Knowledge Base

The head of the administration modernisation division on a regional level confirmed that one of the most important needs of public administration is cooperative working. Hierarchy is an important part in public administration but it also represents a limitation for its work. The more complex social problems become, the more complex are the governmental answers to them. Public administrations should be more open and flexible in the cooperation between different stakeholders, partners and hierarchy levels.

Public sector has to deliver services to citizens despite resource constraints and budgetary pressures. Because of this personnel and financial limitations, available resources must be used as cost saving and valuable as possible.

Standards require a certain legal basis and binding specifications. At the same time, they must be also accepted by the target group. If standards are enforced, they offer the advantage of planning and investment protection. This provides a good basis for further digitisation of processes.[1]

Probably one of the biggest needs for administration is to keep up with the technical innovation. To cope with the production of huge volumes of data is a technical problem as well as a big challenge for the staff. On the one hand, there should be established technical infrastructure for new policies and the increasing number of data, on the other hand, the staff needs to be trained and able to manage data and produce “good” data.

This need is primarily about developing and understanding of the technical processes in the administration. Technological potential has to be identified and understood, thereby reducing employees´ fears of technology and possible consequences. A basic understanding of technology in administration can help make the benefits of technology fully available.

Concerns about insufficient security and privacy are ubiquitous when it comes to the use of new technical possibilities - especially in public management. Besides the advantages and potentials, digitisation is associated with some technical and non-technical obstacles. Data protection and information security management can help to preserve trust in government. [1]

All interviewees stated that there is room for improvement in the technical infrastructure. The used technical infrastructure is partly outdated and does not meet current requirements, a fact that consequently increases administrative costs and leads to unnecessary bureaucracy. In addition, the lack of good infrastructure makes digitalisation difficult.

This need is directly related to the need of cross-linked information exchange. An efficient exchange of information can only take place if the used technologies are coherent and compatible with one another. Organisational arrangements, as well as uniform technical systems and software can ensure compatibility and interoperability, help to avoid media interruptions and, in consequence, make policy making more efficient, effective and sustainable. [1]

Similar to the standardisation of processes, standardising data management can also provide significant benefits to the public administration, such as time savings and efficiency gains. It is important for the public administration to know what data is available and where it is located. For this purpose, a data monitoring should be established. The need for standardised data management has been confirmed in almost all conducted interviews.
 

For making administrations not only more efficient but also more effective, activities and their costs should be closely linked to strategic outcomes and broader policy objectives. A monitoring with restricted focus on financial aspects in order to assess success of public services and political programmes is not enough. To reach a holistic view on success, it is more important to consider financial ratios interlinked with quality data, impact measurements and other performance indicators.