Summary of the 24th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research | Faculty of Management and Economics at the Gdańsk University of Technology

Theme

The conference was held under the theme “Together in the unstable world: Digital government and solidarity”. The choice of the theme responded to the Gdańsk’s solidarity tradition and the unprecedented levels of instability due to war, pandemic, global warming, democratic breakup, and other causes facing the world in 2023. As no government can deal with the causes and consequences of such instability alone, the response shifts from whole-of-government to whole-of-society. This, however, requires reinforcing social bonds; for citizens to act upon their responsibility toward each other, it involves solidarity. The conference put the concept of solidarity, and the understudied connection between government, technology, and solidarity, at the center of the digital government debate.

Organizers, patrons, sponsors, and partners

The conference was organized by the Digital Government Society and the Department of Informatics in Management, Faculty of Management and Economics, Gdańsk University of Technology. It enjoyed support from its patrons - the Foundation Lech Wałęsa Institute, the Marshal of the Pomorskie Voivodeship, the President of the City of Gdańsk, and the Rector of the Gdańsk University of Technology; sponsors - the Gdańsk University of Technology’s Research University Excellence Initiative (IDUB), Elsevier, IOS Press and Emerald Publishing; and partners – the European Solidarity Centre and GovStack.

Photo Gallery. Day 1.

Attendance

The conference was attended by 138 participants from 22 countries and economies in Europe, North and South America, and Asia. The largest number came from the host country – Poland (37), followed by the Netherlands (13), Germany (12), Brazil (10), Estonia (8), US (8), Austria (7), Taiwan (7), Sweden (6), Greece (4), Italy (4), Canada (3), China (3), UK (3), Belgium (2), France (2), Japan (2), Spain (2), Switzerland (2), Finland (1), Hong Kong (1), and Portugal (1).

Program

The program comprised keynote lectures and panel discussions, arranged by invitation and organized in the plenary mode. Additionally, it included research presentations organized into thematic tracks, student presentations at the Doctoral Colloquium, posters and workshops, all arranged by an open call for papers and organized in 4 parallel streams. A separate call for track proposals was announced before deciding on the tracks and issuing the call for papers.

Altogether, 18 tracks were accepted, and 155 submissions were received, written by 357 authors from 38 countries and economies: Albania, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Latvia, Luxemburg, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK and USA.

Photo Gallery. Welcome Reception, European Solidarity Centre.

Process and outcomes

All submissions were subject to a rigorous peer-review process to establish their quality and suitability for the conference. The process relied on 186 Program Committee members from 32 countries, providing 364 reviews as a basis for acceptance or rejection decisions by four program committee chairs and 59 track chairs. In the end, 68 research papers, four workshops, and 15 posters were accepted for presentation at the conference and publication in the conference proceedings.

Lectures and panels

Three keynote lectures and two panel discussions were organized:

1. The opening lecture by President Lech Wałęsa defined the context for the entire conference, presenting reflections on the transition from the old to the new world order. The lecture was preceded by welcome addresses by Barbara Wikieł (Vice-Rector for Student Affairs, Gdańsk University of Technology, Poland), Marijn Janssen (Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands, and the President of the Digital Government Society), and Tomasz Janowski (Gdańsk University of Technology, Poland and Danube University Krems, Austria) who chaired the session.
2. The keynote lecture by Wojciech Cellary (WSB Merito University, Poland) on “The Future Context of e-Government” defined the context for the panel discussion on “What jobs should universities prepare for future digital government?”. The panel comprised Wojciech Cellary, Soon Ae Chun (City University of New York, USA), Thomas Lampoltshammer (Danube University Krems, Austria), and Anne Fleur van Veenstra (TNO, The Netherlands). Luis Luna-Reyes (University at Albany, USA) chaired the session.
3. The keynote lecture by Yolanda Martínez (ITU, Switzerland) on “GovStack - Empowering societies to ​chart their digital futures” together with the welcome address by Kinga Pasternak (GovTech Polska, Prime Minister’s Office, Poland) on “GovTech as Polish Digital Transformation Tool” defined the context for the panel discussion on “What are the opportunities and challenges of standards-based digital government infrastructure?”. The panel comprised Gloria Ingabire (Rwanda Information Society Authority, Rwanda), Marijn Janssen (Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands), Yolanda Martinez, Kinga Pasternak, and Olga Tumuruc (Moldova E-Governance Agency, Moldova). Tomasz Janowski (Gdańsk University of Technology and Danube University Krems, Austria) chaired the session.

Photo Gallery. Day 2.

Tracks

18 track proposals were accepted:

1. “Data-driven Governance through Information Retrieval and Decision Support Systems” co-chaired by Charalampos Alexopoulos (University of the Aegean, Greece) and Shefali Virkar (WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria)
2. “Collaborative Intelligence: Humans, Crowds, and Machines” co-chaired by Helen K. Liu (National Taiwan University, Taiwan), Lisa Schmidthuber (WU Vienna University of Economics and Business, Austria), and Seok-Jin Eom (Seoul National University, South Korea)
3. “Innovative Services in Government: When Data-Driven Services Meet Evidence-Based Policy” co-chaired by Hsin-Chung Liao (National Chengchi University, Taiwan), and Hsien-Lee Tseng (National University of Taiwan, Taiwan)
4. “Cybersecurity in Public and Nonprofit Organizations” co-chaired by Sukumar Ganapati (Florida International University, USA), Chris Reddick (University of Texas at San Antonio, USA), and Michael Ahn (University of Massachusetts Boston, USA)
5. “Design Models and Platforms for Trust Enhancing Smart Cities” co-chaired by Leonidas Anthopoulos (University of Thessaly, Greece), and Soon Ae Chun (City University of New York, USA)
6. “Social Media and Government” co-chaired by Rodrigo Sandoval-Almazan (Universidad Autonoma del Estado de Mexico, Mexico), J. Ignacio Criado (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain), and Loni Hagen (University of South Florida, USA)
7. “Cross-border Governance and Service Impact Assessment” co-chaired by Robert Krimmer (University of Tartu, Estonia), Mihkel Solvak (University of Tartu, Estonia), and Carsten Schmidt (University of Tartu, Estonia)
8. “Developing Active Citizenship to Boost Citizen Engagement through Digital Government” co-chaired by Edimara M. Luciano (Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil), Gabriela V. Pereira (Danube University Krems, Austria), and Carmine Bianchi (Università degli Studi di Palermo, Italy)
9. “Beyond Bureaucracy: Self-Governance of the Public Sphere and Innovative Use of Technology by Civil Society” co-chaired by Alois Paulin (University of Public Administration and Finance Ludwigsburg, Germany), Robert Müller-Török (University of Public Administration and Finance Ludwigsburg, Germany), and Zach Bastick (Harvard University, USA)
10. “Tech Diplomacy: Global Partnerships for Global Good” co-chaired by Nele Leosk (Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Estonia), Innar Liiv (TalTech, Estonia), and Ingrid Pappel (TalTech, Estonia)
11. “Digital Transformation in Governments” co-chaired by Beatriz Barreto Brasileiro Lanza (CTG SUNY & IDB, Brazil), Thiago José Tavares Ávila (Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Brazil), and Maria Alexandra Cunha (Fundação Getúlio Vargas, Brazil)
12. “Assessing and Realizing Artificial Intelligence in Government” co-chaired by Sehl Mellouli (Université Laval, Canada), Marijn Janssen (Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands), and Adegboyega Ojo (Carleton University, Canada)
13. “Organizational Factors, Adoption Issues and Value Creation of Digital Government” co-chaired by Jing Zhang (Clark University, USA), Chris Hinnant (Florida State University, USA), and Luis F. Luna-Reyes (University at Albany, USA)
14. “Blockchain-based applications for e-Government” co-chaired by Jolien Ubacht (Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands), and Sélinde van Engelenburg (Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands)
15. “Mobile Government and Cross-border Service Interoperability” co-chaired by Thomas J. Lampoltshammer (Danube University Krems, Austria), Herbert Leitold (A-SIT, Austria), Gregor Eibl (Danube University Krems, Austria), and Stefan Dedovic (University of Tartu, Estonia)
16. “Digital Government and Sustainable Development Goals” co-chaired by Rony Medaglia (Copenhagen Business School, Denmark), Gianluca Misuraca (Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Spain), and Iryna Susha (Utrecht University, The Netherlands)
17. “Digital Government, Solidarity and Social Cohesion” co-chaired by David Duenas-Cid (Gdańsk University of Technology, Poland), Elsa Estevez (Universidad Nacional del Sur and National Research Council for Scientific and Technological Research, CONICET, Argentina), and Tomasz Janowski (Gdańsk University of Technology, Poland and Danube University Krems, Austria)
18. “Digital Government Student Track” co-chaired by Bettina Distel (University of Muenster, Germany), Hendrik Scholta (University of Muenster, Germany), Karen Mossberger (Arizona State University, USA), and Marzia Mortati (Polytechnic University of Milan, Italy)

The tracks received and accepted varying submissions in response to the call for papers, from zero submissions accepted by Track 10 on “Tech Diplomacy: global partnerships for global good” to 14 by Track 11 on “Digital Transformation in Governments”. On average, 3.8 submissions were accepted per track.

Photo Gallery. Day 3.

Workshops

Six workshops were organized:

1. Diagnosing and Addressing Emergent Harms in the Design Process of Public AI and Algorithmic Systems
2. Long-Term Sustainability Strategies for European Research Projects: Towards an Extension of the GOFA Model Approach
3. Government Chief Information Officer in the Age of Artificial Intelligence
4. Cyberinfrastructure for Government Innovations
5. Identification of High-Value Dataset Determinants: Is there a Silver Bullet for Efficient Sustainability-Oriented Data-Driven Development?
6. GovStack Open Consultation and Research Agenda

International organizations organized two of them – the International Academy of Chief Information Officer (workshop 3) and the International Telecommunication Union (workshop 6). In particular, workshop 6 was part of the open consultation with the digital government research community on GovStack, a multi-stakeholder initiative led by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), Estonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the Digital Impact Alliance.

Other program elements

The program also included:

1. The Doctoral Colloquium chaired by J. Ramon Gil-Garcia (University at Albany, USA), Ida Lindgren (Linköping University, Sweden), and Gabriela Viale Pereira (Danube University Krems, Austria)
2. Poster presentations held continuously throughout the conference chaired by Catherine L. Dumas (Simmons University, USA), David Valle-Cruz (Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Mexico), and Nina Rizun (Gdańsk University of Technology, Poland)
3. The dg.o 2023 Track Chairs Meeting chaired by Loni Hagen (University of South Florida, USA), Tomasz Janowski (Gdańsk University of Technology, Poland and Danube University Krems, Austria), and Nadzeya Sabatini (Gdańsk University of Technology, Poland)
4. The dg.o 2024 Conference Working Meeting chaired by Helen K. Liu (National Taiwan University, Taiwan), Hsin-Chung Liao (National Chengchi University, Taiwan), and Yu-Che Chen (University of Nebraska at Omaha, USA)
5. CAP4CITY Reflection, Follow-up and Beyond meeting chaired by Gabriela Viale Pereira (Danube University Krems, Austria) and Thomas Lampoltshammer (Danube University Krems, Austria)
6. Government Information Quarterly Editorial Board meeting chaired by editors-in-chief Marijn Janssen (Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands), and Tomasz Janowski (Gdańsk University of Technology, Poland and Danube University Krems, Austria)

In addition, two evening events were organized: welcome reception at the European Solidarity Centre (ESC), including a welcome by Jacek Kołtan, ESC Director’s Representative for Research and a visit to the permanent exhibition, and the conference dinner in the Polish Baltic Philharmonic, including the announcement of awards.

Photo Gallery. Gala Dinner. Polish Baltic Philharmonic. 

Awards

The conference granted two distinguished awards: the Fellows Award to John Carlo Bertot (University of Maryland, USA) and the Distinguished Service Award to Teresa M. Harrison (University at Albany, USA). In addition, three awards were presented for outstanding papers in research, management and policy, and poster categories:

1. The best research paper award was granted to Francois Duhamel, Isis Gutiérrez-Martínez, and Luis F. Luna-Reyes for the paper “A relational view of knowledge sharing in public-private IT outsourcing relationships”.
2. The best management and policy paper award was granted to Reni Sulastri and Marijn Janssen for the paper “Challenges in designing inclusive Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending systems”.
3. The best poster award was granted to Abiola Paterne Chokki and Benoit Vanderose for the poster “From Conventional Open Government Data Portals to Storytelling Portals: The StoryOGD Prototype”.

For all categories of awards, the selection criteria included: the interdisciplinary and innovative nature of the work, contribution to and balance between theory (rigor) and practice (relevance), the importance and reach of the topic, and the quality of writing and communicating the work to a broad audience.

Proceedings

Submitted and accepted research papers, posters, and workshop descriptions were published in the conference proceedings by ACM Press, ISBN: 979-8-4007-0837-4. The proceedings were co-edited by Program Committee co-chairs David Duenas-Cid (Gdańsk University of Technology, Poland), Nadzeya Sabatini (Gdańsk University of Technology, Poland), Loni Hagen (University of South Florida, USA) and Hsin-Chung Liao (National Chengchi University, Taiwan).

Photo Gallery. Day 4.

Next Conference

The closing session included the membership meeting of the Digital Government Society and the announcement of the next dg.o conference. The 25th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research, dg.o 2024, will be organized by the Department of Political Science & the Graduate Institute of Public Affairs at the National Taiwan University. The conference will take place in Taipei, Taiwan, from 11 to 14 June 2024. The conference will be devoted to the theme “Internet of Beings: Transforming Public Governance”. More information can be found [here]. 

Postscript

Tomasz Janowski met President Lech Wałęsa to thank him for his lecture and presence at the conference, and hand him the group photo with signatures of the conference participants.