TRACK 11: Digital Transformation in Governments

Track chairs: Beatriz Barreto Brasileiro Lanza (CTG SUNY & IDB, Brazil), Thiago José Tavares Ávila ( Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Brazil), Maria Alexandra Cunha *Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Brazil)

Digital transformation has become an essential part of the government’s strategic agenda, both at national and sub-national levels. Such governments seek to offer services through digital platforms with integrated citizen identification systems, digitization of governmental processes, with respect to the privacy of personal data, and digital inclusion of the most vulnerable population. However, digital transformation initiatives at the subnational level tend to present specific aspects when compared to national initiatives. On the one hand, this track highlights the challenges faced by subnational digital transformation initiatives in the public sector, as well as national governments that have acted to develop and integrate national digital transformation considering subnational aspects. On the other hand, it seeks to understand the capacities supporting digital transformation at the subnational level. The track’s objectives are: a) to identify real-world examples/cases of digital transformation projects at the subnational levels (states, regions, Länder, provinces, municipalities, etc.); b) discuss the challenges to develop a digital and integrated government considering national and subnational aspects, especially in federative countries; c) seek to explain these cases in the context of existing or new theoretical frameworks, and, d) create actionable recommendations for researchers, professional developers, and digital government practitioners at the national and sub-national level.

This topic stands out for prioritizing the investigation of digital transformation in subnational governments, seeking to understand and identify the most relevant aspects of subnational initiatives aimed at building more digital governments. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:

  • Citizen’s digital and secure identification;
  • Protection of users’ personal data;
  • Development of new models aimed at the relationship between the government and the Citizen (Citizenship Relationship Management – CzRM), especially using multi or omnichannel experiences.
  • Promotion of transparency, openness, and sharing of public data with a view to endowing public sector business processes with greater intelligence and automation of repetitive tasks;
  • Incorporation of new technologies for the production and management of public sector knowledge such as Artificial Intelligence, as well as for increasing the security and trust of digital relationships, based on blockchain and similar technologies;
  • Mechanisms for social participation in improving and monitoring the quality of public service offerings, as well as promoting the role of citizens in proposing improvements in service delivery procedures and the development of public policies;
  • Collaborative governance instruments that provide greater stakeholder engagement in the value generated by the public sector, including the development of institutional arrangements and cooperation aimed at sharing and strengthening the capacities necessary for the development of the digital government;
  • Challenges of the digital divide in the digital government era;
  • Gender and Human Rights issues in the digital government era;
  • Institutional relations, cooperation, arrangements, and partnerships for Digital Government;
  • Federative relations for Digital Government development.