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Samenvatting 7/18 artikelen Governance and Digitalisation
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West, Lavertu, Lips, Dunleavy, Goldfinch, Mergel (implementing open innovation in the public sector) en Evgeny. Artikel Samenvattingen
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West, D. M. (2005, Introduction, pages 1-21). Digital government: Technology and publicsector performance. Princeton: Princeton University Press. (OA)
Despite the prevalence (invloed) of online options, there are three unanswered questions that form the
heart of this research:
- First, how much are the Internet and other digital delivery systems transforming the public sector?
- Second, what determines the speed and breadth of e-government adoption?
- Third, what are the consequences of digital technology for public sector performance, the political
process, and democracy?
E-government is a field in which practitioners and theorists need to address one another and share their
respective insights. It is vitally important that
- We have clear conceptual frameworks for the analysis of e-government.
- It also is crucial that these frameworks rest on empirical analysis that actually shows what is
happening and what problems need to be addressed
Traditional bricks-and-mortar agencies Digital delivery systems
- hierarchical, linear, and one-way in their - nonhierarchical, nonlinear, interactive, and
communications style available twenty-four hours a day, seven days a
week
The Internet will transform government. By facilitating two-way interaction, electronic governance
has been hailed (wordt geprezen als) as a way to improve service delivery (dienstverlening) and
responsiveness (reactievermogen) to citizens. Stephen Goldsmith, President George W. Bush’s Special
Advisor for Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, says “electronic government will not only break
down boundaries and reduce transaction costs between citizens and their governments but between
levels of government as well.”
Jeffrey Seifert and Matthew Bonham argue digital government has the potential to transform
governmental efficiency, transparency, citizen trust, and political participation in transitional
democracies.
The classic model of large-scale transformation
System transformation is defined as a “complete change in character, condition,” or “epochal
breakthroughs (baanbrekende doorbraak).” In this perspective, change is rapid and abrupt, and visible
to social observers. Often spurred either by scientific breakthroughs or economic improvements that
facilitate the availability of the new Electronic Government technology, large-scale change produces
revolutions in individual behavior and organizational activities.
New technologies enhance (verbeteren) communication by overcoming (overwinnen) geographical
distance, promoting ideological variety, opening citizens to more diverse viewpoints, and encouraging
deliberation. These benefits give the Internet unusually great promise as a tool for democracy.
An alternative model stresses (benadrukt) incrementalism
Charles Lindblom in regard to organizational decision making, this kind of change is characterized as
a “muddling through” process. In the world of government, Lindblom suggested, politics dominates
and organizations are more likely to muddle through decisions and rely on smallscale change. It is not
always the most rational decision that emerges based on costs and benefits. Rather, choices get made
based on who is best organized, strongest politically, or in control of the bureaucratic structure. The
political character of public sector decision making limits the speed of change and how quickly new
technologies get incorporated into the governmental process. Government policies typically evolve
through small-scale steps, not large-scale transformations Abrupt and dramatic revolutions in political
behavior are rare. Evolution, not revolution, is the more common norm.
Rather than rushing to embrace new technology, major political and economic interests slow the pace
of technical innovation until they can figure out how to make sure their own vested interests
,are well-protected. This keeps the danger from new technology as low as possible, and forces
technology to accommodate existing power structures rather than the other way around.
Beside these two models, there are also mid-level models because there are lots of ways that shifts can
occur in the middle of the change spectrum:
Logical incrementalism/ secular change model
Suggests that significant change can take place within organizations on a step-by-step basis even
outside of a revolutionary change model. The cumulative impact of steady, incremental change over a
long period of time is major, he (James Quinn) suggests.
placing audio or visual materials online, using interactive mechanisms, and personalizing
websites are examples
In the same vein, Fountain’s notion of “enacted (uitgevoerde) technology” discusses change that is
substantial even if it trails proponents’ projections. Fountain points out that the alterations that emerge
in this situation still can be significant even if they fall short of what was predicted by those who
created the new technology.
In essence, both of these writers offer an insight into an alternative model of technological change
emphasizing gradual, secular change that unfolds slowly but surely over time, and eventually leads to
major changes in how organizations function. EXAMPLE: The automobile is a good illustration of a
secular change model. It took decades after the placement, but it was not until decades later that cars
began to transform the social and political landscape.
Four general stages of e-government development that distinguish where government agencies are on
the road to transformation:
1) The billboard stage
- Limitations: Citizens can see information, but not alter (wijzigen/omzetten) it to their own ends.
Government websites utilizing this approach offer the advantage of access to information, but do not
allow citizens to search the site, send feedback, or order government services. Without the ability to
, “engage” a government website, citizens cannot take advantage of the technology’s capacity for two-
way communications or personalize the website to their own specific interests.
2) The partial service-delivery stage
- Limitation: most government agencies are slow to incorporate (opnemen) truly interactive features
onto their websites. Citizens are not able to “personalize” their website or engage in conversation with
public officials. There is little way to take full advantage of the power of digital technologies.
3) The portal stage with fully executable and integrated service delivery
- Limitations: it is characterized more by a service-delivery mentality than by a vision of transforming
democracy. This stage ignores the central virtue of the Internet: its ability to enhance the performance
of democratic institutions and improve the functioning of democracy
The more service delivery dominates e-government thinking, the less likely government websites are
to incorporate interactive features that help the site achieve the full potential of democratic governance
As pointed out by Thomas Beierle, it takes a long time for agencies to become interested in
incorporating principles based on online political participation into their mission.
These four stages of e-government provide a rubric by which to gauge (meten) the effectiveness of
technology and the degree of technological change. As shown in table 1-2, the movement from the
billboard stage to interactive democracy represents the clearest evidence of transformational change.
In contrast, movement from billboards to portals with fully executable and integrated service delivery
is consistent with models based on secular change. Here, the changes are significant, but not
revolutionary.
Meanwhile, evidence of incremental change comes when websites move from the billboard stage to
partial service delivery. Their goal is not to transform the political or governmental system, but to add
discrete improvements that make it easier to access online information and services.
The Causes of E-Government: What Drives the Speed and Breadth of Technological Change?
1) Organizational setting
Sometimes the bureaucracy is a barrier in technological innovation because most new creations
represent a change in the status quo.
2) Political dynamics
“two systems” problem arises when agencies seeking to innovate technologically must maintain
parallel systems of information and service delivery (face-to-face, telephone, and mail) at the same
time they are building electronic interfaces. The degree of political conflict has ramifications
(gevolgen) for how the two systems issue is handled and the manner in which new technology is
integrated into the public sector.
Political Leadership
Matters because strong cues from elected officials or top administrators encourage public sector
organizations to speed or slow down the adoption of new technology (versnellen of vertragen van
acceptatie van innovaties)
3) Media coverage
Important to the dissemination (verspreiding) of new technology because it affects both how people
think about technology and their receptivity to change.
4) Budget realities
Technology requires up-front (vooraf) investment, and the relative scarcity or abundance
(begrotingssteun/subsidie) of budget support makes a huge difference to the ability of government
agencies to innovate
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