The aim of this study has been to examine if an implementation of a One Stop Shop in the public sector and its IT-support can serve as a motor for business development. By examine the relation between the One Stop Shop and the public administrations we have tried to answer this question. The municipality that we have examined underwent a big change, seven years ago, when they implemented a One Stop Shop including a IT-support called Flexite. But despite these seven years and the fact that Flexite has changed approach from a Case Management System to a Support System for Business Development the municipality have not adapted to this change.

The diploma thesis aims to examine and compare public sector structures involved in managing the deals under the Public-Private Partnership (PPP)/Private Finance Initiative (PFI) in the UK and Spain as well as application of Public-Private-Citizen Collaboration (PC2) framework within the two systems in the era of post-New Public Management. The spread and use of knowledge and skills capacities and the overall ability of the national institutional models to protect the public interest in an effective and efficient way is assessed together with openness and transparency of PPP programmes using the Web 2.0 tools able to reach and engage citizens in the process of implementing the policy and procurement of individual schemes. Special attention is paid to the ways in which the private sector entities on the one side and citizens on the other can approach the public authorities and influence the shape and features of the partnership and its results. PPP has been widely used for financing of investments into the public infrastructure in many countries in Europe and elsewhere. Through PPP, private sector is invited to take care of financing, construction or modernization and subsequent maintenance of certain public assets over the life of the contract that usually lasts about 30 years. The programmes of...

This dissertation aims to understand the mechanisms behind the adoption of smart cities technologies (SCT) and how they can promote social equity in local communities in the United States. There is a distinct lack of empirical research addressing the methods designed for the promotion of social equity despite their numerous benefits. The present study will address this omission in the scholarship by providing evidence-based insights on how public administrators can leverage SCT to promote distributional social equity through the Digital Era Governance (DEG) and Adoption Theory frameworks. This study also demonstrates the efficacy of applying the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to understand better the mechanism leading to the acceptance and adoption of SCT in the United States. Lastly, it provides insightful evidence demonstrating the value of these approaches and their influence on policymakers’ decisions using SCT to address one of society’s most challenging issues, fostering social equity. It utilizes data from the ICMA’s 2016 Smart Cities Survey, the 2015 Sustainability Practices Survey, and the U.S. Census Bureau. The study employs logistic and negative binomial regressions to examine the factors influencing commitment to using SCT, engagement with SCT, and distributional social equity. The findings indicate that factors such as ‘perceived usefulness’ and ‘ease of use’ influence commitment to SCT usage, which impacts SCT engagement, leading to social equity outcomes

This thesis examines the arguments used by politicians and civil servants to justify the implementation of digitalisation processes to modernise and reform the Norwegian public sector. The research questions are “What arguments are used within the Norwegian public administration to justify the implementation of digitalisation processes?” and “How can these arguments be understood in relation to ideas about modernisation and ongoing reforms within the administration more generally?”. Three studies of digitalisation and reform processes within the Norwegian public administration have been carried out to answer the research questions. The first study is of the Minside public electronic communications service from its inception in 2004 until the service was discontinued in 2012. The second study is an analysis of governmental documents on the role and importance of digitalisation reforms in the Norwegian public sector from the mid-1980’s to today. The third outlines how digitalisation is related to a reform process within the public sector, widely referred to as New Public Management (NPM). The analysis shows that justifications for the implementation of Minside and for digitalisation in the Norwegian public administration are generally focused on the simplification, coordination and rationalisation of the public sector. These justifications are closely connected to key normative ideas of NPM on how and why modernisation and reform processes should be carried out within the public sector in general. Despite high expectations, many digitalisation and electronic service implementations aimed at the population do not achieve the effects expected. This does not, however, appear to have had any impact upon these seemingly deeply entrenched expectations. They continue to be as widely held and as high as they have always been, despite widespread evidence to the contrary. / Hvordan begrunner aktører innenfor norsk offentlig forvaltning digitaliseringsprosesser? Hvordan kan disse begrunnelsene forstås i forhold til ideer om modernisering og pågående reformer innenfor forvaltningen mer generelt? For å svare på disse spørsmålene presenteres tre historier: Først studeres den offentlige digitale tjenesten Minside, deretter undersøkes offentlige dokumenter som omhandler digitaliseringsprosessers rolle og betydning for modernisering i forvaltningen fra 1987 opp til i dag. Til slutt analyseres ideene bak moderniseringen av offentlig sektor, New Public Management, som har hentet ideer og inspirasjon for hvordan offentlig sektor skal organiseres fra privat sektors markedstenkning. Funnene viser at begrunnelsene for digitalisering er å nå mål som forenkling, samordning og effektivisering. Disse målene står i et nært forhold til normative idealer innenfor New Public Management for hvordan reformer og modernisering begrunnes mer generelt. Avhandlingens viser også at forventningene til fordelene ved digitalisering synes å være robuste. Til tross for at en rekke digitaliseringsprosesser ikke har oppnådd de ønskede resultater, så synes ikke de omfattende og sterke forventningene til hva som kan oppnås gjennom digitalisering å avta.

O presente trabalho objetiva identificar as potencialidades e os constrangimentos existentes ao desenvolvimento da democracia digital no Brasil. Por democracia digital entende-se o emprego de ferramentas de participação eletrônica no ciclo de políticas públicas com a finalidade de promover a democratização e o controle social da gestão pública. O método empregado é o estudo de caso de três experiências de democracia digital que abrangem os níveis federal, estadual e municipal: as consultas públicas eletrônicas, o Gabinete Digital e o OP Digital, respectivamente. A análise dessas iniciativas aponta para as possibilidades de: i) adoção da e-participação em diferentes etapas do ciclo de políticas públicas, e ii) ampliação significativa do número de participantes quando comparado a experiências presenciais. Contudo, percebe-se ainda um subaproveitamento das tecnologias, bem como um padrão insuficiente de resposta da administração pública às contribuições da sociedade, encaminhadas dessas ferramentas. Além dos problemas relacionados à exclusão digital, fatores políticos, organizacionais e institucionais limitam o impacto da e-participação, dos quais se destacam o papel da burocracia e a carência de arranjos institucionais que sustentem a operação da democracia digital. / This paper intends to identify the potentialities and the constraints of the development of digital democracy in Brazil. Digital democracy consists of enacting electronic participation tools throughout the public policy cycle, aiming at enhancing social control and democratization of public management. This research employs the case study method for analyzing three digital democracy experiences in Brazil at the federal, state, and local levels: respectively, public e-consultations; Digital Cabinet; and Digital Participatory Budgeting. These initiatives indicate that it is possible to apply e-Participation tools for i) the democratization of each stage of the public policy cycle and ii) increasing the number of participants in comparison to in-person experiences. Nonetheless, one can observe the underutilization of the ICT‘s potential and an unsatisfactory pattern of feedback from the public management about the inputs of society delivered by these tools. Besides the problems related to digital divide, some political, organizational, and institutional issues limit the impact and the adoption of e-participation, out of which is worth underscoring the role of civil servants‘ bureaucracy and the lack of institutional arrangements to sustain the digital democracy operation. / Este trabajo tiene como objetivo identificar las potencialidades y los factores limitadores existentes en el desarrollo de la democracia digital en Brasil. La democracia digital consiste en el empleo de herramientas de participación electrónica en el ciclo de políticas públicas con la finalidad de promover la democratización y el control social de la gestión pública. El método empleado fue el estudio de caso de tres experiencias de democracia digital que abarcan los niveles federal, regional y municipal: las consultas públicas electrónicas, el Gabinete Digital y el Presupuesto Participativo Digital, respectivamente. El análisis de las iniciativas apunta a la posibilidad de: i) adopción de la e-participación en diferentes etapas del ciclo de políticas públicas, y ii) la significativa ampliación del número de participantes en comparación con las experiencias presenciales. Sin embargo, todavía se percibe un escaso aprovechamiento de las tecnologías y un patrón insuficiente de respuesta de la administración pública a las contribuciones de la sociedad encaminadas a través de esas herramientas. Además de los problemas relacionados con la exclusión digital, factores políticos, organizativos e institucionales limitan el impacto de la e-participación, de los cuales se destacan el papel de la burocracia y la carencia de arreglos institucionales que sustenten la operación de la democracia digital.

O presente trabalho objetiva identificar as potencialidades e os constrangimentos existentes ao desenvolvimento da democracia digital no Brasil. Por democracia digital entende-se o emprego de ferramentas de participação eletrônica no ciclo de políticas públicas com a finalidade de promover a democratização e o controle social da gestão pública. O método empregado é o estudo de caso de três experiências de democracia digital que abrangem os níveis federal, estadual e municipal: as consultas públicas eletrônicas, o Gabinete Digital e o OP Digital, respectivamente. A análise dessas iniciativas aponta para as possibilidades de: i) adoção da e-participação em diferentes etapas do ciclo de políticas públicas, e ii) ampliação significativa do número de participantes quando comparado a experiências presenciais. Contudo, percebe-se ainda um subaproveitamento das tecnologias, bem como um padrão insuficiente de resposta da administração pública às contribuições da sociedade, encaminhadas dessas ferramentas. Além dos problemas relacionados à exclusão digital, fatores políticos, organizacionais e institucionais limitam o impacto da e-participação, dos quais se destacam o papel da burocracia e a carência de arranjos institucionais que sustentem a operação da democracia digital. / This paper intends to identify the potentialities and the constraints of the development of digital democracy in Brazil. Digital democracy consists of enacting electronic participation tools throughout the public policy cycle, aiming at enhancing social control and democratization of public management. This research employs the case study method for analyzing three digital democracy experiences in Brazil at the federal, state, and local levels: respectively, public e-consultations; Digital Cabinet; and Digital Participatory Budgeting. These initiatives indicate that it is possible to apply e-Participation tools for i) the democratization of each stage of the public policy cycle and ii) increasing the number of participants in comparison to in-person experiences. Nonetheless, one can observe the underutilization of the ICT‘s potential and an unsatisfactory pattern of feedback from the public management about the inputs of society delivered by these tools. Besides the problems related to digital divide, some political, organizational, and institutional issues limit the impact and the adoption of e-participation, out of which is worth underscoring the role of civil servants‘ bureaucracy and the lack of institutional arrangements to sustain the digital democracy operation. / Este trabajo tiene como objetivo identificar las potencialidades y los factores limitadores existentes en el desarrollo de la democracia digital en Brasil. La democracia digital consiste en el empleo de herramientas de participación electrónica en el ciclo de políticas públicas con la finalidad de promover la democratización y el control social de la gestión pública. El método empleado fue el estudio de caso de tres experiencias de democracia digital que abarcan los niveles federal, regional y municipal: las consultas públicas electrónicas, el Gabinete Digital y el Presupuesto Participativo Digital, respectivamente. El análisis de las iniciativas apunta a la posibilidad de: i) adopción de la e-participación en diferentes etapas del ciclo de políticas públicas, y ii) la significativa ampliación del número de participantes en comparación con las experiencias presenciales. Sin embargo, todavía se percibe un escaso aprovechamiento de las tecnologías y un patrón insuficiente de respuesta de la administración pública a las contribuciones de la sociedad encaminadas a través de esas herramientas. Además de los problemas relacionados con la exclusión digital, factores políticos, organizativos e institucionales limitan el impacto de la e-participación, de los cuales se destacan el papel de la burocracia y la carencia de arreglos institucionales que sustenten la operación de la democracia digital.

O presente trabalho objetiva identificar as potencialidades e os constrangimentos existentes ao desenvolvimento da democracia digital no Brasil. Por democracia digital entende-se o emprego de ferramentas de participação eletrônica no ciclo de políticas públicas com a finalidade de promover a democratização e o controle social da gestão pública. O método empregado é o estudo de caso de três experiências de democracia digital que abrangem os níveis federal, estadual e municipal: as consultas públicas eletrônicas, o Gabinete Digital e o OP Digital, respectivamente. A análise dessas iniciativas aponta para as possibilidades de: i) adoção da e-participação em diferentes etapas do ciclo de políticas públicas, e ii) ampliação significativa do número de participantes quando comparado a experiências presenciais. Contudo, percebe-se ainda um subaproveitamento das tecnologias, bem como um padrão insuficiente de resposta da administração pública às contribuições da sociedade, encaminhadas dessas ferramentas. Além dos problemas relacionados à exclusão digital, fatores políticos, organizacionais e institucionais limitam o impacto da e-participação, dos quais se destacam o papel da burocracia e a carência de arranjos institucionais que sustentem a operação da democracia digital. / This paper intends to identify the potentialities and the constraints of the development of digital democracy in Brazil. Digital democracy consists of enacting electronic participation tools throughout the public policy cycle, aiming at enhancing social control and democratization of public management. This research employs the case study method for analyzing three digital democracy experiences in Brazil at the federal, state, and local levels: respectively, public e-consultations; Digital Cabinet; and Digital Participatory Budgeting. These initiatives indicate that it is possible to apply e-Participation tools for i) the democratization of each stage of the public policy cycle and ii) increasing the number of participants in comparison to in-person experiences. Nonetheless, one can observe the underutilization of the ICT‘s potential and an unsatisfactory pattern of feedback from the public management about the inputs of society delivered by these tools. Besides the problems related to digital divide, some political, organizational, and institutional issues limit the impact and the adoption of e-participation, out of which is worth underscoring the role of civil servants‘ bureaucracy and the lack of institutional arrangements to sustain the digital democracy operation. / Este trabajo tiene como objetivo identificar las potencialidades y los factores limitadores existentes en el desarrollo de la democracia digital en Brasil. La democracia digital consiste en el empleo de herramientas de participación electrónica en el ciclo de políticas públicas con la finalidad de promover la democratización y el control social de la gestión pública. El método empleado fue el estudio de caso de tres experiencias de democracia digital que abarcan los niveles federal, regional y municipal: las consultas públicas electrónicas, el Gabinete Digital y el Presupuesto Participativo Digital, respectivamente. El análisis de las iniciativas apunta a la posibilidad de: i) adopción de la e-participación en diferentes etapas del ciclo de políticas públicas, y ii) la significativa ampliación del número de participantes en comparación con las experiencias presenciales. Sin embargo, todavía se percibe un escaso aprovechamiento de las tecnologías y un patrón insuficiente de respuesta de la administración pública a las contribuciones de la sociedad encaminadas a través de esas herramientas. Además de los problemas relacionados con la exclusión digital, factores políticos, organizativos e institucionales limitan el impacto de la e-participación, de los cuales se destacan el papel de la burocracia y la carencia de arreglos institucionales que sustenten la operación de la democracia digital.