Abstract
The digital transformation of the local public sector is an important step towards making local service delivery more citizen-centred and user-oriented. The state of digitalisation in public administration in Germany is, however, well behind the far-reaching hopes associated with this modernisation theme. This chapter will explore the question as to what extent digital tools have been introduced in German local governments, more specifically in local one-stop shops (Bürgerämter), which hurdles local actors face when coping with the digital transformation, and which tools impact on citizens and local employees as well as have unintended effects and dysfunctionalities so far. A comprehensive and standardised survey amongst mayors and heads of staff councils in German municipalities as well as citizens and employees’ surveys and case studies will form the empirical basis of this chapter.
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Notes
- 1.
In the following, this survey will be referred to as “city survey”.
- 2.
The project “Local One-Stop Shops in Germany” was sponsored by the Hans-Böckler Foundation and jointly carried out by the German Universities of Bochum (Jörg Bogumil, Sacha Gerber) and Potsdam (Sabine Kuhlmann, Christian Schwab) from 2016 to 2019 (cf. Bogumil et al. 2019).
- 3.
This refers to the results of the evaluation of the “New Steering Model” (NSM), which represents the most exhaustive empirical study yet on the topic in Germany (for details and methods, see Kuhlmann et al. 2008).
- 4.
Cf. ec.europa.eu/digital-single-market/en/desi.
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Kuhlmann, S., Bogumil, J. (2021). The Digitalisation of Local Public Services. Evidence from the German Case. In: Bergström, T., Franzke, J., Kuhlmann, S., Wayenberg, E. (eds) The Future of Local Self-Government. Palgrave Studies in Sub-National Governance. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-56059-1_8
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