The Digitalisation of Public Services: Caught Between Supply and Demand Perspectives

This paper provides a conceptual overview of the actors and institutions involved in and around local governments, and examines the challenges of digitalisation in public administration. It also discusses the use of social network analysis methods to understand this setting, and explores the lines of conflict that arise from diverse special interests affecting administrative behaviour. A selection and decision-making model for rational administrative action is outlined as a proposed solution for decision-making conflicts arising from the tension between the perspective of the provider (public administration) and a heterogeneous group of users and demanders (citizens/businesses). Public administration is often used as an example to demonstrate the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of public policy. The digitalisation of government services has brought the administration into the spotlight, particularly at the municipal level, where public authorities are directly confronted with the expectations of citizens and companies. These user demands are one aspect of external requirements. Another aspect is political guidelines and directives. In this context, public administration operates within a continuum of different actors’ interests. However, legal frameworks, political preferences, and public budgets restrict how these interests can be met. Additionally, there are genuine bureaucratic considerations of public authorities themselves which influence the digital provision of public services. The digitalisation of municipal services and analyses of ideal-typical actor constellations are examined by using network analysis. This allows for the definition of relational patterns specific to the administration, illustrating both external contacts and internal structures. The aim is to illustrate decision-making processes and structures within the framework of local self-government. Network mapping is used to identify the key actors who hold influence over political and administrative decisions. The parameters of centrality and density are particularly significant in this analysis. Based on these conceptual considerations, we present the research design for the development of a 'demand-driven service orchestration' (DDSO) method. The DDSO method is currently under conceptualization in a major regional project in Saxony, Germany. Its purpose is to enable local authorities to prioritize decisions for the digitalization of services properly. The DDSO method aims to improve municipal services in urban-rural regions of the Free State of Saxony – and also beyond this regional case – by increasing their quality and frequency of use. To achieve this citizens and businesses are provided with information about government services relevant to their life situation (e.g. young families, company founders, or senior citizens) and guided through a digital platform when using them in administrative processes or requests. Therefore, the method facilitates demand-oriented digital process transformation by providing technical, organizational, communicative, and didactic tools. At the same time, bureaucratic action has a guidance for digitalisation, which makes it easier to prioritize one measure over others.