Digital Transformation at the Local Tier of Government in Europe: Dynamics and Effects from a Cross-Countries and Over-Time Comparative Perspective (DIGILOG)

数字化转型是公共部门最重要的大趋势之一。最近，2019冠状病毒病大流行显示了数字化管理的重要性。在许多国家，地方政府是提供公共服务的最重要一级，确保贴近公民。在此背景下，在当前关于国家和行政数字化转型的比较研究中，对地方政府的调查不够，这是一个值得关注的问题。事实上，关于欧洲地方政府层面数字化转型的实施状况和影响，目前还没有系统的、跨国的比较知识。这个合作研究项目旨在弥补这些缺陷。它的第一个研究问题涉及欧洲地方政府数字化转型的动态（规模和速度），即在多大程度上发生了激进/快速的革命性或渐进/缓慢的进化变化，以及这些动态如何以及为什么从跨国和跨城市的角度不同。第二个研究问题涉及数字化在产出（服务提供、组织、流程、人力资源）、结果（绩效、问责制）和影响（公民接受度、治理、新分裂）方面的（非）预期影响。自变量包括宏观层面的解释因素（地方政府体制的制度属性）、中观层面的解释因素（内部组织安排和程序）和微观层面的解释因素（行为人的策略、利益、动机）。该项目将产生连贯的数据，以便使用方法学三角测量法进行系统比较。它将采取对47个欧洲国家（欧洲委员会成员）的所有地方当局进行定期和自动定量调查的形式，基于网络爬行和机器学习技术-这在社会科学中的应用是新颖的-以及定性研究，即在选定的欧洲国家进行案例研究。来自波茨坦大学、ZHAW和维也纳大学的知名学者组成了该联盟，他们在地方政府和比较研究方面具有丰富的经验。该项目的主要成果将是一个开放的监测平台、期刊文章、编辑卷和从业者出版物。实时平台可供世界各地的研究人员和从业人员使用，有助于更好地了解长期发展。向国家科学基金/地区政府提交的项目期限为三年；然而，通过自动化流程，实时平台将继续存在，并在此时间框架之后定期更新。该研究项目将从欧洲的角度获得有关地方数字化措施的政策相关知识，然后可以利用这些知识来改进未来公共部门现代化的政策制定。

Digital transformation constitutes one of the most important megatrends for the public sector. Most recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown the importance of a digital administration. In many countries, local government is the most significant tier of public service delivery, ensuring proximity to citizens. Against this background, it is a matter of concern that in current comparative research concerning the digital transformation of state and administration, local levels of government have been insufficiently investigated. Indeed, there is no systematic, cross-countries comparative knowledge available regarding the state of implementation and the effects of digital transformation at local government level in Europe. This collaborative research project is intended to remedy those deficits.Its first research question addresses the dynamics (scale and pace) of digital transformation in European local government, i.e., to what extent there has been radical/rapid revolutionary or gradual/slow evolutionary change and how and why these dynamics differ from a cross-country and inter-municipal perspective.The second research question addresses the (un-)intended effects of digitalization in terms of outputs (service delivery, organization, processes, human resources), outcomes (performance, accountability), and impacts (citizens’ acceptance, governance, new cleavages). The independent variables include explanatory factors on the macro-level (institutional properties of the local government systems), meso-level (internal organizational arrangements and procedures), and micro-level (actor strategies, interests, motives).The project will generate coherent data for a systematic comparison using methodological triangulation. It will take the form of a regular and automated quantitative survey of all local authorities in 47 European countries (members of the Council of Europe), based on web crawling and machine learning techniques - this is novel in its application for the social sciences -, and qualitative research, namely case studies in selected European countries.Renowned scholars from the University of Potsdam, ZHAW, and the WU Vienna, with extensive experience in local government and comparative research, form the consortium.Key deliverables of the project will be an openly accessible monitoring platform, journal articles, an edited volume, and publications for practitioners. The real-time platform is accessible to researchers and practitioners worldwide and contributes to a better understanding of long-term developments. The duration of the project being submitted to the SNSF/DFG is three years; however, by automating the process, the real-time platform will continue to exist and be updated regularly beyond this timeframe. The research project will yield policy-relevant knowledge concerning local digitalization measures from a European perspective, which can then be utilized to improve policymaking for future public sector modernization.