ERA Chair in e-Governance and Digital Public Services

𝐅𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬: 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐄𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐜 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐌𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬
Have you ever wanted to know how great the expectations of the UN and the Chinese national government on accessibility of e-government are in Chinese municipalities; or why it is amazing that accessible e-government services are being delivered; this is a saga of digitisation and modernisation of public services, told by three sympathetic observers trying to build morals on a foundation?

Look no further! In the pre-publication article Implementation of e-Government Initiatives: a Case Study of Accessibility Upgrades in Chinese Municipal Government Websites (published in the Q1 journal Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy), Biao He, Vincent Homburg and Rune Halvorsen analyse how political mandates, incentives for individual cadres and competition between municipalities are making Chinese e-services more accessible to the elderly and people with disabilities. https://doi.org/10.1108/TG-09-2024-0223

Political Science - University of Tartu

𝐃𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐞? - Conclusions of the second panel discussion on business innovation with open data at the ECePS conference

Open data is often seen as a powerful driver of business innovation and a catalyst for new consumer services. During the second panel at the ECePS conference, entitled 'Promises and paradoxes of open data', experts gathered to discuss what it takes to turn freely available data into real business value. The panel consisted of Veiko Berensen from Statistics Estonia, Dan Bogdanov from Cybernetica AS, Kristjan Lemmsalu from the Estonian Information System Authority and Andres Raieste from Nortal.

Kristjan Lemmsalu and Veiko Berensen provided vivid examples of how business data stewards and technical experts prepare data for business use, challenging the common assumption that open data can be seamlessly transformed into innovative services. Their insights highlighted the complexities involved in making data useful for business. Andres Raieste and Dan Bogdanov emphasised that trust in institutions is crucial for companies to build successful open data business models. However, trust varies significantly across countries and settings, complicating the task of creating business value from open data.

The vivid discussion showed that creating business value from open data is not an easy task. Issues such as public and organisational trust in the use of data, concerns about data quality, and different levels of data maturity across countries in the European Union pose significant challenges. While open data holds great promise, it is clear that there are no quick fixes to overcome these barriers to business innovation and growth.

Make sure to also check out our mood video from the ERA Chair conference! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_DogCgnLbo

Political Science - University of Tartu Vincent Homburg Mihkel Solvak

𝐋𝐞𝐭'𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐚 - Conclusions of the first panel discussion at the ECePS conference on the use of open data for research

At the ECePS conference "Promises and Paradoxes of Open Data", leading experts Prof Dr Evelyn Uuemaa, Dr Külli Taro, Dr Ott Velsberg and Dr Mihkel Solvak shared their experiences and insights on making the most of open data. Fifteen years ago, the idea of using readily available data seemed like a far-fetched dream. Today, however, increasingly more data from the public and private sectors is accessible to researchers, opening up exciting new possibilities. Evelyn Uuemaa talked about how she uses geospatial data and visualisation in her work, while Külli Taro stressed the importance of linking different datasets (both open and closed) to unlock the full potential of open data.

But it's not all plain sailing. Uuemaa and Taro also pointed out several challenges, such as the lack of metadata, inconsistencies in standards and data definitions over time, and difficulties in accessing data. Ott Velsberg and Mihkel Solvak noted that data owners are often unaware of how valuable their data can be for research. This lack of understanding can lead to missed opportunities for data use.

The panellists agreed that making the most of open data doesn't happen automatically. It requires ongoing communication between data owners and researchers to improve feedback loops, which could help solve current issues around data access and quality.

The discussion was a powerful reminder that the potential of open data is huge, but unlocking it requires collaboration, interaction and a shared vision for the future of open data.

Make sure to also check out our mood video from the ERA Chair conference! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_DogCgnLbo

Political Science - University of Tartu Vincent Homburg Mihkel Solvak Külli Taro

The ECePS ERA Chair conference "Promises and Paradoxes of Open Data" has kicked off with a session of our junior research fellows presenting their latest research results, Moderated by ERA Chair Prof Vincent Homburg

Political Science - University of Tartu

Today, as a warm-up exercise and pre-event for the Final ECePS conference, long-term ECePS friend dr David Duenas Cid from Kozminski University, Warshaw (Poland) gave an inspiring talk about his research on trust in e-voting technology. In his lecture, David discussed the issues of trust and distrust in technology, and reflected on e-voting narratives he identified in his research on Estonian Internet Voting practices.

Political Science - University of Tartu Vincent Homburg Mihkel Solvak

As a warm-up to the ECePS conference, we will hold a public lecture 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭, 𝐃𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐭 𝐕𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: 𝐂𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 by associate professor Dr. David Duenas-Cid (Akademia Leona Koźmińskiego - Kozminski University, Poland); the discussion will be moderated by Prof Vincent Homburg. The public lecture will take place on Wednesday 12 February at 14.15, In Lossi 36 building room 307. Join us for good talk and snacks, and bring your questions!

Political Science - University of Tartu

⏰ Last chance to register! ⏰
ECePS ERA Chair conference: Promises and Paradoxes of Open Data
Time: Thu, 13 February 2025, at 10.00 at the Delta building

The morning session will be dedicated to showcasing and discussing the research of the ECePS ERA Chair. After lunch we will have two panels to zoom in on the promises and paradoxes of open data from the perspective of researchers and industry - Dialogue of the Digital Deaf? Why available data is not usable in research and How to Move from "dead" Studies to "live" Services/Products Using the Same Data? Panelists from University of Tartu, TalTech - Tallinna Tehnikaülikool, Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, Cybernetica, Nortal, Statistikaamet and Riigi Infosüsteemi Amet, moderated by Vincent Homburg and Mihkel Solvak.
Continuing with the theme of data, we will visit Ryoji Ikeda's exhibition at Eesti Rahva Muuseum / Estonian National Museum. Introduction by Timo T***s (Maajaam), who, like Ryoji Ikeda, has won the Ars Electronica Golden Nica Award for interactive art.
Please, have a look at the day's programme and register here https://eceps.ut.ee/research/eceps-conference-2025

Political Science - University of Tartu

On January 27th, the ERA Chair and Professor of E-Governance Vincent Homburg was at the ***y Brandt School of Public Policy at Universität Erfurt to give a guest lecture on e-government, as part of prof dr Achim Kemmerling’s Master course Public Administration and Finance. During his lecture, Vincent Homburg elaborately discussed e-government with a group of enthusiastic international students, and reflected with the students on whether and if so how Estonian practices are relevant and useful for administrative reforms in the Global South.

Links:
W***y Brandt School of Public Policy https://www.uni-erfurt.de/en/brandtschool
University of Erfurt https://www.uni-erfurt.de/en/
Achim Kemmerling https://www.uni-erfurt.de/en/brandtschool/the-school/people/faculty/prof-dr-achim-kemmerling

Political Science - University of Tartu

On January 16, the ERA chair Prof Homburg contributed to the kick-off of the Dutch Policy Programme on Generic Digital Infrastructures in the Hague, for which hundreds of specialists and policy advisors gathered to discuss the building blocks and governance structures for information sharing in the Netherlands. Prof Vincent Homburg contributed by outlining the Estonian experiences and informing the public of the latest academic insights on the topic.

Join us in Tartu to discuss about "𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐱𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐃𝐚𝐭𝐚" on Thursday, February 13th 2025 at the UT Delta Centre.

As electronic public services become more widespread, there is a growing awareness that new generations of electronic services need to be more accessible, intelligent, secure, trustworthy and cross-border. At the same time, we see that the increased availability of data offers fascinating opportunities for even more advanced public services, new business developments and academic research. As with many other promises, we see that high expectations are at least occasionally dashed in complex trialogues between government, business and academia.

The conference will look at the findings of the ECePS ERA Chair researchers on e-governance over the last few years. In addition, a series of panels will bring together academics, government officials and industry representatives to discuss their experiences in accessing and sharing data for impact.

Conference is free of charge, however pre-registration is required. Please preregister here by February 1st, 2025 https://eceps.ut.ee/research/eceps-conference-2025

Political Science - University of Tartu

The conference is organised by the ECePS ERA Chair, funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 857622.