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12POLITICAL SCIENCES
DIGITAL TRANSFORMATIONS OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION UNDER THE CONDITIONS OF DECENTRALIZATION: REVIEW OF SCIENTIFIC SOURCES
Tomashevska A.,
PhD in Economics, Associate Professor of Department of Management and Business Administration, Vasyl
Stefanyk Precarpathian National University, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine.
ORCID ID: 0000-0002-8182-5906 Oliinyk S.
postgraduate student of the department of management and business administration, Vasyl Stefanyk Precar-
pathian National University ORCID: 0000-0002-5715-8111 DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.7479776
ABSTRACT
The article provides an overview of the scientific directions in which research is carried out on the problems of digital development of society in various spheres of life, in particular in public administration. Some works of research scientists of EU member states on digital transformations of public administration in conditions of decentralization have been analyzed. A bibliographic analysis of the publications of research scientists of the EU member states devoted to the impact of digitalization on the effectiveness of public administration, including in the context of decentralization, was conducted. It was found that studying and taking into account the existing systemic contradictions in communication between the authorities and civil society allows not only to see the causes of problems, but also to correct the errors of the authorities in relations with stakeholders. This is especially important at the level of individual territorial communities, where the most urgent local development decisions are made.
Keywords: digital transformations, public administration, digital society, decentralization.
Formulation of the problem. Technology brings innovative opportunities to the public sector and has the potential to improve interactions between governments and citizens by simplifying procedures and promoting open government. Digital transformation of government means further modernization of public administration, seamless cross-border mobility and increased digital interaction. More and more governments around the world are using a large number of digital tools.
In July 2014, the member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development adopted the Recommendation on the development and implementation of national digital government strategies with the aim of implementing digital transformational changes in management processes in all sectors of the economy. The Recommendation emphasizes the important contribution of digital technologies as a strategic driving force for creating open, active and trustworthy relations between the state and civil society, improving social inclusiveness and government accountability, as well as for developing innovative approaches in national development and long-term sustainable growth.
The recommendation also establishes a number of fundamental principles according to which digital development strategies should be implemented, in particular on issues related to the openness of the government to support public trust; improving governance for better collaboration and results; strengthening capabilities to achieve return on investment in digital technologies. This indicates the search for new ways to meet the expectations of citizens in solving the problems they face, and in this context, the use of digital technologies can help modernize the provision of public services at a new technological level [1].
There is growing interest in guiding digital transformation in a way that respects fundamental rights and democratic values and benefits society as a whole. Now it is customary to talk about the European approach to digitalization - in which data and technologies should be used for the greater good of the economy and society.
Services will increasingly be tailored to life events and administrative needs - for example, hospital data about a child's birth can trigger the issuance of a child's birth certificate, social security card, and medical record, as well as the payment of family benefits to eligible parents. Under "one government", citizens and businesses only have to provide their data once before it is transferred to other agencies with appropriate privacy protections.
Taking into account the existing systemic contradictions in communication between the authorities and civil society allows not only to see the causes of problems, but also to correct the errors of the authorities in relations with stakeholders. This is especially important at the level of individual territorial communities, where the most urgent decisions are made, where communication seems to have the fewest barriers, but no fewer problems. In the conditions of Ukraine acquiring the status of a candidate for EU membership in 2022, decentralization is a particularly important prerequisite in the transition to a digital society. In this connection, the search and analysis of scientific European sources and developments related to the development of decentralization processes of public administration in the conditions of the development of a digital society is relevant.
Analysis of recent research and publications. The importance of scientific searches for alternative
and effective mechanisms of public management, digi-talization of management processes is emphasized by modern scientists, among them: Zhalilo J., Zablodska V., Karpenko O., Kuybida V. and others. However, despite the significant number of publications on the topic of research, issues in this area require further scientific exploration.
The purpose of this study is to review the publications of research scientists of the EU member states on digital transformations of public administration in conditions of decentralization.
Presenting main material. Digitization can offer public administration bodies new channels for providing quality services. Since the 1950s, public administration in the world has made significant efforts to modernize, gradually introducing computer, information and communication, digital technologies. The digitalization of public administration is driven by the political will to provide better services while ensuring economic efficiency, at the same time it is not without challenges: effective changes are rooted in the needs of end users and must be accompanied by the development of enabling measures such as training for public service and diversifying human profiles. resources. Embracing digital transformation also means promoting cultural changes in the work of civil servants and local government officials.
Local authorities in Europe are pioneering new policies and services aimed at improving the use of data in the public interest, alternative data management models and people-centred digital services. Many governments are also implementing digital solutions such as data analytics and cognitive automation (cognitive technologies such as machine learning, computer vision, machine translation and speech recognition used to replicate human actions).
Policy development supported by machine learning can model and determine which approaches produce the best results and improve policies through self-correction. It can also support digital platforms for crowdsourced and distributed policymaking in which citizens contribute their knowledge and expertise [2].
In European countries, there is a growing scientific interest in alternative approaches to the management, control and use of data (especially personal data and digital traces). Here, the main focus is on the analysis of new alternative models of data management that are more democratic (i.e. allow more subjects to control data and decide how it is used) and use data in the public interest (e.g. to improve the quality of public services, solve social problems, empowerment of users, etc.).
There are also various debates about the future of democracy in the digital age. Despite the decrease in the level of trust in traditional representative institutions and political actors, citizens are ready to participate in the public sphere. Digital technologies provide additional opportunities to express this participation: citizens participate in online discussions, consultations and debates; get involved in the causes they support, including financially; and share their views through digital platforms that help hold public institutions accountable [3].
The bibliographic analysis of publications devoted to issues of the impact of digitalization on the effectiveness of public administration, including in the context of decentralization, showed that all publications can be conditionally grouped in the following directions:
- research on the relationship between the digitalization of public administration and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (Barbosa I. [4], Castro C., Lopes C. [5]);
- definition of the conceptual and categorical apparatus and the place of digital transformation of the sphere of public administration (Mergel I., Edelmann N., Haug N. [6]);
- assessment of the impact of digital transformation on the effectiveness of the provision of public services and public administration in general (Moreno E. M., Lorente Bayona L. V., Gras-Gil E. [7]; Nam T. [8]);
- empirical studies devoted to the analysis of the national system of public administration and its digital transformation (Wouters S., Janssen M., Crompvoets J. [9]; Curtis S. [10]) (Table 1), etc.
Table 1
Bibliographic analysis of publications by research scientists of EU member states devoted to issues of the
Barbosa I. [4], Castro C., Lopes C. [5] research on the relationship between the digitalization of public administration and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals
Mergel I., Edelmann N., Haug N. [6] definition of the conceptual and categorical apparatus and the place of digital transformation of the sphere of public administration
Moreno E. M., Lorente Bayona L. V., Gras - Gil E. [7]; Nam T. [8] assessment of the impact of digital transformation on the effectiveness of the provision of public services and public administration in general
Wouters S., Janssen M., Crompvoets J. [9]; Curtis S. [10] empirical studies devoted to the analysis of the national system of public administration and its digital transformation
Source: summarized by the authors for [4-10].
It should also be noted that a fairly significant number of publications in the field of digital transformation of public administration were made by international governmental and political organizations, as well as directly by public administration bodies, in particular the EU: European Commission [11; 12], Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [13],
United Nations [14].
In recent years, deliberative forms of democracy have been increasingly used to complement representative democracy, thus increasing the transparency and inclusiveness of the decision-making process at all levels of state power. Digital transformation has offered a
new range of tools for deliberative democracy, facilitating its widespread use.
Digital transformation is also affecting the political landscape and civil society. New democratic actors have emerged, while traditional actors have adapted to new ways of campaigning and spreading their messages, and some political parties are resorting to microtargeting in political campaigns. In the documents of the European Commission, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development [11; 12] raises concerns about the lack of transparency and accountability in how political advertising is launched and financed, and calls for more research and better access to data to fully understand the impact of microtargeting on public opinion.
Private actors, particularly internet intermediaries and social media platforms, increasingly play a central role in the public sphere as infrastructure providers, content creators and distributors, selecting and curating the information shared on social platforms, targeting it to specific audiences and potentially influencing public opinion, political debate and ultimately election results.
Conclusions. Digital technologies offer ways to improve the quality of democracy in terms of accountability and responsiveness. However, if appropriate measures are not taken, their impact on participation and inclusiveness can be ambiguous: Internet access and digital literacy become important criteria for ensuring fully inclusive participation in democratic public governance processes.
Thus, in European countries, there is a growing scientific interest in alternative approaches to the management, control and use of data (especially personal data and digital traces); analysis of new alternative data management models; using data to improve the quality of public services, solve social problems, and expand the rights and opportunities of users; there are scientific discussions about the future of democracy in the digital era, etc.
All publications can be conditionally grouped into several areas: a study of the relationship between the digitalization of public administration and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals; assessment of the impact of digital transformation on the efficiency of the provision of public services and public administration in general; development of the conceptual and categorical apparatus and the place of digital transformation of the sphere of public administration; empirical research devoted to the analysis of the national public administration system and their digital transformation. Therefore, in the context of Ukraine acquiring the status of an EU candidate in 2022, a particularly important prerequisite for the transition to a digital society is decentralization.
References
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