The proliferation of online services has transformed the way governments interact with citizens. However, the effectiveness of these services can vary significantly across different countries. This study investigates how government structures influence the reach and effectiveness of online service delivery at the local level. By examining six diverse countries— Brazil, Greece, India, Jordan, the State of Palestine, Uzbekistan—and their application of the Local Online Service Index framework, this research aims to shed light on the factors that contribute to disparities in online service provision. Understanding the relationship between government systems and online service delivery is crucial for optimizing digital governance strategies. This study compares centralized and decentralized models to offer recommendations for enhancing local online service delivery. Ultimately, the findings will contribute to the broader discourse on effective governance in the digital age.
The article employed the usability evaluation model for data portals proposed by [Machova et al. 2018] to compare statistics and transparency open government data portals of Brazilian states. The findings indicate that: data portals showed little uniformity in usability; the portals performed better in aspects related to the dataset specifications and worse in enabling user feedback and data request; transparency portals showed superior usability than statistics portals, excelling in providing machine-readable formats, assisting user navigation, and informing if data is up-to-date; there was significant variability in usability among portals within the same states. The research suggests considering the nature and context of data-producing institutions when analyzing open government data portals. Factors such as federal policies, regional governance, civil society participation, digital capabilities of public servants, and digital transformation maturity within state administrations can impact the usability of data portals. The article also highlights the need to deepen the understanding of data users to advance studies on open government data.
Major development in academic libraries has seen their recognition of artificial intelligence (AI) and the need to support AI to advance knowledge and science. Artificial intelligence services in academic libraries include expert systems for reference services, automated cataloguing, predictive analytics for information management, text mining for research support and personalized recommendation. The study was informed by the maturity model that necessitated a scan on selected Kenyan academic libraries to ascertain if there was any adoption of AI and to what extent. The study employed a mixed-methods research design, incorporating both quantitative and qualitative approaches to comprehensively explore the current landscape of AI adoption in Kenyan academic libraries. Purposive sampling technique was used to select a representative sample of academic libraries. The primary goal of the study was to discover how academic libraries in developing countries are responding to an AI dominated environment. The study findings reveal a growing interest in AI adoption among Kenyan academic libraries, with notable applications including information retrieval, data management, user services, and decision support systems. However, challenges such as limited infrastructure, resource constraints, and staff capacity hinder the full realization of AI's potential in library settings. Additionally, ethical and privacy concerns surrounding AI technologies emerged as significant concern for library professionals.
India has witnessed extensive and rapid digital transformation of the national economy and governance systems over the last decade or so. With the growing national data ecosystem, a crucial requirement has emerged for enabling both government and private stakeholders to share, discover and use data, metadata and allied artifacts through an interoperable, robust, secure and trusted digital infrastructure. This short paper presents an overview of the aims, objectives, approach as well as key features to develop a scalable sector-agnostic unified data exchange solution to cater to various G2G, G2X and X2X use cases. Upon completion of the pilot phase of development with the approach detailed in this short-paper, the project team is currently working with key government stakeholders to validate the developed functionalities and gather further requirements.
Through the development of information and communication technology and COVID-19, the offline-oriented meandering industry is rapidly shifting its axis to online spaces. Unlike physical spaces, online spaces have no time and space constraints, easy access, and low entry barriers, and many online gambling sites have open markets and provide offshore gambling services with various gambling portal services in the form of large platforms in countries where gambling is prohibited or restricted, resulting in regulatory limitations within the scope of jurisdiction and difficulties in operating effective regulatory frames, making gray or illegal markets increasingly active. This paper compares and analyzes the gambling industry policies and systems of major countries, and refers to major WTO and EU disputes to derive institutional supplements and effective measures for technical changes to present a reasonable governance model of offshore regulation to secure freedom and jurisdiction in the provision of online gambling services between trading countries
Collaborative approach to public sector innovation becomes increasingly popular in the public sector. This paper examines the role of innovation labs in facilitating multi-actor collaboration for the development of new online service in emergency response, using the case of the Seattle Innovation and Performance Office (Seattle IP) during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study reveals that the Seattle IP acted as a crucial liaison, fostering connections among city departments, technology companies, and citizens. It aligned goals, integrated resources, and transferred collaborative innovation knowledge to other cities. Key determinants for its success included its position within the mayor's office, an adaptive structure with dedicated staff, and the urgency of the pandemic. However, financial sustainability for scaling up the online testing registration was identified as a challenge. The findings emphasize the strategic importance of innovation labs in enhancing the public sector's capacity for rapid, coordinated, and human-centric service innovation during crises.
Citizen science (CS) initiatives have gained prominence as a powerful tool for advancing sustainability in urban environments. This paper delves into the role of CS in facilitating policymaking and promoting behavioral change for long-term sustainability goals. By actively involving citizens in scientific research and data collection, CS projects offer a unique opportunity to harness the collective intelligence and resources of communities. These initiatives not only generate valuable data on environmental quality, biodiversity, and human behaviors but also promote public awareness, education, and civic engagement. Moreover, CS has the potential to influence policy-making processes by providing policymakers with evidence-based insights and fostering collaboration between scientists, industry stakeholders, policymakers, and most importantly citizens. The paper presents a comprehensive review of 83 European-funded CS projects specifically tailored to urban contexts. These projects address a wide range of sustainability challenges, including climate change, environmental monitoring, public health, urban planning, and sustainable energy. The analysis highlights key factors that contribute to the success of CS projects, such as clear goals, well-designed communication strategies, robust community engagement, and the effective use of digital technologies. It emphasizes the importance of collaboration among various stakeholders, including citizens, researchers, policymakers, and practitioners, to maximize the impact of CS in achieving sustainable development goals. It also calls for increased policy support, enhanced inclusivity and diversity in CS initiatives, and the adoption of a holistic research approach to further advance the field. In conclusion, citizen science emerges as a transformative force for driving sustainable development and behavioral change in urban environments. By empowering citizens to actively contribute to scientific inquiry and decision-making, CS initiatives can bridge the gap between science and society, fostering informed decision-making, collective action, and a more sustainable future for cities.
Aiming to improve communication and increase the access to available channels and tools, chatbots, or conversational agents, are being used to support people's digital participation and foster civic engagement. However, conversational agents attend only expected cases of participation, that is, those based on e-consulting, e-decision making and e-informing. Hence, chatbots don't concern non mapped cases of self-mobilization, besides there are problems in human-computer communication and in the transmission of information caused by digital divide that hinder peoples 'participation. Literature review indicates that generative AI chatbot shall be used in non-expected interactions between human and conversational agents. Therefore, this paper discusses how chatbots could interact within self-mobilizations' types of digital participation, concerning obstacles like lack of infrastructure and digital illiteracy. Using design science research, we propose the GenPart, a generative AI-chatbot model for enhancing people's digital participation. We claim that this artifact can be used by researchers and practitioners who want to promote the integration between people, organizations, and information in digital platforms, promoting citizen participation and civic engagement.
The implementation of government information systems has been a means to improve social, political, and economic conditions and the quality of life of its citizens. However, the systems of the governments are very different and even within a country there are distinctions between the federal, state, local and agency levels according to their specific context and capabilities. Among the governmental systems, electronic procurement is critical as they are related to a significant part of public spending. The purpose of this paper is to describe an assessment of the current state of digitization of procurement processes of innovative governments to deduce components of a common architecture from their best practices experiences that can be utilized for benchmark evaluation. This study employed an Action Design Research approach to identify, stakeholders, processes, system applications, technological components, and standards of a generic architecture for e-procurement. As a result, it was possible to deduce from countries implemented cases and validate through an organization benchmarking action case a generic architecture with four main system components: (1) e-planning of government procurement, (2) e-selection of suppliers, and (3) e-provisioning of goods and services from suppliers (4) e-services to citizens. The most developed component in government cases is e-selection, however, further developments should be carried out in e-planning and e-provisioning, mainly the integration with e-services. This work demonstrates how management research can create references for digital transformation. As a practical implication, the architectural model provides professionals with a tool for benchmark assessments, for decision-make on the evolution of functionalities and system requirements for government e-procurement.
The paper describes the developed method for assessing the sentiment of social media texts, taking into account their contextual content. The authors focus on the challenge of monitoring the social mood of city residents with the goal of evaluating the effectiveness of the city's social infrastructure and adjusting it based on the emotions identified among the residents. The texts from social networks are proposed for this process. The study demonstrates that the thematic modeling combined with sentiment analysis is well-suited for this task, creating an "emotion-social sphere-city district" relationship. However, a significant challenge is to identify emotions accurately, as texts from social media are filled with colloquial language, sarcasm, and cultural biases. This suggests that the context of the resident's statements must be considered in order to correctly assess the tone of their messages. The result of the research is the method and developed formula that reveals emotion based on a number of factors and takes into account the context.
The paper discusses the role of digital projects in supporting marginalized communities, such as migrants, who rely on digital platforms to connect, share information, and engage with others. While digital solutions can offer significant benefits, they can also bring heightened risks and vulnerabilities, especially for already vulnerable groups. The paper explores these potential risks and suggests best practices to ensure the safe, wise and secure use of digital technology among migrants. The research and practice approach aligns with Participatory Action Research (PAR), fostering collaborative and equitable partnerships throughout the research process. PAR balances research with action, positioning participants as central to analysis and decision-making, while emphasizing long-term commitment and continuous improvement through iterative cycles. This paper presents select findings on digital harms and risks experienced by migrants in South Africa where the authors also worked closely with civil society organisations and vulnerable migrant groups, emphasizing that the research and practice were designed to directly impact migrants' lives. By engaging migrants in learning and then creating digital content and training others in the safe, wise and secure use of digital technologies, we facilitated a platform for migrants' voices aimed at reducing risks faced by already vulnerable groups.
As e-government matures, it can move from efficiency concerns to addressing citizens’ well-being more directly. As well-being is a multi-faceted concept, this ongoing research effort draws upon theories from psychology and human-computer interaction and explores how e-government can support citizens’ well-being on an individual level. The paper provides an overview of relevant theories and approaches, such as positive psychology, positive technology, positive design, positive computing, existential positive psychology, positive artificial intelligence, and fundamental needs. These theories are then used to examine various aspects that can be used to support citizens’ well-being, such as hedonic and eudaimonic levels, virtue, meaning and relationships, deep existential questions, personal autonomy and other fundamental needs. As influencing citizens’ well-being raises ethical concerns, this paper advocates for an ethical use of positive e-government to support flourishing citizens and, by addressing relationships and virtue, flourishing societies. By integrating interdisciplinary findings and insights, this research contributes to the growing body of knowledge on e-government’s potential to enhance well-being and promote a more positive and ethical use of technology in society.
The United Nations agencies, like many other deliberative institutions, have the urgent need to track the decisions and obligations deliberated in their regulative acts. The AI combined with Formal ontology and LegalXML helps to cope with this task to track and monitor the provisions including mandates and relationships between other documents. This paper presents a hybrid AI methodology for detecting, extracting, annotating, and monitoring over time the provisions of the WHO. This knowledge is used for creating the agenda for the next official meetings of the Executive Board and World Health Assembly. The proposed system demonstrates the feasibility of tracking the so-called mandate provision inside the decisions and resolutions of WHO's governing bodies. The hybrid approach produces promising results that could be improved by using a web interface to capture the expertise of the end-users. The scenario is very relevant for deliberative bodies that need to track mandate provisions over time, to avoid repetition, missing reporting, and double deliberation.
The co-creation paradigm can improve public services and address contemporary challenges through the collective citizens' communication input. Relatedly, the process can be enabled or constrained by the existing sociotechnical contextual factors within and outside the public organization. In earlier work, we developed a conceptual framework defining co-creation as a complex socio-technically infused process that can catalyze input communication to generate outcome public value. However, the way public value is co-created in practice is unclear, as our framework is purely theoretical and empirical research within public organizations is sparse. This paper suggests a method to validate our framework and applies it in the framework's initial validation. To this end, we conducted a case study in the Municipality of Thessaloniki, using semi-structured, face-to-face interviews with expert officials. The contribution of this paper is two-fold. First, one-fifth of the framework has been validated, as delimited by the scope of the study, proving that the theoretical constructs have real-life counterparts. Second, because the framework had not been tested before, the suggested validation has also served as a method testing exercise. From a practical standpoint, our study shows how citizens’ input communication is causally linked to output public value through the contextually infused co-creation process. These validated links are instrumental in proving the framework's task-oriented role in signposting outcome public value pathways. In this regard, the practical value of our suggested validation method lies in its potential to improve the framework, enhancing its real-world applicability in view of effective co-creation implementation of citizen-led policies.
This manuscript presents an early research proposition about the opportunity of Blockchain to support the creation of a digital public infrastructure in a developing country. By studying the RBB (Brazilian Blockchain Network) and the DREX (Brazilian CBDC), we propose to create a design to integrate their networks at strategic and information systems levels. The interplay between these two case studies and the design proposal will result in the theorization around the main concepts of this research: Blockchain in Government, central bank digital currency (CBDC), and Digital Public Infrastructure.
Tokenisation is one of the most efficient ways to employ blockchain (BC) technology. Especially helpful in the public sector, tokenisation can increase trust and confidence, mitigating the lack of transparency. It may also support and encourage the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), promoting sustainability and trustworthiness with transparency. Process tokenisation is the possibility of adopting BC as an infrastructure for a business process. However, some processes are more amenable to tokenisation than others. To evaluate aspects that could help public sector organisations select the most suitable business process for tokenisation, considering benefits related to sustainability, this work goes towards sustainable incentives for process tokenisation in the public sector, evaluated by nineteen structured interviews, and described by the European Blockchain Services Infrastructure (EBSI) case of Education Credentials. As a result, this paper provides a novel contribution, particularly identifying eight sustainable incentives for BC adoption in the public sector: behavioural, process’ standardisation, compliance, supply chain traceability, resource management, circular economy, credit management, and SDG monitoring. It also extends the knowledge about digital technologies and sustainable development, contributes to a more sustainable society, and encourages BC adoption in the public sector with sustainability goals.
This short paper is part of a larger Data Sovereignty Observatory project, which explores sovereignty in data governance and ownership rights globally. The Observatory will track and analyze trends and policies, integrating data from international databases, government reports, and policy documents into a secure database. It aims to assess the impact of data sovereignty, produce regular reports, and visualize trends through interactive dashboards. The paper presents four case studies —Europe, the USA, China, and Brazil— to illustrate diverse approaches to data sovereignty, focusing on privacy, innovation, and individual rights. These case studies exemplify potential future outcomes of the project. The paper concludes by advocating for a broader approach to data governance, one that can be supported by the Data Sovereignty Observatory as a tool for ethical principles, regulatory interoperability, and the integration of individual data ownership into the existing governance framework.
Utilising the recommendations of the two most quoted online usability experts, Jacob Nielsen and Ben Shneiderman, as an analytical framework, this paper compares the approaches of Denmark, Portugal, and the United Kingdom (UK) to online service design standards and usability over time. The paper finds that all three countries address the recommendations of Nielsen and Shneiderman, albeit with varying degrees of detail, support, and compliance assurance. The approach to the design standard and usability criteria have changed in the Danish case, whereas in Portugal governance and compliance approach have been altered. The Danish and UK approaches to design standards and usability requirements stand out as particularly successful in their reach and ability to improve online user-friendliness of content and transactional services. These two countries stand out as global leaders in their own right. Denmark shows how to reap the benefit of IT and technology investments in public sector services delivery through a combination of strong mandates, coordination, and collaboration across all levels of government to achieve its strategic objectives. With a similar effect, the UK has set a new global standard for the design of public sector service offers online, but the impact is limited by its focus on central government services.
The surge of social media usage and its importance on political campaigns across the globe has been imminent. As new electoral processes begin, new social media tactics appear each time. This behavior does not exclude Latin American countries and candidates. In response, recent research has analyzed how these platforms may aid in the search for new and scalable methodologies to model voting preference from social media like traditional pollsters do. However, most of the literature does not consider multiple networks and delimits its scope to the analysis of sentiment classification in either Facebook or X (formerly Twitter). In this way, the current research aims to study how mostly ignored social media apps like Instagram and YouTube can change the outcome of predictions online. We consider the case of the 2024 Mexican Presidential election and how social media behavior relates to what the polls say about the candidates. We conclude that Instagram and YouTube can turn failed predictors into success by considering the importance that features from these platforms provide to machine learning models.
Kenya’s healthcare system is confronted with significant challenges, including inadequate infrastructure, workforce shortages, and a heavy disease burden, which collectively hinder its ability to deliver effective and sustainable healthcare services. The integration of emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and blockchain presents potential solutions to these issues, but their successful adoption requires addressing critical gaps in policy, infrastructure, and workforce development. This paper builds on Tlhokomelo Rethabile Monethi’s research, which critiques Dependency Theory by exploring how AI and blockchain can reduce Kenya’s reliance on the Global North while enhancing healthcare outcomes. Through qualitative desktop research, the paper analyses existing policies and legislative frameworks, identifying obstacles and proposing practical policy recommendations for the effective integration of these technologies into Kenya’s healthcare system. The analysis covers multiple sectors, including infrastructure, public funding, education, workforce development, and environmental management, ensuring that recommendations are grounded in a comprehensive understanding of Kenya’s regulatory landscape. The findings emphasise the importance of balancing technological advancement with respect for local cultural and ethical values. By implementing the proposed policy reforms, Kenya can foster a self-sufficient and sustainable healthcare system that reduces dependency on external resources, while improving healthcare outcomes for its population.
