Expected start date:

2022•09•01

Expected end date:

2023•08•31

Institute:

UNU-EGOV

Project Status:

Ongoing

Project Type:

Research

Project Manager :

Larissa Magalhães

Background:

The digital transformation of governments addresses several challenges to public organizations, especially concerning emerging technologies. Evidence of the barriers and challenges related to organizational capacities, resources, skills, and competencies to deal with digital transformation strategies exists. In this process, dynamic capacities are resources that can allow the improvement and evolution of operations and public services.

Beneficiaries:

Mobilizing dynamic capabilities helps to understand the organizational capacity of public sector organizations to respond to the demands, challenges, and opportunities of digital transformation. Therefore, it provides a framework for digital transformation “leaders” to assess their internal and core capabilities, prioritize capacities and mobilize capacities to support the government’s digital transformation strategies.

Objectives:

The research proposal aims to develop a framework of dynamic capabilities for digital transformation in public sector organizations that use emerging technologies. The framework provides a framework on how organizations can improve their ability to manage change, innovate, and create public value for digital transformation. Therefore, it aims to facilitate the implementation of digital transformation by using technologies in an inclusive, sustainable, and responsible way.

Activities:

The activities are organized in three phases according to the research questions and objectives. The research approach is exploratory, descriptive, and explanatory, coherent with the iteration between phases. In addition, a preliminary phase of the literature review supported the preparation of this proposal. The mapping, identification of digital transformation strategies, and structuring of the dynamic capabilities analysis framework. This phase aims to acquire greater familiarity with the phenomenon through documentary and bibliographical research. Analysis and comparison between selected cases and transformation strategies in the Global South. This phase aims to analyze and compare the cases selected in the previous phase, identifying similarities, differences, and patterns. The analysis’s development and validation indicate the dynamic, detection, apprehension, and reconfiguration capabilities essential for digital transformation in public sector organizations. The preliminary results will be discussed with public sector experts at this stage.

Outcomes:

The research will facilitate the operationalization of detection, capture and transformation capabilities, combined with other tools, such as business process management (BPM), to continuously develop and improve strategies. BPM applied to public organizations has been related to transformational government reform and e-government and digital government as supporting the “life cycle of transformation processes, activities and resources.