At the Dawn of Swiss E-Government: Planning and Use of a Unique Identifier in the Public Administration in the 1970s

Abstract

The article explores some of the conceptual discussions on information and communications technology (ICT) use in public administration in the 1970s. Based on ICT-maturity models, the interagency cooperation plans and their failed implementation are analyzed. This case study focuses on the discussions on the utilization of a unique identifier in Swiss public administration and describes the key concepts as well as the actual developments in this specific case. While the chosen approaches for shared use of resources encountered cultural and organizational limitations along with technical difficulties, new organizational practices for coordination and standardization were created and showed first results.

A systematic literature review of open innovation in the public sector: comparing barriers and governance strategies of digital and non-digital open innovation

“…Moreover, there are also ownership-driven barriers. Shared use of ICT resources and information stored in these systems raises the question of ownership, responsibility and funding, the functional division of tasks/allocation of budgets between government agencies and levels (Brugger 2018).…”

Organization and Information Processing: Elements of a History of Early Digitization in the Swiss Federal Administration

“…They transmitted the data on paper to the ZAR where it was copied, mostly by women, to punch cards that were then transferred to the BfS, the data center of the Federal Administration. After a plausibility check, the data were linked to the AHV (OASI) number that was used as the official Swiss social security number at the time (Brügger, 2018). With this link, a data set was considered official.…”

Modeling the factors determining a virtual team’s decision-making

“…Information and communication technology (ICT) helps organizations plan, forecast, monitor, and control their daily operations and supports problem-solving and decision-making by providing precise and reliable data. The use of powerful computer software and network information systems allows for flexibility and the elimination of redundant management functions (Brugger, 2018). Organizations will struggle to make decisions in the absence of systematic methods to manage data.…”