Download call-for-papers (PDF Format)
25th ANNIVERSARY of the Permanent Study Group on ICT in PA
Call- for-Papers
European Group for Public Administration (EGPA) Study Group on Information and Communications Technologies in Public Administration
The 2011 Annual Conference of the European Group on Public Administration will be held in Bucharest, Romania from the 7th to the 10th of September 2011.
For the anniversary meeting of our permanent Study Group, we would like to invite papers on the topic of e-Government 3.0: ICT and Public Administration in the Coming Decade. We would like to make the future the focus of our 25th workshop and we invite papers that present reflections on the nature of new and emerging technologies in the public sector and their impact on government. We are therefore inviting papers of a different format than in other years:
- We invite everyone to write reflective essays on the future of e-government.
- These essays can build upon empirical work, but authors have the freedom to reflect upon expected developments in the future.
- The papers do not have to comply with normal standards for research papers (theoretical framework, research methods). We would like to see papers that present a clear (and preferably provocative) message.
We hope to have good discussions about the future of government and how new technologies may change government institutions, processes and instruments. The papers can deal with any aspect of e-government. Themes can include (but are not limited to):
- Government institutions. What are or will be the implications of new and emerging ICTs for checks and balances in government, for transparency and for accountability? Will technology threaten current government institutions and if so what changes will need to be made to adapt to the technology environment over the coming decade?
- Service delivery. Currently a large number of government services are either delivered electronically and/or underpinned by ICT. However there remain many services which are largely manual. Questions here include what further current services can be moved on-line or enhanced by technology. Are there wholly new services that will become possible? Will future technologies change the nature even of those services currently on-line? What are the implications for society or for groups in society on an increasingly on-line government? What are the future implications of mobile technology for government?
- Public safety. What will be the risks and opportunities for government and society created by emerging technology? Are we heading for a surveillance society and if so what are the implications of this? What will be the implications of technology for the privacy, trust and the relationship between the private and the public sphere? Do we need new controls? On the other side, can innovative use of technology provide new forms of protection, physical, political and personal? Does government need to be more active in regulating the private sphere?
- e-Democracy. Where is e-democracy going? Is e-participation a neat idea, but one that is unlikely to succeed or is it the way of the future? Do emerging technologies represent new opportunities or are they a threat to democracy as a result of abuse by governments and private interest groups? Will future technologies impact on current democratic forms and institutions? Will these need to change (or be forced) to change and, if so, how? What is the future of on-line debate and engagement and more broadly the public sphere? Can technology usher in Habermas’ vision of a society built around communicative action?
- Policy-making. What will be the impact of technology on the policy agenda including on agenda setting and decision making? What are the implications for policy modeling? Will we be able to explore options in a virtual environment before putting them into practice? To what degree can or should decision making be delegated to machines or automated systems?
- Interoperability. Whatever happened to the one-stop-shop? Is whole of government the way forward and can technology overcome some of the barriers that still seem to block the path towards seamless government? What are the directions for standardization and what might technology do to help resolve some of the definitional and semantic problems of interoperability beyond the basic technical levels?
- Governance. What is the future of governance? Will the process of hollowing out of the stage continue driven by ICT or will technological logical bring us back again towards a more centralized form of government? Can ICT help deliver a greater degree of systemic governance or are we headed back towards a new nanny state?
- Implementation. What are the issues that government will have to deal with in implementing and using this kind of new approaches and technologies? What will be the challenges in terms of education, government structures, culture, legal systems and so on? How can governments learn from each other and avoid reinventing the wheel time and time again?
- Comparative Approaches to e-Government 3.0. How do different governments compare when it comes to being prepared for the future? Are some governments more forward thinking than others and if so why is this? Are some approaches to e-government more likely to succeed than others and why? Do national culture, government structures or other factors come into play and if so how?
These are just some questions and we are sure that our members can think of many others.
As always, please remember that a key objective of the workshop is to enable people to present their current research and thinking/ideas for discussion and debate. If your work can be made to fit the theme, so much the better, but it is by no means essential that it does if you want to present your own current research.
Publication of Papers – Important Announcement
It is intended to publish the best paper from the conference in a special book to celebrate the 25 years of Permanent Study Group number one. This book will also include a number of invited papers from current and former distinguished members of the group. This book will be edited by Albert Meijer, Frank Bannister and Marcel Thaens.
High quality papers that do not fit into the theme of the book will be considered for a special section or issue of Information Polity in 2012. Papers may also be published in the Electronic Journal of e-Government.
Further Information
Up to date information on the workshop can be found at our website as it become available. Any important information will be mailed to you directly. Our website can be found at:
This call for papers is available there as are the papers from the 2010 Toulouse conference in case anybody who was not there would like to look at them. These will be removed in spring of 2011 as we prepare the site for the Bucharest conference.
EGPA’s own 2011 conference site (www.egpa-conference2011.org)
As in previous years, we will try to organize our time so as to maximize our opportunities to discuss reflective/theoretical papers in depth. The EGPA Study Group on ICT in Public Administration is dedicated to providing the strongest possible discussion forum for both established and new scholars in this field and to give a good opportunity for scholars to present new ideas and have those ideas discussed and debated by their peers.
PhD Seminar
As last year, there will be a PhD seminar on the two days preceding the conference (5th and 6th of September). As this is organized by EGPA, a separate call will be sent out for this we expect in January. As in previous years, participants in the PhD seminar can choose to present in the seminar only or both in the seminar and (subject to acceptance) in the main study group meeting. After a plenary session, the seminar breaks into smaller groups which are clustered around topics. If we have sufficient e-government or related PhD students, we can form our own group.
Procedure
This call is for abstracts or proposals. In keeping with Study Group aims, the co-conveners will look for a number of key features in proposals for papers. These features are as follows:
- Abstracts should show evidence of argument authors will make in the proposed paper;
- The papers should show evidence of innovative and creative thinking which is well grounded in theory or well argued.
- Reflective/theoretical papers should preferably be related, even if indirectly, to the conference theme, but this is not mandatory;
- For empirically based papers, adherence to the conference theme is less important, but there should be evidence of new findings from research being undertaken;
- In all cases there should be evidence that the proposed paper emerges from contemporary debate within the public administration sphere, broadly defined.
Completed papers will be required by 2nd May 2011. Papers should ideally have a maximum length of 7,000 words and should be submitted in PDF or Microsoft Word or RTF format. We will be asking some participants to act as discussants for each of the presented papers. Discussants will provide a further stimulus to valuable discussion on each of the papers presented.
Please note that the co-conveners wish to encourage new scholars as well as existing scholars in the field to contribute to the Study Group. The group is open to new members and we would ask senior members of the group to encourage younger colleagues and PhD students to consider submitting proposals.
Please send your outline proposals by email to both of us by 1st of August, 2011. Do not hesitate to contact us with any questions regarding the conference and/or the permanent study groups.
Send your proposals to:
Study Group Directors:
Frank Bannister
Trinity University, Dublin
Albert Meijer
Utrecht University
Study Group Website:
