Digital Government

The first question is: What will the state of the future look like? Digitalisation creates new possibilities for the organisation of the political-administrative system. The execution of tasks can be supported with intelligent digital tools or even completely automated. Processes can be organised and interconnected more efficiently, effectively and sometimes even completely differently than before. Administrative services can be better adapted to actual needs and personalised. The potential for innovation is huge and growing.

But the reality is often different. Many state institutions were unable to introduce a home office during the Covid-19 health crisis because the infrastructure requirements were lacking. When it comes to e-government buses, most people think of an information bus that travels from city to city. And they don’t want to hear anything about personalised portals for 10 years. That’s why the second question is: How do we get to the state of the future? How do we deal with the situation that growing complexity, acceleration of social change and a mix of technology and anti-institutional narratives are putting increasing pressure on the state? Or do we actually have to ask ourselves a third question: How can we reorganise the state’s guarantee tasks or even democratic processes with technology in an institution-free way?

All articles on Digital Government

Digitale Stadt Bern

How Bern masters the balancing act between participation and data security

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What opportunities does digitalisation offer Swiss authorities - and what needs to be considered? Jonathan Gimmel, Head of Digital City of Bern,…
Justitia Ret

The Federal Supreme Court, Microsoft and a Christmas surprise

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A few sentences on the freehand awarding of IT services and the moment when a swear word means something positive. Have you ever used a swear…

How cities and authorities are becoming smarter – a podcast episode about transformation

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Chatbots are already supporting some authorities. But overall, the Swiss are dissatisfied with the pace of digital transformation in the administration.…
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How public procurement supports the digitalisation of schools

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Schools are not just educational facilities. They have evolved into high-tech hubs with huge demands for hardware and software. In their study…

Does “fuzzy voting” increase satisfaction with democracy?

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Anyone who has ever been undecided about whether to write "yes" or "no" on the ballot paper before a vote is in good company: a survey conducted…

With enthusiasm and pragmatism for digital change

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On 1 September, Christian Geiger took up his professorship in Digital Government, Innovation and Transformation at Bern University of Applied…

Open Source Business Potential: A Look at Odoo’s Open Core Model

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Open source software (OSS) has long been a cornerstone of the IT industry. But how can money be made with freely available software? This article…

Law, Law and Artificial Intelligence – Summary of the Conference on Computer Science and Law

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What changes does the new Swiss data protection law bring? When is cloud computing legally compliant? What should be considered when using AI…

Between Innovation and Security – Digital Working in the Legal Sector

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The summer ends on a heavy note. On 29 August, the biennial conference Computer Science and Law will take place at Bern City Hall. BFH Wirtschaft…

“Open by default” as law

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EMBAG obliges the federal administration to publish all software under open source licences in future and to release government data as Open…

Why digital and sustainable transformation must happen simultaneously

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Several 2022 reports from government and academic organisations contain the key message that sustainable development can be achieved using digital…

Interactive visualisation of cooperation in the National Council and Council of States

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The National Council elections are coming up in autumn. So it's high time to take stock and take a look behind the scenes of parliament: Do the…

Algorithms and Natural Language Processing in the Public Sector – A Review of the Transform Conference 2023

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The theme of TRANSFORM 2023, which took place on 3 May 2023 in Bern City Hall, was "artificial intelligence in the public sector". Machine learning,…