P11 SIG Agile and Digital Transformation in Public Sector

Panel Chairs

Corresponding chair

• Sorin Dan, Associate Professor, School of Management, University of Vaasa (Finland) sorin.dan@uwasa.fi

Review group chair

• M. Jae Moon, Department of Public Policy and Management, Yonsei University (South Korea) mjmoon@yonsei.ac.kr

Co-Chairs

• Yanto Chandra, Professor, Department of Public and International Affairs, City University of Hong Kong (China) 
• Mila Gasco-Hernandez, Professor, Center for Technology in Government and Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, University at Albany, State University of New York (United States)
• Ines Mergel, Professor, Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Konstanz (Germany) 
• Greta Nasi, Professor, Department of Social and Political Sciences, Bocconi University (Italy) 

The theme of the SIG and type of abstracts

The fast-changing pace of government technology implementation in public services and administrative processes is challenging the existing digital governance paradigm. More recently, public bureaucracies embrace artificial intelligence (AI), to improve internal efficiency and public service quality and, broadly, to achieve the transformation of institutional arrangements, organizational culture, and decision-making processes. Currently, public agencies are reevaluating their administrative processes and service delivery methods by adopting innovative approaches, such as agile and iterative approaches to create new service delivery frameworks, while they navigate complex and uncertain policies and technological landscapes.

These transformative processes and cultural shifts have significant potential to reshape both processes and outcomes of governments. By incorporating agile principles and practices, governments can better manage the complexities of the fast pace of the policy cycle.

To facilitate our theoretical and empirical understanding of this field and continued scholarly discussion at the 2027 Annual IRSPM Conference, we seek papers that explore various aspects of agile and digital governance, such as the link between public sector and government reform and digital transformation, agile approaches to digital and organizational transformation, ICT-enabled stakeholder engagement in public services, ICT-enhanced citizen-government interactions, collaborative governance through ICT, agile practices, ICT-driven service designs, and user-centered design in governments. The panel aims to develop a profound and critical understanding of agile theories and methods, and their applications in the digital transformation of public bureaucracies. Considering the overarching theme of the 2027 annual conference, papers on agile and digital transformation initiatives that contribute to addressing wicked, broader problems and grand challenges are particularly encouraged.

We invite contributions from both emerging and established scholars. Submissions can be theoretical, conceptual, or empirical, using qualitative or quantitative research designs. Comparative studies across countries, sectors, and levels of government are encouraged. We welcome studies employing various theoretical frameworks. Our goal is to foster research on innovative service design approaches and agile methods in administrative procedures at local, regional, or central (federal) government levels.

Abstracts may include, but are not limited to, the following topics:

• Conceptualization and implementation of agile and digital transformation initiatives and ways in which they contribute to addressing wicked problems and grand challenges
• The impact of AI and automated decision-making on public value creation and destruction
• Linkages and tensions between public and private values in the implementation of agile and digital transformation initiatives
• Ethical and normative dimensions associated with AI regulation, governance and implementation in comparative settings
• The disruptive nature of AI and emerging technology in different governance systems, policy areas and services
• Implications of agile and digital transformation for power relations between various stakeholders, including government, non-governmental actors, civil servants/public sector employees and citizens/service users
• Conceptualization and analysis of anticipatory governance and foresight in public policy and administration and the use of data, knowledge and technology for these purposes

Relevance to the field of public management and/or conference theme

The multiple crises governments are facing constitute wicked problems that need to be solved by understanding the implications of how technology can be used for adaptive and agile decision-making.  Questions arise about the rationale, antecedents, implementation process, and results of these practices. These have important implications for the field of public management in terms of existing assumptions, theories, methodologies, and future developments of the field. The SIG will continue in the 2027 conference to discuss how a future digital governance or AI governance framework might look like that advances existing governance paradigms.