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Data-driven new digital technologies can partially or fully replace the human agency in policymaking and governance. So far, the impact of these technologies on the human agency in public governance and the role of public servants has not been explored fully. The 'New Digital Era Governance' aims to fill this gap by bringing together expertise from public management, public policy, digital governance, information management, and ICT law. A central topic in the book is to explore how public administration can implement big data solutions in public governance processes that use the full potential of data processing technologies, such as AI and blockchain technologies, without undermining the role of human agency in decision-making processes and the legitimacy of democratic and regulatory institutions. The readers will find practical guidelines and insight on how to implement these new technologies into public service processes by drawing on the empirical findings from the Belgian case

Public administrative bodies around the world are increasingly applying automated, administrative decision-making as underlying technologies such as machine learning mature. Such decision-making is a central element of emerging forms of algorithmic bureaucracies. With its direct exercise of public authority over individual citizens and firms, automated, administrative decision-making makes it particularly important to consider relations to values of good administration. Based on a multiple case-study, the article focuses on how empirical use of automated decision-making influences and transforms issues of good administration in four policy areas in Denmark: Business and social policy; labour market policy; agricultural policy; and tax policy. Supplementing emerging literature, the article exemplifies how public authorities struggle to apply automated decision-making in ways that support rather than undermine good administration. We identify six empirical relations of usage of automated, administrative decision-making and good administration: (I) Giving accurate and comprehensible reasons; (II) Informing addressees' expectations; (III) Combining material and algorithmic expertise; (IV) Achieving effective oversight; (V) Continuously ensuring quality; and (VI) Managing high complexity. Additionally, we pinpoint related key capabilities for administrative bodies in order to support good administration.

The recent introduction of a low-emission zone and enlarged car-free zones in three Belgian cities led to the development of information systems processing data about vehicles, persons, companies and policy impact effects. The collection, analysis and use of these data brought up certain problems that needed to be solved. This case study research aims to categorize these problems using the sequential problem/solution-model. Furthermore, the research results help to explore some focus areas for a future data governance model in the public sector.

Digital transformation has the potential to profoundly change the way public administrations deliver public services to its users. One of the challenges involved in the inter-organizational networks that often govern integrated digital services is to identify what coordination instruments are effective. In this paper we examine this issue through a case study that deals with the transformation of invoicing services in Belgian public administrations at the federal and Flemish (regional) level. We review the coordination instruments and study how they evolved over time. Our findings suggest that transformation (1) might in part depend on the choice of instruments and multiple mechanisms. The mix of appropriate coordination instruments is likely to change as digital transformation objectives and governance challenges evolve over time. (2) Digital transformation might be a step-by-step process involving multiple rounds of digitalization and its specific implementation contingent on the service itself.

Digital transformation has the potential to profoundly change the way public administrations deliver public services to its users. One of the challenges involved in the inter-organizational networks that often govern integrated digital services is to identify what coordination instruments are effective. In this paper we examine this issue through a case study that deals with the transformation of invoicing services in Belgian public administrations at the federal and Flemish (regional) level. We review the coordination instruments and study how they evolved over time. Our findings suggest that transformation (1) might in part depend on the choice of instruments and multiple mechanisms. The mix of appropriate coordination instruments is likely to change as digital transformation objectives and governance challenges evolve over time. (2) Digital transformation might be a step-by-step process involving multiple rounds of digitalization and its specific implementation contingent on the service itself.

This article investigates which public values are prioritized in e-government policies, what the connection is to governance approaches and how the public value prioritization can be explained. Strategic horizontal e-government policy documents are analysed from 2000 to 2018 in Belgium, the United Kingdom and the European Union. A public value typology is developed which connects three-ideal type governance approaches: (1) hierarchy, (2) market and (3) network. The results show that market related public values often play a dominant role in e-government policy documents, but so do – to a lesser degree – network related public values. Hierarchy related public values are seldom dominant. At the national level, four factors explain the prioritization: The attention for a specific governance approach at a given time, the influence of politics, the specific topic of the e-government policy document and the role of authors. Power distribution at the EU level plays a key role in defining the public values balance. This articles contributes to the knowledge on public values in e-government policies, the wider discussion on governance approaches in public administration and the need to understand the relation between public values and public value creation.