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Information And Communication Technology And Public Innovation: Assessing the Ict-driven Modernization of Public Administration (Innovation and the Public Sector) PDF

256 Pages·2006·2.12 MB·English
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INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY AND PUBLIC INNOVATION Innovation and the Public Sector The functioning of the public sector gives rise to considerable debate. Not only the efficiency and efficacy of the sector are at stake, but also its legitimacy. At the same time we see that in the public sector all kinds of innovations are taking place. These innovations are not only technological, which enable the redesign of all kinds of processes, like service delivery. The emphasis can also be put on more organizational and conceptual innovations. In this series we will try to understand the nature of a wide variety of innovations taking place in the public sector of the 21st century and try to evaluate their outcomes. How do they take place? What are relevant triggers? And, how are their outcomes being shaped by all kinds of actors and influences? And, do public innovations differ from innovations in the private sector? Moreover we try to assess the actual effects of these innovations, not only from an instrumental point of view, but also from a more institutional point of view. Do these innovations not only contribute to a better functioning of the public sector, but do they also challenge grown practices and vested interests? And what does this imply for the management of public sector innovations? Series Editor: Prof. Dr. Victor J.J.M. Bekkers Erasmus University, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Volume 12 Previously published in this series Vol. 11. M. Lips, J.A. Taylor and F. Bannister (Eds.), Public Administration in the Information Society – Essays on Risk and Trust Vol. 10. M. Veenswijk (Ed.), Organizing Innovation – New Approaches to Cultural Change and Intervention in Public Sector Organizations Vol. 9. V.J.J.M. Bekkers and V.M.F. Homburg (Eds.), The Information Ecology of E-Government – E-Government as Institutional and Technological Innovation in Public Administration Vol. 8. D. Ward, The European Union Democratic Deficit and the Public Sphere: An Evaluation of EU Media Policy Vol. 7. M.M.J. van Klink and J.E.J. Prins, Law and Regulation: Scenarios for the Information Age Vol. 6. I.Th.M. Snellen and W.B.H.J. van de Donk, Public Administration in an Information Age Vol. 5. J.A. Taylor, I.Th.M. Snellen and A. Zuurmond (Eds.), Beyond BPR in Public Administration Vol. 4. K.V. Andersen (Ed.), Information Systems in the Political World This series is a continuation of “Informatization Developments and the Public Sector” (vols. 1–9, ISSN 0928-9038) ISSN 1871-1073 Information and Communication Technology and Public Innovation Assessing the ICT-Driven Modernization of Public Administration Edited by Victor Bekkers Erasmus University Rotterdam, Faculty of Social Sciences, the Netherlands Hein van Duivenboden Capgemini & Tilburg University, Tias Business School, the Netherlands and Marcel Thaens Ordina & Erasmus University Rotterdam, Faculty of Social Sciences, the Netherlands Amsterdam • Berlin • Oxford • Tokyo • Washington, DC © 2006 The authors. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without prior written permission from the publisher. ISBN 1-58603-626-2 Library of Congress Control Number: 2006927913 Publisher IOS Press Nieuwe Hemweg 6B 1013 BG Amsterdam Netherlands fax: +31 20 687 0019 e-mail: [email protected] Distributor in the UK and Ireland Distributor in the USA and Canada Gazelle Books Services Ltd. IOS Press, Inc. White Cross Mills 4502 Rachael Manor Drive Hightown Fairfax, VA 22032 Lancaster LA1 4XS USA United Kingdom fax: +1 703 323 3668 fax: +44 1524 63232 e-mail: [email protected] e-mail: [email protected] Cover Design Joost van Grinsven LEGAL NOTICE The publisher is not responsible for the use which might be made of the following information. PRINTED IN THE NETHERLANDS Information and Communication Technology and Public Innovation v V.J.J.M. Bekkers et al. (Eds.) IOS Press, 2006 © 2006 The authors. All rights reserved. Preface The modernization of public administration is a recurring theme on the political and public agenda in many countries. Modernization presupposes innovation. However, is an innovative public administration a contradiction in terminis? According Aloïs Schumpeter, the founding father of innovation theory, the lack of competition in the public sector, the short term orientation of politicians and the bureaucratic nature of public organizations, focusing on creating stability, predictability, legal security and legal equality, frustrates the ability of public sector organizations to look for new ideas, new practices, new services and new organizations. However, if we look at the practice of public administration, and evaluate – from an evolutionary perspective – how public administration has transformed itself during the last 40 years, we actually see a variety of radical and incremental changes. Hence, innovation does take place. This book clearly demonstrates how public administration organizations try to adapt to changing circumstances in their environment in order to secure their legitimacy. At the same time we see that public administration tries to respond and anticipate to new technological developments as well as to make use of them. In many countries e-government has become the symbol of the way in which ICT has penetrated in the nerves of ministries, local and regional government and all kinds of agencies. More- over, a seamless web of information exchange, transaction and communication rela- tions has been spun within and between all kinds of public, private and semi-public organizations which are involved in the formulation and implementation of public pol- icy programs, the execution of public laws and regulations and the evolving delivery of public services. ICT can be seen as tool, which facilitates the implementation of all kinds of public innovations on the one hand; on the other hand the possibilities ICT offers can also be seen as a perspective of change. They can help us frame new possi- bilities or re-frame existing practices, thereby stimulating a process of ‘creative de- struction’. However, how should we assess the added value of ICT to support public innova- tions? In this book a number of case studies have been presented in which different kind of ICT-driven innovations have been described and analyzed. All the chapters have been subjected to a review procedure in order to guarantee the quality of the con- tributions. In the selection of the chapters we have differentiated between several kinds of innovations in which ICT has been used in a substantial way. A distinction has been made between technological, service, organizational, conceptual and institutional inno- vations. Furthermore we have tried to ensure an international comparative overview of innovations. Case studies have been included from the United Kingdom, the Nether- lands, Belgium, the United States of America, Denmark, Germany, Finland and Esto- nia. We have tried to assess these innovations in two ways. From an instrumental per- spective we have looked at the way in which ICT has supported the achievement of different innovations. What factors have contributed to the way in which the innovation goals have been accomplished? From an institutional perspective we have looked at the question, if the use of ICT has contributed to qualitative changes in public administra- tion? Did ICT reinforce existing practices, or did it substantially generate new prac- vi tices, new relationships and new concepts? Moreover, we have included some chapters that address these questions from a more reflective point of view. We would like to thank Vivian Carter, Rebecca Moody and the translation service of Capgemini for their help with the editing of the chapters. Rotterdam/Tilburg, April 2005 Victor Bekkers Hein van Duivenboden Marcel Thaens vii Contents Preface v Victor Bekkers, Hein van Duivenboden and Marcel Thaens Part 1. Setting the Stage Public Innovation and Information and Communication Technology: Relevant Backgrounds and Concepts 3 Victor Bekkers, Hein van Duivenboden and Marcel Thaens Governance, ICT and the Innovation Agenda of Public Administration: A Comparison of Some European Policy Initiatives 22 Victor Bekkers and Evelien Korteland Part 2. Process Innovation Process Innovation in the Public Sector: Two Belgian Crossroads Bank Initiatives 53 Kris Snijkers Public Service Innovation in Europe 68 Hanneke Driessen Designing Flexible Information Architectures in Policy Chains and Networks: Some Dutch Experiences 83 Marcel Thaens, Victor Bekkers and Hein van Duivenboden Part 3. Product and Technological Innovation Geographical Information Systems and the Policy Formulation Process: The Emergence of a Reversed Mixed Scanning Mode? 103 Victor Bekkers and Rebecca Moody Interactive Digital Television and the ‘New’ Citizen 121 Colin Smith and C. William R. Webster Part 4. Organizational Innovation Implementation of Shared Service Centers in Public Administration: Dilemmas and Trade-Offs 141 René Wagenaar, René Matthijsse, Hans de Bruijn, Haiko van der Voort and Ruben van Wendel de Joode Informatization as a Catalyst to Horizontalization in the Dutch Police System 159 Stefan Soeparman and Pieter Wagenaar viii Part 5. Conceptual and Institutional Innovation Empowering Communities for Environmental Decision-Making: Innovative Partnerships in Cleveland (USA) 175 Arthur Edwards The UK’s Electronic Mixed Economy of Public Service Delivery: A Preliminary Evaluation 192 Eleanor Burt and John Taylor Identity Management as Public Innovation: Looking Beyond ID Cards and Authentication Systems 204 Miriam Lips, John Taylor and Joe Organ Part 6. Instrumental and Institutional Assessment E-Government is an Institutional Innovation 219 Albert Meijer and Stavros Zouridis Creative Destruction of Public Administration Practices: An Assessment of ICT-Driven Public Innovations 230 Hein van Duivenboden, Victor Bekkers and Marcel Thaens Author Index 243 Part 1 Setting the Stage This page intentionally left blank

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The modernization of public administration is a recurring theme on the political and public agenda in many countries. Modernization presupposes innovation. However, is an innovative public administration a contradiction in terminis? If we look at the practice of public administration, and evaluate -
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