[EGOV LIST] CFP - Journal of Strategic Information Systems - SI - Digital Transformation in the Public Sector

[Pardo, Theresa A]

CFP – Journal of Strategic Information Systems

Digital Transformation of the Public Sector
Digital transformation, increasingly recognized as central to the efforts of government leaders to meet their obligations to society, is the use of digital technologies to innovate and change how organizations create value and prepare for the future.

According to Gartner<https://www.gartner.com/en/topics/digital-government>, while digital optimization focuses on using data to improve current operations, digital transformation is set to change the shape of government operations through a process of destruction, reinvention and creation. Deloitte<https://www2.deloitte.com/global/en/pages/public-sector/articles/digital-government-transformation.html> recently conducted a survey of 1,200 government officials from 70 countries and found that three-fourths of respondents said that digital technologies were disrupting government operations, and nearly all of them characterized the impact as significant.

There are numerous examples of digital transformation in the public sector.  For example, Rhode Island modernized its unemployment insurance (UI) contact center by migrating to the cloud to deal with a surge in calls related to claims. Within 10 days, Rhode Island went from handling 75 concurrent calls to over 2000. Similarly, Brookings recently published a series of articles<https://www.brookings.edu/blog/techtank/2021/05/13/analyzing-artificial-intelligence-plans-in-34-countries/> on country-level AI planning and found evidence that different countries are robustly (but differently) pursuing AI at the national level. Interestingly, there is even some early-stage experimentation efforts happening with emerging digital platforms, such as the Metaverse. These efforts span all level of government from the federal to state and to local.

National and international efforts on Smart Cities allow government to be hyper-responsive to activities within the city, but also create ethical and oversight issues. From body cameras and their use within law enforcement to augmented reality for recruiting and training, there are multiple innovations that impact the way citizens and organisations interact. There is also a growing interest in digital sustainability and resilience efforts in the public sector.

Digital transformation in government is still in its early stages, and thus far, progress has been slow. Only a small percentage of governments believe that they have successfully executed digital transformation. Further, these efforts are being carried out at a time when many governments do not believe they fully understand the policy, management and technology strategies required to respond appropriately to digital trends.

Thus, the focus of this special issue is on the strategic facets of digital transformation in the public sector, including:

    *   How do public agencies design, evaluate and implement digital transformation strategies?
    *   What are the strategizing processes that government uses when confronting digital transformation?
    *   How do public agencies scan their environments for opportunities when it comes to digital technologies and how do they evaluate these opportunities?
    *   How does strategy lead to the design of digital transformation projects and how do the outcomes of these impact the digital strategy of the agencies?
    *   What are the omnichannel strategies that provide a consistent experience for the constituent?
    *   When and how do public agencies look to external stakeholders (e.g., consultants, think-tanks, and even academia) for knowledge, capabilities, and solutions for digital transformation?
    *   Within government, who are the key stakeholders driving (or limiting) digital transformation and how can this be harnessed or overcome?
    *   What explains constituent acceptance or rejection of digital transformation initiatives?
    *   How do mega-scale (large-scale) digital transformation projects in the public sector work?
    *   What leadership characteristics are necessary in senior IS leadership for transformational projects?
    *   Do maturity models exist for digital transformation and how effective are they?
    *   How does the implementation of digital transformation strategies differ from traditional implementations?
    *   How can the costs, benefits and risks of digital transformation be calculated and rationalized?

We welcome both conceptual and empirical papers. We are agnostic when it comes to methodological stance taken so long as it is executed rigorously. Papers should clearly identify the strategic element that is being addressed.

The Journal of Strategic Information Systems (JSIS) terms of reference can be found at: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/the‐journal‐of‐strategic‐information‐systems

Important Dates
Abstract Submission for Feedback (optional): March 15, 2023
Initial paper submission deadline: June 15, 2023
First round authors notification: September 1, 2023
*Invited revisions deadline: November 10, 2023
*Second round authors notification: January 15, 2024
*Final revision deadline: March 31, 2024
*Final authors notification: April 15, 2024
Expected Special Issue Published: October 2024.

*Please note that these dates are indicative as each paper may require different timing and a different number of revisions to make the final deadline.

Guest Editors
Lemuria Carter
Professor
School of Information Systems & Technology Management
UNSW Business School
UNSW Sydney
Lemuria.Carter at unsw.edu.au<mailto:Lemuria.Carter at unsw.edu.au>

Lemuria Carter is a Professor in the School of Information Systems and Technology Management at the University of New South Wales.  Her research interests include technology adoption, digital government and privacy. She has published in several top-tier journals including the Journal of Strategic Information Systems, Journal of the Association for Information Systems, European Journal of Information Systems, Information Systems Journal and Decision Support Systems. Dr. Carter’s initial study on e-government adoption published in Information Systems Journal (ISJ) in 2005 is one of the most cited papers in the discipline, with more than 2,500 Google Scholar citations. She currently serves as an e-government track for the Americas Conference on Information Systems and mini-track chair for AI in Government at the Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences.   Her research has been funded by the Institute for Homeland Security Solutions and the Southeastern Transportation Institute in the United States.

Kevin C. Desouza (Senior Editor, Journal of Strategic Information Systems)
Professor of Business, Technology and Strategy
QUT Business School
Faculty of Business and Law
Queensland University of Technology
kevin.c.desouza at gmail.com<mailto:kevin.c.desouza at gmail.com<mailto:kevin.c.desouza at gmail.com%3cmailto:kevin.c.desouza at gmail.com>>

Kevin C. Desouza is a Professor of Business, Technology and Strategy in the School of Management at the QUT Business School at the Queensland University of Technology. He is a Nonresident Senior Fellow in the Governance Studies Program at the Brookings Institution. He formerly held tenured faculty posts at Arizona State University, Virginia Tech and the University of Washington and has held visiting appointments at the London School of Economics and Political Science, Università Bocconi, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, the University of the Witwatersrand, and the University of Ljubljana. Desouza has authored, co-authored, and/or edited nine books. He has published more than 150 articles in journals across a range of disciplines including information systems, information science, public administration, political science, technology management, and urban affairs. Several outlets have featured his work including Sloan Management Review, Stanford Social Innovation Research, Harvard Business Review, Forbes, Businessweek, Wired, Governing, Slate.com, Wall Street Journal, BBC, USA Today, NPR, PBS, and Computerworld.

Gregory S. Dawson (Associate Editor, Journal of Strategic Information Systems)
Clinical Professor, School of Accountancy
W. P. Carey School of Business
Arizona State University
GregorySDawson at gmail.com<mailto:GregorySDawson at gmail.com<mailto:GregorySDawson at gmail.com%3cmailto:GregorySDawson at gmail.com>>

Gregory S. Dawson is Clinical Professor in the School of Accountancy in the W. P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University. He teaches accounting analytics in the graduate and undergraduate platforms and has won teaching awards in several different programs. His research explores the legal, social, technical and public policy ramifications of the adoption of artificial intelligence in the public and private sector and he has been widely published in both academic and practitioner journals. He recently completed a series of articles on national artificial intelligence strategy documents, which was published in Brookings. His Ph.D. is from the University of Georgia and he has been at ASU since 2008. Prior to becoming an academic, he was a Partner in the Advisory Practice at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Washington, D.C. and Sacramento, California and was a Director at Gartner Consulting. He actively consults with public sector organizations throughout the world on various technology topics.

Theresa A. Pardo
Associate Vice President for Research and Economic Development
Special Assistant to the President
Senior Fellow, Center for Technology in Government
Full Research Professor, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy
University at Albany, State University of New York

tpardo at albany.edu<mailto:tpardo at albany.edu<mailto:tpardo at albany.edu%3cmailto:tpardo at albany.edu>>

Theresa A. Pardo, Ph.D. serves as Associate Vice President for Research and Economic Development and Special Assistant to the President at the University at Albany, State University of New York. She also serves as a Senior Fellow at the Center for Technology in Government (CTG UAlbany), as a Full Research Professor in Public Administration and Policy, Rockefeller College and an Affiliate Faculty in Information Science, College of Emergency Response, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity. Dr. Pardo is a Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration, a past president of the Digital Government Society and a founding member of the Smart Cities, Smart Government Research and Practice Consortium. Dr. Pardo has over 250 publications and is ranked among the top scholars in her field in terms citations to her published work. In 2018 and 2019 she was named a Top 100 Influencer in Digital Government globally. She is a recipient of the Digital Government Society’s Distinguished Service Award, the University at Albany’s Distinguished Alumni Award and the University at Albany’s Excellence in Teaching Award.  Dr. Pardo holds a doctorate in Information Science from the University at Albany, SUNY.

Kind regards,

Lemuria, Kevin, Gregory, and Theresa

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Theresa A. Pardo, MS PhD

Associate Vice President for Research and Economic Development
Special Assistant to the President
Senior Fellow, Center for Technology in Government (CTG UAlbany)
Full Research Professor, Public Administration and Policy, Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy
Affiliate Faculty, Information Science Doctoral Program, College of Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security and Cybersecurity

University at Albany, State University of New York
Albany, NY 12222
tpardo at albany.edu<mailto:tpardo at albany.edu>