Retrospective: The digitally connected local authority: Opportunity or burden for public services?
Description and content of the event
Organisational and legal challenges of digital transformation
The financial and organisational burden of providing (almost) all administrative services digitally and without media discontinuity by the end of 2022 falls largely on the shoulders of the local authorities. In addition, numerous legal issues remain unresolved, ranging from the precise implementation of the 'one for all' principle through a FITKO store as a marketplace for digital administrative services, to questions of data protection, public procurement and even the constitutional division of powers.
While local governments’ legal departments are grappling with these issues, politicians are already considering the next steps in digitalisation. Discussions have begun about local government data access, networked responsibilities, smart cities and even a reform of federalism.
The joint event organised by GvW Graf von Westphalen (Dr Thomas Schuster) and the National Institute for Public Administration Germany (Prof. Dr Mario Martini) aimed to highlight the current and future challenges of administrative digitalisation from the perspective of local governments.
