Multi-channel Provisioning of Public Services

Abstract

Information technology facilitates a continuous change in how public services are organised and provided. Influenced by external and internal requirements, the changes are step-wise and non-linear, each step facilitating the next. Examples of requirements are related to supporting e-services, multi-channel provisioning, transparency, citizencentricity, mobility, and globalisation. Information infrastructures define the capabilities of a public agency for efficient service delivery, both internally and externally. Historically, information infrastructures have evolved over time and have drifted in use, leaving complex systems and use of systems at a national level. National government e-service infrastructures aim to support cross agency collaboration, provide access to shared components, and the reuse of previously defined functionality. Depending on its construction, an infrastructure as a platform for service provisioning can support or limit the development of an improved provisioning of services. There is a need for systems with mechanisms that support public services that evolve with the changing requirements of the environment.

The objective of this PhD study is to contribute to the delivery of citizen-centric and demand driven services and to the establishment a hypothetical My Processes citizen’s portal. This portal will provide process-oriented multi-channel personalised interaction for all public services.

Using a design science approach, this study is performed through the analysis of the existing knowledge base, the modelling of design artefacts, and case studies in the problem environment. The contributions of the study are:

C1: A model describing the dynamics of e-government.

C2: Future scenarios for citizen-centric and demand driven public services.

C3: Requirements for an e-service infrastructure for public service provisioning.

C4: A conceptual design for a national e-service infrastructure.

C5: A conceptual e-service governance model.

In addition to a general focus on process-oriented service provisioning throughout the research study, overviews of the current use of process models and the flexibility supported by process-aware information systems are also provided.

The contributions are targeted towards system developers and researchers that are working with governance or development of e-government systems providing public services, and those that are working with holistic aspects of information infrastructure development.