1. Public data primacy: the changing landscape of public service delivery as big data gets bigger  

   Michael Overton,Department of Politics and Philosophy, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA

   Sarah Larson,School of Public Administration, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA

   Lisa J. Carlson,Department of Politics and Philosophy, University of Idaho, Moscow, ID, USA

   Stephen Kleinschmit,Department of Public Administration, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

The growth and expansion of “Big Data” is fundamentally changing public service delivery. Big Data is getting “bigger,” and public organizations will have new opportunities to cultivate and challenges to address. To understand the effects of the growth of data on public organizations, we introduce the Public Data Primacy (PDP) theoretical framework, which builds on existing scholarship through four propositions about data, technology, and its use in the public sector. The framework posits that public sector work will become increasingly data-centric as data continues to get “bigger.” Ultimately, the PDP leads to two predictions about the public sector. First, we predict that the primacy of data in the delivery of public services is inevitable. Second, this forthcoming reality will require public servants to adopt new models of public service oriented around data. The PDP theoretical framework provides a systematic lens in which public administration scholarship can evaluate the future of data growth and its impacts upon public service delivery.

2. How does technological system design affect value creation? A systematic literature review of digital co-production 

   Rui Mu,Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China

   Yuting Wang,Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China

   Haoqi Song,JCU Singapore Business School, James Cook University, Singapore, Singapore

The existing studies on co-production display two research gaps. First, most studies focus on non-digital/offline co-production and value creation; little attention has been paid to value creation of digital/online co-production cases. Second, traditional co-production studies examine political, organizational, administrative, and personal factors that influence co-production. However, few studies investigate how technological factors will affect co-production in terms of value creation. To bridge the gaps, this article conducts a systematic literature review of 52 articles. The review results distill seven technological factors and five value categories from digital co-production cases. It further examines how these technological factors affect the creation of various value categories. Based on the review results, this article proposes a future research agenda on digital co-production.

3. Digital governance: government strategies that impact public services 

   Francis M. Idzi,Programa de Mestrado Em Políticas Públicas E Governo, Escola de Políticas Públicas e Governo, FGV EPPG, São Paulo, Brazil

   Ricardo Corrêa Gomes,Programa de Pós-Graduação Em Administração Pública, Escola de Administração de Empresas de São Paulo, FGV EAESP, São Paulo, Brazil

The purpose of this study is to carry out a systematic literature review with meta-analysis, seeking to understand, from the perspective of public governance, how the Digital Era of Governance is impacting governments, which social contracts should be considered in a digital governance model, and which are the main barriers of digital government to the public policies design. The research uses the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) protocol to record the evidence found. The contribution of this study to the observation of Digital Era Governance for government strategies points out that the most evident component of reintegration in governments are government portals that promote detachment from the central government and reduction of the burden on the State, the most apparent holism component are the digital services of social benefits, and the most evident digitization component were government portals with full availability of State services and improved search. Evidence is shown that government as a platform is the social contract model most available to society. It is also pointed out that the lack of knowledge and experience in technology was the most significant barrier to designing public policies focused on digital government.

4. Reaping the benefits of digital transformation through Public-Private Partnership: A service ecosystem view applied to healthcare

   Elena Casprini,Department of Business and Law, University of Siena, Siena, Italy

   Rocco Palumbo,Department of Management and Law, University of Rome “Tor Vergata”, Via Columbia, Rome, Italy

The ongoing digital transformation ushers unprecedented challenges for publicly owned healthcare organizations. Collaborative governance models, such as Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), advance their readiness to address such challenges, paving the way for the establishment of a viable service ecosystem. However, little is known about how PPPs enhance the publicly owned healthcare organizations’ ability to thrive amidst the digital transformation. The article investigates this issue, drawing on the exploratory case of “Lab@AOR”, a PPP established between Loccioni and the University Hospital of Marche (Italy) which focused on the robotization of a critical component of healthcare services’ delivery. Three ingredients have been found to nurture the PPP’s cohesiveness and success: (1) the alignment between the public partner’s needs and the private partner’s competences, (2) knowledge contamination, and (3) the adoption of patient-centeredness as the inspiring principle of the collaboration. The PPP represents an initial step of the transition towards a service ecosystem, entailing a fully-fledged partners’ integration for value co-generation.

5. Digital transformation of citizens’ evaluations of public service delivery: evidence from China

   Chengwei Wang,School of Public Administration and Policy, Renmin University of China, Beijing, China;Department of Public Policy, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

    Liang Ma,Department of Public Policy, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China

Thanks to the development of digital technologies and their applications in public service delivery, ratings by citizens of service quality have been transforming from paper/phone surveys to digital interfaces, similar to what has happened in e-commerce. How does digitalization drive the change in ratings by citizens? Are citizens more satisfied when they rate public services online? We provide empirical answers to these questions based on data from the government service evaluation system in a Chinese city. We found that digital interfaces facilitate the behavior of citizens making evaluations and boost citizen satisfaction compared with offline channels. Specifically, interfaces displayed on mobile applications significantly facilitate evaluations by citizens and improve citizen satisfaction. The results provide theoretical and practical implications for understanding the digital transformation of public service ratings.

6. Understanding public service provision using digital technologies during COVID-19 lockdowns in New Zealand through a complexity theory lens  

   Miriam Lips,Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

   Elizabeth Eppel,Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

Complexity theory is used to explore an exemplar of how digital government services evolved under conditions of uncertainty and rapid change created by COVID-19 in 2020. Based on a qualitative, constructivist research design, informed by interviews with key senior public servants and document analysis, the complexity lens helps us to understand how provisions of digital public services were quickly adapted and evolved to meet new and emerging needs experienced because of the pandemic. Means for making collective sense of the unknown from which to plan first steps, learning from doing, agility, co-construction and adaptive leadership are in evidence.

7. It is a relay not a sprint! Evolving co-design in a digital and virtual environment: neighbourhood services for elders  

   Stephen Osborne,Chair of International Public Management and Director of the Centre for Service Excellence (CenSE), University of Edinburgh Business School, University of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

   Madeline Powell,Marketing, University of York Management School, England,UK

   Maria Cucciniello,Public Management, Bocconi University, Milan, Italy

   Joanne Macfarlane,Research Fellow, Centre for Service Excellence (CenSE), University of Edinburgh Business School, Scotland, UK

There is an emerging body of research on the co-design of public services, including co-design with vulnerable adults. However, what has been less explored has been the impact of digital technology and virtual environments upon the co-design process in this context. This paper analyses the contingencies of virtual co-design through a case study of a project to develop supportive local communities for vulnerable elderly people. This project was initially planned to use traditional co-design methods within a face-to-face environment, in the context of the local public service ecosystem. The CoVid-19 pandemic made this impossible. Consequently, an innovative approach to co-design was developed that shifted the process from a face-to-face to a virtual environment. This exploratory paper reports and evaluates this approach and its implications for the future of the theory and practice of the co-design of public services for vulnerable adults. Theoretically the paper evolves a model of co-design in a virtual space that is embedded within a public service ecosystem framework of value creation. At a practice level, the paper provides insight into the strategic and operational management of co-creation in a virtual space. It evolves the ‘Relay’ model of asynchronous co-creation across time and considers it key contingencies.

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