Area 1: Digital & Data-Driven Transformations in Governance
Digital & Data-driven Transformations in Governance
Digital and data-driven transformations in governance are centered on exploring new approaches to decision-making that can lead to significant shifts in how we innovate and enhance efficiency. This vision covers a broad range of topics, from the foundational principles of democratic systems to practical applications like improving citizen services, monitoring public infrastructure, and supporting government operations.
Reimagining governance involves moving beyond traditional decision-making processes and connecting top-down, theory-based approaches with bottom-up, data-driven strategies. The aim is to create new insights that can guide critical decisions in a rapidly changing world.
One of the main challenges in this transformation is adapting existing systems, communities, and policies to new forms of engagement, particularly within increasingly digital and interconnected environments. Three key areas of focus have emerged: public participation and collective intelligence, the transformation of relationships and organizations, and the need for openness in governance.
These changes affect a wide range of stakeholders, including individuals, organizations, and institutions across the public, private, and voluntary sectors. This raises important questions about how governments interact with the private sector and citizens, as well as issues related to data access, information sharing, and their impact on democracy, citizen rights, and public services.
An example of how these ideas are being applied in practice is the development of new models that combine governance with data services, enabling collaboration among citizens, service providers, and researchers to drive systemic change.
- From data to decisions: knowledge generation and evidence formation;
- Process, psychology and behaviour of decision-making in digital era;
- Government operations and services;
- Government-citizen interactions; and open government;
- Democracy, public deliberation, public infrastructure, justice, media;
- Public, private and voluntary sector governance and policy-making.
Area 1 Committee Members:
- Sarah Giest, University of Leiden, Netherlands
- Sharique Manazir, Kautilya School of Public Policy, India
- Keegan McBride, Oxford Internet Institute, UK
- Francesco Mureddu, Lisbon Council, Belgium
- Anastasija Nikiforova, University of Tartu, Estonia
- Sujit Sikder, Leibniz Institute of Ecological Urban and Regional Development, Germany
- Bonnie Buyuklieva, UCL, UK
- Austin Zwick, Syracuse University, USA