The research project deals with the consequences of the digital transformation of administrative procedures on citizens, businesses and administrators – including particularly artificial intelligence (AI) - and identifies administrative and legal principles and requirements.
Project description
Using an interdisciplinary approach with one dissertation in administrative science and one in law, the status of digitalization in administrative procedures will first be assessed on the basis of theory and empirical research. In a next step, comparative, cross-dissertational research will be conducted to determine the stages of digitalization in administrative procedures and their potential consequences, and an assessment of the corresponding scope of action will be evaluated. In a final step, the findings will be used to develop policy recommendations for the digital transformation of administrative procedures and make them available to the authorities involved.
Background
Public administration will be largely digital in the future. The pressure on the public sector with regard to digitalization has been intensified by the coronavirus pandemic in particular. The administration is significantly shaped by its actions, which are manifested in increasingly digital administrative procedures. Three levels of digitalization can be distinguished in administrative procedures: (1) digital administrative acts and digital legal transactions, (2) digitalized decision-making procedures (partial automation) and (3) decision-making with AI (full automation). Different stakeholders are directly affected by the transformation, in particular the administration and its employees, citizens and the economy. Efforts are being made at a national and European level to coordinate the digital transformation of the administration. Digitalized administrative action is expected to bring great benefits, which must be developed in conjunction with a number of challenges.
Objectives
This research project examines the transformation process towards a digital administration with a focus on digitalized administrative action and its consequences on the various stakeholder groups and is intended to create a legal basis for the digital transformation in administrative procedures with the aim of increasing benefits for citizens.
Significance / Potential Benefits
Based on the findings of the dissertations and case study analyses, policy recommendations and possible adjustments to the relevant legal decrees for the digital transformation of administrative procedures will be developed and made available to the authorities. Further knowledge transfer will take place through publications, meetings and presentations at national and international conferences.
This research project will make a significant contribution to the digital transformation of public administration - the results obtained will provide an essential basis for those involved in digitalized administrative procedures and for further research in the field of digitalization in the public sector.
