The Successful Eight? Political Determinants of the "Model Municipalities of E-Government" Program in Germany

The scope of policy challenges for municipalities in Germany has increased significantly in recent years: In addition to challenges such as migration and environmental protection, digitization is a further source of opportunity and risk. A circumstance that additionally fuels the delegation of tasks and challenges to municipalities and redefines their role in multi-level governance as problem solvers (Tosun, Francesco, & Peters, 2019). In the course of the digitization of municipal administrative structures in Germany, the federal program "Model Municipalities of E-Government” has been in place since 2014. In a competitive selection process, eight municipalities and communities have been selected. Each of the applicants developed individual projects: For example, they dealt with methods of e-payment, digitized forms, online appointment allocations or methods of e-recruiting (Schwab, Bogumil, Kuhlmann, & Gerber, 2019). The project was completed in 2016 and resulted in a document with recommendations ("cookbook"), which was published by the participating municipalities for the implementation of the developed strategies by other municipalities. This paper examines the political reasons and conditions for the emergence and implementation of this program in the context of the eGovernment Act (EGovG). What are the (political) motivations behind the emergence of the reform? Which individuals are essential for the organization and implementation of the program in the multilevel-governance system and how do they perform? What role can such programs play in overcoming challenges in the multilevel governance system (Maggetti & Trein, 2019; Thomann, Trein, & Maggetti, 2019)? In order to determine the political determinants, qualitative expert interviews with actors from the participating municipalities and with the project managers will be conducted. Through this process, a comprehensive classification of these determinants is achieved. References Maggetti, M., & Trein, P. (2019). Multilevel Governance and Problem‐Solving: Towards a Dynamic Theory of Multilevel Policy‐Making? Public Administration, 97(2), 355-369. Schwab, C., Bogumil, J., Kuhlmann, S., & Gerber, S. (2019). Digitalisierung von Verwaltungsleistungen in Bürgerämtern. In T. Klenk, F. Nullmeier, & G. Wewer (Eds.), Handbuch Digitalisierung in Staat und Verwaltung (pp. 1-12). Wiesbaden: Springer VS. Thomann, E., Trein, P., & Maggetti, M. (2019). What's the Problem? Multilevel Governance and Problem‐Solving. European Policy Analysis, 5(1), 37-57. Tosun, J., Francesco, F., & Peters, B. G. (2019). From Environmental Policy Concepts to Practicable Tools: Knowledge Creation and Delegation in Multilevel Systems. Public Administration, 97(2), 399-412.