BIB: ICT, Public Administration and Democracy in the Coming Decade

Dear colleague, I am delighted to announce the new issue (17:3-4) of Information Polity, focusing on ICT, Public Administration and Democracy in the Coming Decade and edited by Albert Meijer, Frank Bannister and Marcel Thaens. On the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the permanent study group on e-government of the European Group for Public Administration, we decided to take the risk and edit a volume on ‘ICT and Public Administration and Democracy in the Coming Decade’. The 20th anniversary had already been used to look back at the work of this study group and this resulted in a rich special issue of Information Polity .We felt that we should now, as a counterweight to these backward looking reflections, look forward. This collection of papers celebrates the fact that research into e-governance is alive and well and presents cutting edge knowledge for academics and policy-makers. Introduction ICT, Public Administration and Democracy in the Coming Decade A. Meijer, F. Bannister, M. Thaens Section One: the past and the present situation as starting point for thinking about the future. What lessons for the future can be learned if we look at the practice (Bannister and Connolly) and the visions (Taylor) of eGovernment in the past? Lessons can also be learned from complexities associated with eGovernment (Lips). Knowing what we know now, how can we deal with these complexities? Forward to the past: Lessons for the future of e-government from the story so far F. Bannister, R. Connolly The Information Polity: Towards a two speed future? J.A. Taylor E-Government is dead: Long live Public Administration 2.0 M. Lips Surveillance as X-ray C.W.R. Webster Section two: the future implications of eGovernment for Government Institutions. This section then covers topics that are relevant for thinking about the way government works and functions. One of these topics is the added value of interorganizational information sharing and integration (Gil-Garcia). But also discussions about a new concept like 'Publicness' of information (Mergel) or a more classic theme like Transparency (Grimmelikhuijsen) seem to fit very well within this section. Also the future of participatory democracy and the idea of a do-it-yourself state are described (Meijer). Towards a smart State? Inter-agency collaboration, information integration, and beyond J.R. Gil-Garcia The social media innovation challenge in the public sector I. Mergel A good man but a bad wizard. About the limits and future of transparency of democratic governments S. Grimmelikhuijsen The Do It Yourself State A. Meijer Section three: the future implications for our e-government reseach and practice. Where the contributions so far have looked at the concept of eGovernment itself and the developments in the future, now the shift is made to the future of the study and research of this phenomenon. How can we raise the explanatory power of eGovernment studies in the future? In what way can we benefit from the body of knowledge in different scientific areas (Bekkers)? And how useful is the use of 'a big question' approach for the further development of eGovernment studies (Yildiz)? And what are major trends regarding the development of e-government (Scholl). Five trends that matter: Challenges to 21st century electronic government H.J. Scholl Why does e-government looks as it does? looking beyond the explanatory emptiness of the e-government concept V. Bekkers Big questions of e-government research M. Yildiz Government ICT Strategy (March, 2011) Cabinet Office Government ICT Strategy – Strategic Implementation Plan (2011) HM Government Book Review @ is for Activism: Dissent, Resistance and Rebellion in a Digital Culture (2011), Joss Hands, ed., Book Review