The digital transformation of society raises high hopes for the improvement of public sector organizations and for the collaborative design and implementation of public services. However, the empirical knowledge on how digital technologies actually impact the governance of collaborative processes and stakeholder engagement is still limited. This paper presents an empirical analysis of digital platforms, based on the case studies conducted as part of the Horizon 2020-funded European project Interlink (Innovating goverNment and ciTizen co-dEliveRy for the digitaL sINgle market). It hereby focuses on one ideal-type of governance (Linders 2012): Government as a Platform. It is a form of government-to-citizen (G2C) in which government aim to support citizens in their daily lives. This type thus has the greatest visibility among citizens and has arguably the biggest influence on how they perceive (digital) interactions with public officials. Consequently, the functioning of these platforms affects the reputation of public organizations and the overall politico-administrative system. Thus, it is surprising how little empirical knowledge we have on the (collaborative) development of these platforms. This paper argues that the functioning of digital platforms for co-production is influenced by the extent and quality of citizen collaboration during their development. We thus ask: What factors influence the embeddedness of citizen collaboration in the development of digital platforms in the public sector? We hereby argue for a process perspective to gain a comprehensive understanding of Government as a Platform and apply a governance model developed as part of the INTERLINK project that distinguishes co-engagement, co-design, co-implementation and co-sustainability. Theoretically, we rely on neo-institutional theory and approaches of technology studies that point to a number of institutional, actor-centred and technological factors to understand citizen collaboration in this context. The selection of the analyzed 5 cases across Europe was based on them being most similar in their overall governance framework. Methodologically, the qualitative analysis mainly relies on document analysis and semi-structured expert interviews with public officials and further relevant public and private project partners.

The objective of this paper is threefold. First, we empirically investigate what Government as a Platform constitutes/entails in different (governance) contexts/settings, in order to progress scientific knowledge on this ideal type. Hereby the implications of platform-based governance in relation to stakeholder engagement and citizen collaboration are taken into consideration. Second, we study how these digital platforms are collaboratively developed and managed (i.e. governed), in order to gain a better understanding on which factors facilitate/hinder the embeddedness of citizen participation in context of Government as a Platform. Finally, we map the main successes and challenges (and how they are coped with) in order to draw lessons from previous experiences of platform-based collaboration.

Nowadays, digitization of all sectors, including administration, has become a focus of research due to the rapid incorporation of the Internet. This affected how people and government agencies interact through different digital platforms providing different public services and allowing e-participation. Consequently, technological change accelerated the economic growth of individual European Union (EU) member states. Therefore, the main aim of the paper is to examine the impact of e-government initiatives (e-services and e-participation) on economic growth in the EU by comparing old and new EU member states. The data for the empirical analysis are obtained from the World Bank and the United Nations databases, which provide information about economic growth and other selected control variables, as well as e-services and e-participation, respectively. The results of the panel data analysis on a sample of EU-27 member states for the period 2003-2022 reveal that e-services and e-participation play important roles in accelerating economic growth in the EU, whereby other factors, such as employment, government expenditures, inflation, and trade, are also deemed relevant in this context. However, compared with the old EU member states, the impacts of both e-government initiatives are greater for new EU member states. By examining the interplay between digital government initiatives and economic growth, this paper sheds light on e-government strategies' potential benefits, challenges, and implications in fostering economic growth and improving the overall well-being of EU citizens and businesses through accessible digital public services and efficient e-participation. Accordingly, the findings underscore the importance of continued efforts to prioritize digital transformation to fully harness the potential of digital government in driving sustained economic progress and building a resilient digital EU economy.

Digital Service Teams (DSTs) have emerged as a new organizational form to facilitate Governments in meeting the technological, administrative, and societal challenges of public sector digitalization in many countries. The role of digital service teams is critical, given their role involves a shift from a hierarchical to collaborative and network forms of governance, and facilitating effective responses to the complex challenges of digital transformation, often in a multilevel polity context, to address poly-crises. While much of the research has thus far focused on the role of digital service teams in realizing digital transformations in the context of Anglo-Saxon countries, this research focuses on India, a leading country in the global South in advancing digitalization across a wide swath of public services leading to a fundamental restructuring of citizen-state interactions.

DSTs are a form of outsourced bureaucracy that facilitate shadow state capacity in emerging democracies eager to transform the functioning of the government through wide-ranging plans for digitalization. India has created a National e-Governance Plan as part of which it has initiated many Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) aimed at the sectoral transformation of policy areas such as land records, public distribution, welfare, health, and so on. It is the first country to create internal capacity for digital transformation through a direct hiring model for private sector experts to realize the successful implementation of its MMPs, which span various levels of its multi-level polity. India’s State e-Mission Teams (SeMTs) face the challenge of what is referred to in project management scholarship as socialized leadership – a form of shared project leadership in which various actors contribute towards accomplishing project goals by performing situational roles as learners and leaders.

This study will present an interpretive case study of SeMTs, established as part of India’s National e-Governance Program (NeGP) by the Department of Information Technology of India’s central government. It seeks to answer the research question ‘How do India’s State e-Mission Teams facilitate socialized leadership in Mission Mode Project implementation?’ It examines the unique institutional context in which SeMTs have emerged in India and their role in facilitating digitalization-driven administrative reform through MMPs that sometimes fall within the overlapping jurisdictions of central and state governments. It discusses the advantages and limitations of India’s SeMT model in facilitating digital transformation through socialized leadership and how they play a role in advancing the realization of digitalization.

The findings of this qualitative research draw their evidence from books, parliamentary committee reports, annual reports, interviews with serving and retired administrators, governance actors from both the public and private sectors, members of the SeMTs, including those who work with such digital service teams at various level of India’s federal polity. The study engages with the advantages and disadvantages of India’s direct sourcing model of DSTs and the blind spots they create in reconciling the instrumental goals of digitalization with a broader democratic vision of social progress. It suggests pathways to institutionalize the practices of sourcing private sector expertise and bridging the technocracy-democracy divide in digitalization-driven development.

Digital governance research centers are vital parts of the overall digital governance ecosystem. They act as hubs of innovation, learning and synergy for the digital governance community while tackling grand societal challenges (such as achieving UN SDGs), which are also called “wicked problems”. Although the number of research centers is on the rise and their impact has become more visible, there is a very limited amount of research about their establishment, development, current activities, and future objectives. In addition, the topic of potential synergies among these research centers is also understudied.

This proposal aims to address this research gap by studying digital governance research centers by using the case study of the United Nations University Operating Unit on Policy-Driven Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV). UNU-EGOV, established in 2014 in Guimarães, Portugal, is a “policy-oriented think tank dedicated to electronic governance”. Its parent organization, the United Nations University (UNU) is a global think tank and postgraduate teaching organization. As one of the 14 UNU research centers, UNU-EGOV defines itself as “a bridge between research and public policies; an innovation enhancer; a solid partner within the UN system and its Member States with a particular focus on sustainable development, social inclusion, and active citizenship.”

The selection of UNU-EGOV for a case study is justified by its unique position as a think tank that serves all 193 member countries of the United Nations. Most of the scientific research on digital governance challenges so far focuses on the context of a single country; while comparative studies which aims to solve common transnational problems are exceptions. UNU-EGOV has the potential and ability to tackle these transnational problems in digital governance by using a international/comparative perspective, and by applying an interdisciplinary approach.

Within this context, this study examines the establishment, development, current activities and the future vision of the United Nations University Operating Unit on Policy-Driven Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV). Data about the UNU-EGOV will be collected by (1) conducting multiple in-depth interviews with the individuals who contributed to the establishment and development of the UNU-EGOV by asking open-ended questions and (2) reviewing archival documents such as communication, charters, short interviews on UNU-EGOV website, among others. Making implicit knowledge explicit by examining the institutional history (establishment, development, and future vision) of the UNU-EGOV can provide valuable lessons for the existing or future digital government research centers. This study also can provide clues for establishing a network between the different digital government research centers scattered worldwide.