Kristina S. Weißmüller shows how local governments can co-create the digital transformation with the help of digital change agents.
The digital transformation is one of the biggest challenges of governance in the 21st century. Digitalisation offers enormous benefits for the provision of civil services but it is complicated in practice because it demands fundamental changes. How can governments build the capacities to adapt digital technologies, change rigid bureaucratic structures, learn from each other and create a digital mindset among their staff to keep them motivated in times of digital change?
Based on a nationwide survey of local administrations in Switzerland, the research reveals the specific barriers to change and identifies the success factors of co-creating the digital transformation collaboratively. The study shows that it is not resources, IT infrastructure or legal regulations that matters, but rather that digitalisation initiatives are mainly driven by citizen demand and digital change agents that advocate for digitalisation. This highlights the impact of collaboration, bottom-up initiatives, and the human factor for achieving digital governance.