Information Systems for the Public Sector

IS413

Half/ full unit

Full

Professor Chrisanthi Avgerou,  Room  NAB 3.22
 

Optional for MSc Analysis, Design and Management of Information Systems, MSc Public Management and Governance and MPA Public and Economic Policy/MPA Public Policy and Management/MPA International Development/MPA European Public and Economic Policy. This course is available as an outside option to other MSc students.

This course is concerned with understanding the challenges faced by the public sector in implementing e-government policies.

This course is concerned with understanding the expectations and challenges of government's use of contemporary information and communication technologies. It studies processes of technology enabled innovation specific to organizations of public administration. Core questions addressed include: what distinguishes government as a site for technology based innovation; how government functions and practices are potentially changed by e-government initiatives; how public administrators respond; and the consequences for relationships between government, citizens and the private sector.

Lent term

Lectures

10 x 2 hours

Lent term

Classes

10 x 1 hours

Classes are used to discuss relevant papers and topics.

Bovens, M. and S. Zouridis (2002) "From Street-Level to System-Level Bureaucracies: How Information and Communication Technology Is Transforming Administrative Discretion and Constitutional Control", Public Administration Review;, 62 (2), pp. 174-184.;

Chadwick, A and May, C (2003) Interaction between states and citizens in the age of the Internet: "e-government" in the United States, Britain and the European Union, Governance: An International Journal of Policy, Administration and Institutions, Vol. 16, No. 2, April.;

Cordella, A (2007), E-government: towards the e-bureaucratic form?, Journal of Information Technology, 22, 265–274;

Dunleavy, P, Margetts, H. Bastow, S.and Tinkler, J. Digital era governance: IT corporations, the state and e-government. Oxford University Press, 2006.

Fountain, Jane E. (2001) Building the virtual state : information technology and institutional change, Washington, D.C. : Brookings Institution Press.;

Heeks, R. (1999) Reinventing Government in the Information Age, Routledge, New York.; Heeks, R. and Bailur, S. (2007). "Analysing eGovernment Research." Government Information Quarterly, 22 (2), pp. 243-265.

Heeks, R. and Bailur, S. (2007). "Analysing eGovernment Research." Government Information Quarterly, 22 (2), pp. 243-265.

Ho, A. T.-K. (2002) "Reinventing Local Government and the E-Government Initiative", Public Administration Review, 62 (4), pp. 434-444.;

Kakabadse, A., N. K. Kakabadse and A. Kouzmin (2003) "Reinventing the Democratic Project through Information Technology: A Growing Agenda for Debate", Public Administration Review, 63 (1), pp. 44-60.

Layne, K. and J. Lee (2001) "Developing Fully Functional E-Government: A Four-Stage Model", Government Information Quarterly, 18 (2), pp. 122-136.;

Margetts, H and Dunleavy, P (2002) Better Public Services through E-Government: Cultural Barriers to e-government, National Audit Office, London. on web at: http://www.nao.org.uk/publications/nao_reports/01-02/0102704-iii.pdf;

Norris D F, (2003). 'Building the virtual state ... or not? A critical appraisal,' SSCR 21 (4): 417-424,

Peters, G (2000) "The Politics of Bureaucracy - Chapter 2"  from Peters, B. G. (2000) The Politics of Public Administration, Routledge, London.;

Yildiz M (2007) E-government research: reviewing the literature, limitations, and ways forward. Government Information Quarterly 24, 646–665, doi:10.1016/j.giq.2007.01.002 (accessed 1 August 2007);

A 1,000 word essay proposal in week 7 of Lent term (5%). Based on this, feedback. is provided for an up to 5,000 word research essay on a chosen topic in public sector information systems and e-government (45%). An exam in the Summer term counts for the final 50%.