Digital competence of society as a component of modern public administration

Abstract

Today, digital transformation covers all areas of human activity, including the public administration sector. At the same time, the effectiveness of reforms in this area largely depends on society’s digital competence, which determines people’s ability to use innovative products and services. The study aims to analyse the impact of society’s digital competence on developing e-government as a component of digital public administration. The study used statistical analysis, correlation analysis, and multivariate regression analysis. It was found that there is a significant or high correlation between the level of the population’s digital competence and the development of e-government. Assessment of the impact of separate indicators characterising the citizens’ digital competence on the E-Government Development Index (EGDI) revealed that approximately 74.54% of the variation in this indicator can be explained through the used independent variables, namely, “Digital Skills among Population”, “Global Science and Technology Skills” and “E-Participation Index”. The novelty of the research is to quantify the impact of citizens’ digital competence on the level of e-government development in European countries. Government officials can use the results to further develop strategies and measures to improve digital public administration.