAS) was adopted in 2014 to create a digital common market in the European Union (EU). As the world is becoming more and more digital, countries need to develop ways to integrate digital migrants. While the EU does not currently have a digital common market, several EU countries already have working systems for cross-border digital cooperation. The principal focus of this article was to address whether eIDAS can be implemented in these countries, without challenging the local initiatives. The Estonian e-government system (EES) was chosen as an exemplary case. Here we analyzed whether the eIDAS complements or challenges the national e-government initiatives, such as Estonia’s e-residency project, and whether it is in the interest of member states to contribute to the fast implementation of the eIDAS as the most effective measure for achieving cross-border use of e-services. To address these questions, a content, context and process (CCP) analysis framework was used. Based on our findings, we concluded that, although the eIDAS creates some additional obligations, the regulation supports national e-government goals and domestic cross-border initiatives. Also, without supranational interference, it is highly unlikely that digital open borders could be created among 28 member states. Thus, it is in the interest of the member states to contribute to a fast implementation of the eIDAS.

Public sector organizations aim to acquire the best possible information systems (IS) and, at the same time, comply with public procurement regulations [4]. Evidently, this task is not easy [5] as the success rate remains low [6]. This lack of success has made the public procurement of IS, its challenges, and different features an increasingly popular research topic [1‐3].

To develop robust and achievable e-government strategies that build the grounds for sustainable solutions, decision makers need to have a good understanding of their country’s socio-economic, political and legal contexts. Particularly, they need to be well aware about challenges that might hinder successful implementation of their strategy. To make valuable contributions in e-government strategy development, analysis of e-government challenges needs to be comprehensive and informative by including insights of qualitative and quantitative analysis. Although numerous studies in e-government challenges exist, they fail to do a systematic and structured qualitative analysis of the challenges in regards to interdependencies among challenges or to measure the wider impact of challenges. Methods to support such a comprehensive analysis are scarce. In this contribution, we propose a novel mix of three methods for qualitative and quantitative analysis of e-government challenges, combining the PESTELMO analysis method, DEMATEL and ANP. The results show that this mixed approach is suitable and significant to provide the complementarity needed for a comprehensive understanding of e-government challenges.

The Actor-Network Theory (ANT) is a theoretical approach for the study of controversies associated with scientific discoveries and technological innovations through the networks of actors involved in such actions. This approach has generated studies in Information Systems (IS) since 1990, however few studies have examined the use of this approach in the e-government area. Thus, this paper aims to broaden the theoretical approaches on e-government, by presenting ANT as a theoretical framework for e-government studies via published empirical work. For this reason, the historical background of ANT is described, duly listing its theoretical and methodological premises. In addition to this, one presented ANT-based e-government works, in order to illustrate how ANT can be applied in empirical studies in this knowledge area.

This paper lays out an analytical framework for OG policy design processes. It uses a systematic review of (1) scholarly literature, and (2) real OG policies to corroborate existing definitions of OG and its sub-categories. The sub-categories are then used for an in-depth literature review of policy design research that is developed into a conceptual model of OG design processes. The model establishes the design considerations needed by policymakers and administrators of OG policies, and can be used as a framework for evaluating OG policy processes. The paper also clarifies design concepts and best practices in a growing e-government domain, and outlines a research agenda for studying OG within organizational theory in public administration.

This paper explores how policy documents carry and institutionalize smart city ideas from high policy level to concrete policy level in an urban development context. We analyze the national urban development vision for Sweden and documents in a local urban development project in a Swedish city, in order to explore what kind of roles and expectations ICT is given in these documents. We contrast this with views of how social and environmental aspects are discussed in the studied documents. In order to understand and analyze the result we apply the concept of institutional carriers from institutional theory to our findings. Our analysis shows that as carriers of how ICT can contribute to increased sustainability in urban development, the policy documents do not function very well. ICT aspects are not put forth by any policy-making actor, neither on national nor on local level. The notion of institutional carriers helped us understand that without a responsible actor focusing on ICT’s role in smart cities, it is easy to forget or lose sight of technology.

Broadband has been recognised as an enabling technology in connecting government and citizens in transitioning towards a smart society. However, governments, especially in developing countries, continue to face challenges in their bid to connect citizens. This study provides an understanding of how institutional pressures have influenced policy implementation to advance the “smart agenda” in a developing country context, using South Africa as an exemplary case study. The study is an interpretive qualitative case study, using documentary evidence as data. Institutional theory is used as a lens for interrogating the issues confronting government in implementing “smart” initiatives. We conclude that policy alone is not sufficient if not supported by a strong implementation plan and other supporting institutional mechanisms such as leadership to coordinate, and direct resources and activities in the institution.

Cities increasingly face challenges regarding participatory governance in order to become a “smart city”. The world’s best cities to live in are not the ones with the most advanced technological layers but cities that create an atmosphere where citizens, companies and government together build a vital and sustainable city. This study compares various definitions of smart cities and integrates current insights from the field of e-participation. Five best-practice examples from over the world illustrate the various ways participation can be developed from various leadership perspectives. A new conceptual framework, the Social Smart City framework, is derived from both e-participation theory and these best-practice examples. The framework comprises of a set of digital strategies for participatory governance in smart cities.

The new technology Bitcoin has got a lot of attention since it was presented in late 2008 and implemented early 2009. However, the main attention has been to the currency and not so much the underlying blockchain technology. This paper argues that we need to look beyond the currency and investigate the potential use of the blockchain technology to enable smarter governments by utilizing the secure, distributed, open, and inexpensive database technology. The technology is discussed in the perspective of an information infrastructure to investigate its full potential. After a literature review of Bitcoin publications, with a special emphasis on eGovernment literature, the paper presents a relevant use case highlighting the innovation potential of the new technology. The literature review shows that Bitcoin is absent from the e-Government literature. The use case presented shows that Bitcoin could be a promising technology for validating many types of persistent documents in public sector.

In recent years a tremendous raise in the establishment of Open Data initiatives can be observed, aiming at more transparency in government and public institutions. One facet of this trend are data from legislative bodies, including records and archived transcripts of plenary sessions as a measure of transparency and accountability. In this paper the system design and a prototypical implementation of an information system that makes use of these data is presented. From session transcripts naive metrics such as when and how often representatives participate in political discourse but also network metrics as in with whom representatives engage in consenting and opposing discourse can be derived. The objective of the system is to make those relationships visible and accessible to the user in an intuitive way. The system neither can nor attempts to interpret the data, this is left to the user. This paper discusses how data analytics, data visualisation, and network analytics can be facilitated to make the transcripts of legislative bodies more accessible for this purpose. The findings are underpinned by first observations over a proof-of-concept prototype which exploits data available from the Austrian parliament.

Digital networking has been shaping interactions between governments and their respective publics over the last years. At the same time, networking spaces have become hosts to informal communities of public sector professionals engaging in discussions that remain largely unexplored. This papers looks at the dynamics of interaction between public sector professionals in digital networking spaces using a dataset of tweets that contain the hashtag #localgov. This hashtag is used by a variety of accounts mainly within the UK local government. An analysis of 235,681 tweets posted during 2013–2015 shows how #localgov facilitates interactions and the sharing of expertise within the context of intense financial cuts imposed by the UK government. We discuss how networking spaces like #localgov support open discourses as part a network of practice outside organisational barriers.

Enterprise Architecture (EA) has been employed in the public sector to improve efficiency and interoperability of information systems. Despite their daily use in the public sector, the concepts of Enterprise Architecture and efficiency are ambiguous and lack commonly accepted definitions. The benefits and outcomes of using EA in the public sector have been studied with mixed results. This study examined the use of EA in the Finnish basic education system using critical discourse analysis (CDA). The research revealed how the role and rationale of EA is constructed in the speech of public sector officials. Three orders of discourse, each having its own views on EA, were found. While there were commonly accepted functions for EA, there were also areas where the concepts were not mutually understood or accepted.

Customs administrations are exploring system-based approaches to regulatory supervision, taking the entire set of controls in a process into account. In addition to Trusted Traders, which are recognized by a certification process, customs are considering to identify so called Trusted Trade Lanes: companies that collaborate in a trade lane in a reliable manner. In this paper we explore the concept of a trusted trade lane. We identify essential characteristics of a trusted trade-lane, and develop various scenarios in which trade lanes may develop and find ways to demonstrate to the authorities and commercial partners that they conform to these requirements. The characteristics have been evaluated in a workshop with experts. The scenarios are tested against three pilot projects, that aim to improve supply chain visibility.