Abstract
Societies are entering the age of technological disruption, which also impacts governance institutions such as parliamentary organizations. Thus, parliaments need to adjust swiftly by incorporating innovative methods into their organizational culture and novel technologies into their working procedures. Inter-Parliamentary Union World e-Parliament Reports capture digital transformation trends towards open data production, standardized and knowledge-driven business processes, and the implementation of inclusive and participatory schemes. Nevertheless, there is still a limited consensus on how these trends will materialize into specific tools, products, and services, with added value for parliamentary and societal stakeholders. This article outlines the rapid evolution of the digital parliament from the user perspective. In doing so, it describes a transformational framework based on the evaluation of empirical data by an expert survey of parliamentarians and parliamentary administrators. Basic sets of tools and technologies that are perceived as vital for future parliamentary use by intra-parliamentary stakeholders, such as systems and processes for information and knowledge sharing, are analyzed. Moreover, boundary conditions for development and implementation of parliamentary technologies are set and highlighted. Concluding recommendations regarding the expected investments, interdisciplinary research, and cross-sector collaboration within the defined framework are presented.
Highlights
Organizations such as parliaments are complex systems that can be considered an ensemble of five different elements: Process, people, culture, structure, and information systems [1]
These entail the need for an organizational transformation framework that exploits the potential of information communication technology (ICT) [2]
Even if the demand on ICT to design and implement changes within the parliamentary institution has been documented in previous decades [7,8], it is still unclear how and under which conditions this digital transformation takes place [9]
Summary
Organizations such as parliaments are complex systems that can be considered an ensemble of five different elements: Process, people, culture, structure, and information systems [1] These entail the need for an organizational transformation framework that exploits the potential of information communication technology (ICT) [2]. Since the early 2000s, several attempts, projects, and concepts have indicated that citizens can, and should, be included and engaged in decision-making processes through tools, products, platforms, and integrated IT services that enable them to actively participate in interaction with policy makers [17] It appears that the use of digital technologies by traditional organizations such as parliaments is highly diverse, albeit existing studies mostly refer to a variety of tools that allow for the engagement of citizens [18]. The article concludes with the most interesting aspects in a parliamentary context and a brief outlook for further research (Section 6)
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