The specificity of the digital transformation of the public sector

Abstract

In this article we focus on identifying the specificity of digital transformation within the public sector. The aim of the article is to present the main mechanisms resulting from the introduction of digital innovations that have changed the functioning of the public sector. Starting from a discussion on the technological requirements of digital transformation, we briefly characterise the use of computers and the Internet in public administration, resulting in the development of e-services and administration. The main part of the article is devoted to discussing the specificity of the implementation of the new digital technologies in public administration, focusing mainly on artificial intelligence and blockchain technologies. Our thesis is that the impact of innovative digital technologies on the operation standards and structure of public administration should be analysed through the prism of interrelated mechanisms of datafication and platformisation, characteristic for the digital economy. The adopted methodology, which is based on an analysis of the subject literature and an analysis of new technology implementations in public administration in EU countries, indicates the pilot, random and non-transformational nature of these implementations, partly due to the lack of well-established methodologies to study and assess the maturity of digital transformation within the public sector.