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

From notarial deeds to hate on the net – digital solutions for legal issues

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Who would like to spend a whole Sunday and half a Monday and the night in between in a legal laboratory? 90 people answered yes to this question,…

Confederation and cantons accelerate digital transformation

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The "Digital Administration Switzerland" is intended to give e-government a boost. How the new organisation and the eCH association could more…

A tool for smart community strategies

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A smart government platform for small and medium-sized municipalities - this is what researchers at the Institute of Public Sector Transformation…

“Open source is a manifestation of digital sustainability”

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In the new Digital Sustainability Lab of the Institute Public Sector Transformation (IPST), a team of researchers develops mobile apps and web…

Call for Paper: Critical contributions for the Swiss E-ID

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The electorate rejected the E-ID bill with private providers in March. Nevertheless, it was and is clear that the Swiss E-ID is needed. It should…

A communicative Experiment on Digital Democracy

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TA-SWISS , the Foundation for Technology Assessment, has entered into a communicative experiment: it is seeking public discussion space before…

Public Security Test of the Covid Certificate: BFH assists with security

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The first Covid certificates have been issued in the cantons since 7 June 2021. At the end of June, the system is to be introduced throughout…

Allocating Vaccination Appointments: Why we should (and could) do better than digital Hunger Games

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It is often said that the measure of society is how it treats its weakest members. We know that "first come first serve" or "Es hät solang es…

How a 2020 parameter turned our world upside down

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A significant part of the COVID pandemic story is driven by one parameter in an epidemiological model. How can a single number dominate our lives…

Innovation in the public sector? Only with cultural change!

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For digital transformation to gather pace in the public sector, a cultural shift is needed. The most important thing is to introduce a culture…

The Importance of a Good Fit Between eID Systems and Country Context

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A comparison of the eID systems in France, Belgium, Poland and Estonia shows the importance of country-specific path dependences and a good fit…

Power to the people: Re-decentralizing the Web, for good this time

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Originally designed as a decentralised ecosystem, the Web has undergone a significant centralization in recent years. In order to regain control…