To Örebro University

Purpose: This study aims to examine the results and influences of the practical implementation of a Digital Index Framework (DIF) for assessing digital government among government agencies.

Design/methodology/approach: The authors use a mixed methods approach in a case study of a project using the DIF and involving two government agencies in Sweden. The analysis focuses on interpreting quantitative results from the DIF and using the schematic theory of evaluation influence to study qualitative data on how the DIF assessment process influences the participants of the project.

Findings: The quantitative results show the multifaceted spread of digitalisation among activities for carrying out core processes in government agencies, revealing differences in automation, levels of digital service and the exchange of data. The qualitative analysis shows influences from the DIF in how the participants acquire skills to learn about the development of digitalisation and are primed towards certain cross-government challenges.

Originality/value: The study analyses the influence on public sector practitioners from a theoretical framework for assessing digital government by using evaluation research. This entails experiences of a project using a DIF in the context of core processes among public servants in public administration. This is a novel approach to studying practical results and influences in using a framework for assessing digital government; showing how assessment can be used for learning and development of digital government among practitioners.

This report presents the development of a blueprint for a Master’s program tailored to public sector professionals without formal technical or programming backgrounds. The blueprint was developed as a part of WASP-ED (The Wallenberg AI and Transformative Technologies Education Development Program) work area 2. The program addresses the growing need for competencies among public servants leading or participating in AI-supported transformation in public organizations. It aims to equip domain experts with foundational AI knowledge and cross-disciplinary insight into the intersection of technology, society, and individuals. The goal is to bridge the knowledge gap between technical experts and sector-specific specialists.

The blueprint responds to knowledge gaps identified through a review of academic literature on AI system development and implementation in public organizations, recent reports from public and private entities, and complemented by empirical data collected through workshops, discussions, and interviews with key stakeholders. The suggested program is grounded in both theory and practice, drawing on the Sociotechnical AI systems perspective and the AI System Development Life Cycle (AI-DLC), designed specifically for public sector needs.

The initial version of the blueprint was shared with stakeholders including study directors, and others involved in developing Master's-level education in relevant disciplines. It was also evaluated against the WASP-ED curriculum and existing Master’s programs in Sweden.

Finally, there is a strong network of informatics researchers across Sweden — including at Örebro University (ÖRU), University of Gothenburg (GU), Linköping University (LiU), and Mid Sweden University — who possess relevant expertise, actively publish in this field, and maintain close collaborations with the public sector. These competencies and networks will play a key role in shaping and further developing the program.

In this research we investigate how ethical guidelines can be applied in the context of a robotic process automation (RPA) that makes decisions on income support in a Swedish social work agency. Our purpose is to identify ethical concerns that might be subject for regulation and governance when new RPA technology has been implemented in the decision-making process.As a first step we apply the assessment list for trustworthy artificial intelligence (ALTAI) as the evaluation framework. The rapid growth of AI techniques has made both the public and private sector call for new ethical and regulatory frameworks (e.g., Stahl et al., 2021; Schneiderman, 2020). As a response, the area of ethical guidelines for AI has been particularly active where a diverse range of organizations, researchers and national bodies work with and debate ethical frameworks and principles to make use of, or control, these new techniques to serve people and society.Our research question is three-folded: i) How is the RPA implemented and how can the implementation be described? ii) What ethical concerns emerge when income support decision-making is handed over to a RPA? iii) Where can ALTAI provide support for identifying ethical concerns in the context of social work RPA decision-making? We contribute with a description of the RPA as an anatomy of the digital infrastructure for automation of income support in the case municipality and an analysis of the RPA in relation to each key requirement of ALTAI summarizing ethical concerns. We end with preliminary conclusions on the applicability of ALTAI to capture ethical considerations in the context of RPA in social work.

In the age of digitalisation social work is transforming. With increased use of information systems social workers are meeting new professional challenges. In this paper we report findings covering a nine-year longitudinal study on critical issues in the use of a Case Management System in a Swedish social work agency. The study includes a stakeholder based evaluation, interviews and document analysis. Comparing the evaluation findings with literature helped us identify six areas in need of intensified research: i) Usability and interface design ii) Mismatch between social conceptualisation and system conceptualisation of the case iii) Skills and training for information systems use iv) Statistical production for accountability and quality assurance v) Terminology for interpersonal understanding vi) IT Governance. As can be seen from the areas above, this kind of research depends on professional knowledge from the social work field - but also from the field of information systems. Hence, we suggest deeper collaboration between the two areas of knowledge in order to scrutinize the complexity of social work information systems. Clearly the intersection of social work and information systems is a neglected research area and we attempt to contribute by providing guidance for intensified research and practical knowledge generation.

IT governance is a challenging area in healthcare organisations. Healthcare organisations are under pressure to transform and make use of new information technologies in order to be more effective and serve a growing number of patients. Healthcare IT implementation projects typically involve multiple stakeholders whose ideas and images of processes and results can differ severely. In this case study, at a large Swedish hospital, we investigate how different institutional logics conflict and interplay in a Health IT project and what this implies for IT governance. Our research questions are (i) How do institutional logics influence IT project activities and interactions? (ii) What implications have an institutional logics perspective for IT governance in healthcare organisations? Institutionalised views of different stakeholders may enable or slow down IT development and implementation. We have identified four logics affecting actions and interactions in the studied project which are; medical logic, management logic, IT function logic and vendor logic. The institutional logics perspective contributes to important understanding on complexities in Health IT projects and guidance on how to overcome complications providing important implications for IT governance.

In the last decade several researchers have addressed the problem that there does not seem to be much evidence of extensive use of interpretive evaluation approaches in practice. Researchers have though recognized the interpretive evaluation approach as well founded academically and theoretically offering potential advantages such as stakeholder commitment and learning opportunities. One reason for this non-use could be that there are few, if any, interpretive evaluation methods ready at hand for evaluators in practice. An interpretive IS evaluation method means a method in support for doing evaluation as interpretation. This research presents a practical method for doing evaluation of information systems as a joint act of interpretation performed by the stakeholders of the information system in use. In our research we have expanded the interpretive philosophical base to embrace a pragmatic knowledge interest in order to underpin the overall strive for evaluation that is to contribute to change and betterment. The method presented is named VISU (Swedish acronym for IS evaluation for workpractice development). The process of evaluating accordingly to the VISU method has been extensively tested in practice and in theoretical grounding processes and is now considered ready for wider use. The research process for developing VISU has been conducted with canonical action research through parallel work with evaluation and method development in six episodes within two cases. VISU consists of prescribed actions that are anchored in a set of underlying principles stemming from the philosophy of American pragmatism. Evaluation according to VISU is performed in three phases; arrange, evaluate and develop. In the paper VISU is described according to phases, actions, main concepts and principles. The use of VISU is demonstrated through examples from a performed evaluation of an information system in support for social welfare services.