Organizational Dimensions of Digital Government

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Organizational Dimensions of Digital Government

• Sharon Dawes
• Center for Technology in Government
• University at Albany - SUNY

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The End

• Compelling public problems
• User needs, capabilities, limitations
• Organizational structure, culture, processes
• Data content, quality
• Technology choices

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Problems

• homelessness
• well-being of children
• IT investments
• real property equity
• financial health of local governments
• govt accounting financial management
• geo-spatial data collection use

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Why study problems like these?

• Public demand for dramatic change in government
  performance
• Most intractable problems (e.g. welfare reform,
  environment) demand interorganizational
  cooperation and information sharing
• So do the newest ideas about public services
  (e.g. e-commerce portals)
• Technology is no longer a barrier, but social,
  political, economic, organizational factors
  still loom large

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A potential (untested) solution

• Knowledge networks

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Knowledge Network Defined

• a combination of
• interorganizational relationships
• policies
• information content
• work processes
• technology tools and architectures
• brought together to achieve collectively defined
  purposes

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Components of network formation (preliminary
model)
KN Formation Operation
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Components of network formation
Nature of the problem or objective
KN Formation Operation
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Components of network formation
Participants their
prior expectations
Nature of the problem or objective
KN Formation Operation
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Components of network formation
Participants their
prior expectations
Technical capacity infrastructure
Nature of the problem or objective
KN Formation Operation
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Components of network formation
Participants their
prior expectations
Technical capacity infrastructure
Nature of the problem or objective
KN Formation Operation
Legal policy framework
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Components of network formation
Participants their
prior expectations
Technical capacity infrastructure
Nature of the problem or objective
KN Formation Operation
Legal policy framework
Organizational structure, management tools
philosophy
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Components of network formation
Participants their
prior expectations
Technical capacity infrastructure
Nature of the problem or objective
KN Formation Operation
Legal policy framework
Organizational structure, management tools
philosophy
Outcomes
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Components of network formation
Participants their
prior expectations
Technical capacity infrastructure
Nature of the problem or objective
KN Formation Operation
Legal policy framework
Organizational structure, management tools
philosophy
Outcomes
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Theory Domains
The Problem Domain Public Sector Knowledge and
Information Sharing
Research Focus
Technology Capacity Innovation
Interorganizational Relationships, Management,
Authority
Law, Policy Politics
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Research Products

• Individual case studies of network formation and
  function
• Synthesis of cases and refined model
• Recommendations for improved knowledge networking
  in the public sector

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Social science research objectives
test, evaluate, explain, predict how
shape governments ability to solve

• User needs, capabilities, limitations
• Organizational structure, culture, processes
• Data content, quality
• Technology choices

Compelling public problems
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Advice for digital government research

• You can observe a lot by watching. . .
• Yogi Berra

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Center for Technology in Government

• www.ctg.albany.edu