Abstract. In Switzerland inter-organizational cooperation is a cornerstone of the national e-government strategy. Based on existing frameworks, the authors examine different stakeholder's perspectives towards cooperative e-government within the Swiss federal system. The discussion of pronounced barriers and enablers is based on various sets of data: A document analysis and interviews with the program office on the national level, data from surveys among egovernment officers across federal levels and a case study conducted at the concrete operative level. The analysis aims at reflecting the relevance of different aspects of cooperation for the development of e-government, contributes to validating existing analytical approaches and provides suggestions for further research.
In recent years, many countries have started to draft strategies and policies related to the data economy. To support new datadriven activities and innovations, the development of a national data infrastructure (NDI) is seen as key. The concept of NDI has entered governmental strategic discussions on data as an asset, the role of data infrastructures in innovation and economic activity, and the role of government therein. However, there is a gap between the ambitions as laid out in the strategies and the actual actions taken towards realizing them. To understand this gap and support NDI development, insight is needed in the components and processes of realizing NDI strategies. In this paper, we study NDI strategies 'in action' in the Netherlands and Switzerland using an analytical framework comprising strategies, stakeholders, design, components and governance. Special emphasis is put on the role of government in formulating and implementing strategies. Our cross-case analysis uncovers lessons that seem relevant for NDI development elsewhere, as well as challenges that need to be resolved before NDIs can hope to actually make the impact associated with them.
The present paper focuses on the interplay between the organizational dimension of e-government and the development of national e-government infrastructures. The discussion is aimed at clarifying whether and how a decentralized vs. central development of re-usable basic services raises different requirements with regard to establishing interorganizational arrangements and coordination. Current challenges in the development of decentralized, federal Switzerland are compared to other federal and non-federal countries, based on document analysis and interviews with e-government experts in Switzerland, selected European countries and Canada. Against this background, an organizational framework is developed that is aimed at overcoming common obstacles for developing an integrated e-government approach across national tiers in Switzerland. The cross-country comparison reveals considerable similarity regarding pressing challenges. The framework may therefore be suited as a theoretical model for further analyses on the guidance, design and governance of e-government infrastructures. Practitioners might apply it as an analytical tool.
A national data infrastructure (NDI) provides data, data-related services and guidelines for the re-use of data to individuals and organizations. It facilitates efficient sharing of data, supports new business models, and is thus a key enabler for the digital economy, open research, societal collaboration and political processes. While several European countries have taken steps to set up data infrastructures cutting across institutional silos, approaches vary, and there is no common understanding of what a NDI exactly comprises. In Switzerland, activities are still at a conceptual stage. In order to foster a shared vision of what a NDI is about, stakeholder interviews were carried out with representatives of public administration, research, civil society, and the private sector. There is broad consensus among key stakeholders that a NDI is to be conceived as a nationwide distributed technical infrastructure allowing the sharing of data, based on predefined rules. Our findings also suggest that the notion of a NDI should be approached from four perspectives: a big data, a base register, an open data, and a mydata perspective. For its implementation, effective coordination across several dimensions (ethical, legal, political, economical, organizational, semantical, and technical) is crucial, which calls for a truly multidisciplinary approach.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.