Transformation of Public Administration in the Digital Era

The purpose of the article is to characterize the conditions for the transformation of pub- lic administration in the digital age. The relevance of the research is connected with the actively spreading digital innovations, which increasingly cover the frontiers of public ad- ministration, forming a new framework for institutional changes. These changes need competent reflection and systematization. The theoretical part of the work is devoted to the discussion of the concepts of “open government”, “digital government”, “digital trans- formation”, which have become one of the key elements of public management discourse. The process of digitalization involves the free flow of information from public authorities to the public and third parties, such as civil society organizations and the media, as well as from the public and third parties to the authorities, and is at the heart of well-function- ing open governments that are successfully undergoing the path of digital transformation. Methodologically, the article is based on expert interviews with representatives of public authorities of St. Petersburg, aimed at forming an idea of the institutional framework for the transformation of public administration in the context of digitalization. The author of the article conducted a number of expert interviews with the deputy heads of the districts of St. Petersburg and the deputy chairmen of the committees. As a method of interview analysis, the content analysis of the interview was used using the software ATLAS.ti 9 (http://atlasti.com). The main procedures implemented in this program are coding and grouping by category. As a result of the study, 16 codes were identified, which were com- bined into 3 semantic categories: macro-institutional conditions, micro-institutional condi- tions, and technical conditions for successful transformation of public administration in the context of digitalization. Analyzing the interview data, the author comes to the conclusion that the success of the transformation of public administration in the era of digitalization is directly related to the efforts and resources allocated by public sector bodies to imple- ment the law or policy, both at the time of implementation and over time. In other words, the interweaving of macroinstitutional, microinstitutional, and technical conditions plays a critical role. At the same time, the competencies of civil servants at all levels of govern- ment are a unifying element, a generative factor in the implementation of both macro-in- stitutional, micro-institutional, and technical conditions for the transformation of public administration in the era of digitalization.

1. Bolgov R. V. E-government and social networks: German experience // Information systems for scientific research (IMS-2012). Works of the XV Russian United Conference “Internet and Modern Society” (IMS-2012). St. Petersburg National Research University of Information Technology, Mechanics and Optics. St. Petersburg, 2012. P. 269–273. (In Rus).

2. Burmatov V. V. Institutional meaning of the Open Government // Power [Vlast’]. 2012. N 8. P. 36–40. (In Rus).

3. Golubeva A. A. Electronic democracy in Russia: the formation of a tradition of political awareness and participation // Issues of state and municipal administration [Voprosy gosudarstvennogo i munitsipal’nogo upravleniya]. 2012. N 4. P. 50–65. (In Rus).

4. Ignatova A. M. Open data as a new way of interaction between the state and society // Historical, philosophical, political and legal sciences, cultural studies and art history. Questions of theory and practice [Istoricheskie, filosofskie, politicheskie i yuridicheskie nauki, kul’turologiya i iskusstvovedenie. Voprosy teorii i praktiki]. 2015. N 1. P. 78–80. (In Rus).

5. Kamalova G. R. Open public administration: Russian and foreign experience // State and municipal administration. SCAGS academic notes [Gosudarstvennoe i munitsipal’noe upravlenie. Uchenye zapiski SKAGS]. 2014. N 1. P. 140–143. (In Rus).

6. Ushakov E. V., Balashov A. I. History and methodology of science of state and municipal administration. M.: Infra-M, 2019. 323 p. (In Rus).

7. Khalilova M. A., Romanova Yu. A. Efficiency of public administration in the Russian Federation // Management of economic systems: electronic scientific journal [Upravlenie ekonomicheskimi sistemami: elektronnyi nauchnyi zhurnal]. 2014. N 1. URL: https: // www.elibrary.ru/download/ elibrary_21373737_34845254.pdf (In Rus).

8. Chigasova P. A. Electronic government in the political and administrative management of the United States // Sociology of power [Sotsiologiya vlasti]. 2012. N 5. P. 187–194. (In Rus).

9. Shamakhov V. A., Balashov A. I. Resource saving strategy: development vs distribution (Russian agenda) // Administrative consulting [Upravlencheskoe konsul’tirovanie]. 2016. N 6. P. 7–13. (In Rus).

10. Ayoub K., Payne K. Strategy in the age of artificial intelligence // Journal of Strategic Studies, 2016. P. 793–819.

11. Boyd M., Wilson N. Rapid developments in artificial intelligence: how might the New Zealand Government respond? // Policy Quarterly, 2017. P. 36–44.

12. Brunswicker S., Johnson J. From Governmental Open Data Toward Governmental Open Innovation (GOI). A Global Perspective // The Handbook of Global Science, Technology, and Innovation. Wiley, 2015. Ch. 24.

13. Bughin J., Hazan E., Ramaswamy S. Artificial intelligence: the next digital frontier? McKinsey Global Institute Study, 2017.

14. Desouza K. C., Dawson G. S., Chenok D. Designing, developing, and deploying artificial intelligence systems: Lessons from and for the public sector. Kelley School of Business, 2019.

15. Dutil P., Williams J. Regulation governance in the digital era: A new research agenda // Canadian Public Administration. 2017. N 4. P. 562–580.

16. Harrison T. M. Creating open government ecosystems: a research and development agenda. Future Internet. 2012. N 4. P. 900–928.

17. Hensley K. An Exploration of the Impact of an Open Governance Approach on Strategic Decision Making, Collaboration, Organizational Change, and Sustainability. Walden University: College of management and technology. 2011. 177 p.

18. Kushzhanov N., Aliyev U. Digital space: changes in society and security awareness. NAS RK, 2018. P. 94–101.

19. Lindquist E., Huse I. Accountability and monitoring government in the digital era: Promise, realism and research for digital era governance // Canadian Public Administration. 2017. N 60 (4). P. 627–656.

20. Maguire S. Can Data Deliver Better Government? // The Political Quarterly. 2011. N 82 (4). P. 522–525.

21. Mergel I., Desouza K. Implementing Open Innovation in the Public Sector: The Case of Challenge. gov // Public Administration Review. 2013. Vol. 73, Is. 6. P. 882–890.

22. Mikhaylov S., Esteve M., Campion A. Artificial intelligence for the public sector: opportunities and challenges of cross-sector collaboration // Physical and Engineering Sciences, 2018. P. 1–21.

23. Qian T., Medaglia R. Mapping the challenges of artificial intelligence in the public sector: Evidence from public healthcare. Government Information Quarterly, 2018. P. 1–16.

24. Sousa W. How and where is artificial intelligence in the public sector going? A literature review and research agenda. Elsevier, 2019.

25. Van Dooren W. Measuring Public Administration: A Feasibility study for better comparative indicators in the EU. Publications Office of the European Union, 2018.

26. Yogesh K. (Ed.) E-government Development and Diffusion // International Journal of Information Management. IGI Global, 2009.