The conference was organised by the Working Group on Information Systems in Public Administration (IFIP WG 8.5), chaired by Ida Lindgren, Associate Professor at the Division of Information Systems and Digitalisation, Linköping University. The local hosts were Ghent University and KU Leuven, Belgium.
The conference focused on the digitalisation of public administration, with themes such as e-democracy, digital services, citizen engagement, smart cities, governance, and the development of AI in public organisations, automation of work and decision-making, data sharing, and open data.
“The conference is interdisciplinary and attracts researchers from various disciplines interested in applied research. It was fantastic to see such great engagement in digitalisation of public sector, and to recognise both the breadth and depth of the field. The impact of digitalisation on public services, the relationship between the state and citizens, and on society at large is becoming increasingly visible and important—there is much new knowledge needed here,” says Ida Lindgren.
Before the conference, a PhD workshop was held on 1 September, followed by a Junior Faculty School on 2 September. The latter was a new activity, tested for the first time, and was an immediate success. About 30 people participated, and one of the participants expressed that:
The Junior Faculty School was an invaluable experience, equipping us with practical advice and a sense of community as we navigate our academic careers.
The main conference began on 3 September at KU Leuven, with opening talks from influential figures such as Andrea Halmos from the European Commission and Stefan De Smet, CIO for the City of Ghent.
Best Paper Award
One of the highlights was the Best Paper Award, recognising innovative and impactful research. Among the nominees were three papers from Linköping University. The winners were Aya Rizk and Ida Lindgren, both from the Division of Information Systems and Digitalisation.
“For me, it was truly unexpected, as such review papers rarely get attention or are considered less valuable than those with empirical data. Therefore, it was a pleasant surprise,” says Aya Rizk, Associate Professor at the Division of Information Systems and Digitalisation.
The paper is about automated decisions and decision-making - a phenomenon of interest to many different disciplines, such as psychology, computer science, informatics, political science, and more.
“In the paper, we try to map what is known about the phenomenon from different perspectives and disciplines, focusing on decisions made within the public sector. We also recommend three directions for researchers who want to work on the issue in a transdisciplinary way,” says Aya Rizk.
Read the article: Automated Decision-Making in the Public Sector: A Multidisciplinary Literature Review (2024). Electronic Government: 23rd IFIP WG 8.5 International Conference, EGOV 2024, Ghent-Leuven, Belgium, September 3–5, 2024, Proceedings / [ed] Marijn Janssen, Joep Crompvoets, J. Ramon Gil-Garcia, Habin Lee, Ida Lindgren, Anastasija Nikiforova, Gabriela Viale Pereira, Springer Nature Switzerland , 2024, Vol. 14841, s. 237-253
