The Use of ICT by Local General Administrative Authorities during COVID-19 for a Sustainable Future: Comparing Five European Countries

The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly reshaped administrative relations and put emphasis on the digital transformation of public administration that is urgently needed to support a sustainable recovery from the pandemic crisis and future sustainable development in the post-pandemic era. This paper...

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Autores principales:	Aleksander Aristovnik, Polonca Kovač, Eva Murko, Dejan Ravšelj, Lan Umek, Marie Bohatá, Bernhard Hirsch, Fabienne-Sophie Schäfer, Nina Tomaževič
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	digitalization public administration public managers public servants COVID-19 sustainability Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/79dd86e44abc4abeb6b145286dfcdcaa
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:79dd86e44abc4abeb6b145286dfcdcaa2021-11-11T19:28:41ZThe Use of ICT by Local General Administrative Authorities during COVID-19 for a Sustainable Future: Comparing Five European Countries10.3390/su1321117652071-1050https://doaj.org/article/79dd86e44abc4abeb6b145286dfcdcaa2021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/21/11765https://doaj.org/toc/2071-1050The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly reshaped administrative relations and put emphasis on the digital transformation of public administration that is urgently needed to support a sustainable recovery from the pandemic crisis and future sustainable development in the post-pandemic era. This paper presents a comparative study on the ways the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic impacted general administrative authorities on the local level with respect to various aspects of their functioning and digitalization in five European countries. With a sample of 926 respondents from the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia, the study shows that the pandemic-imposed changes are very similar in these countries. The results reveal that, except for Germany, the biggest problems of pandemic-related regulations are their obscurity. For all countries under study, parties to the procedures are shown to be the main driver of digitalization and not the public administration itself, generally lagging behind in this sense. Nevertheless, the pandemic has also created several potential opportunities, whereby public managers, especially in Germany, have acknowledged the importance of digitalization right after the protection of health, as confirmed by the wider use of ICT equipment, particularly in Germany and the Czech Republic. Moreover, Germany and Romania exhibit the greatest potential to accelerate digitalization. Finally, the critical factors influencing accelerated digitalization after the pandemic are also identified. The paper’s evidence-based findings could prove useful while formulating recommendations for the sustainable practices of public administrations during this and any future pandemic crisis.Aleksander AristovnikPolonca KovačEva MurkoDejan RavšeljLan UmekMarie BohatáBernhard HirschFabienne-Sophie SchäferNina TomaževičMDPI AGarticledigitalizationpublic administrationpublic managerspublic servantsCOVID-19sustainabilityEnvironmental effects of industries and plantsTD194-195Renewable energy sourcesTJ807-830Environmental sciencesGE1-350ENSustainability, Vol 13, Iss 11765, p 11765 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	digitalization public administration public managers public servants COVID-19 sustainability Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350
spellingShingle	digitalization public administration public managers public servants COVID-19 sustainability Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Aleksander Aristovnik Polonca Kovač Eva Murko Dejan Ravšelj Lan Umek Marie Bohatá Bernhard Hirsch Fabienne-Sophie Schäfer Nina Tomaževič The Use of ICT by Local General Administrative Authorities during COVID-19 for a Sustainable Future: Comparing Five European Countries
description	The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly reshaped administrative relations and put emphasis on the digital transformation of public administration that is urgently needed to support a sustainable recovery from the pandemic crisis and future sustainable development in the post-pandemic era. This paper presents a comparative study on the ways the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic impacted general administrative authorities on the local level with respect to various aspects of their functioning and digitalization in five European countries. With a sample of 926 respondents from the Czech Republic, Germany, Poland, Romania, and Slovenia, the study shows that the pandemic-imposed changes are very similar in these countries. The results reveal that, except for Germany, the biggest problems of pandemic-related regulations are their obscurity. For all countries under study, parties to the procedures are shown to be the main driver of digitalization and not the public administration itself, generally lagging behind in this sense. Nevertheless, the pandemic has also created several potential opportunities, whereby public managers, especially in Germany, have acknowledged the importance of digitalization right after the protection of health, as confirmed by the wider use of ICT equipment, particularly in Germany and the Czech Republic. Moreover, Germany and Romania exhibit the greatest potential to accelerate digitalization. Finally, the critical factors influencing accelerated digitalization after the pandemic are also identified. The paper’s evidence-based findings could prove useful while formulating recommendations for the sustainable practices of public administrations during this and any future pandemic crisis.
format	article
author	Aleksander Aristovnik Polonca Kovač Eva Murko Dejan Ravšelj Lan Umek Marie Bohatá Bernhard Hirsch Fabienne-Sophie Schäfer Nina Tomaževič
author_facet	Aleksander Aristovnik Polonca Kovač Eva Murko Dejan Ravšelj Lan Umek Marie Bohatá Bernhard Hirsch Fabienne-Sophie Schäfer Nina Tomaževič
author_sort	Aleksander Aristovnik
title	The Use of ICT by Local General Administrative Authorities during COVID-19 for a Sustainable Future: Comparing Five European Countries
title_short	The Use of ICT by Local General Administrative Authorities during COVID-19 for a Sustainable Future: Comparing Five European Countries
title_full	The Use of ICT by Local General Administrative Authorities during COVID-19 for a Sustainable Future: Comparing Five European Countries
title_fullStr	The Use of ICT by Local General Administrative Authorities during COVID-19 for a Sustainable Future: Comparing Five European Countries
title_full_unstemmed	The Use of ICT by Local General Administrative Authorities during COVID-19 for a Sustainable Future: Comparing Five European Countries
title_sort	use of ict by local general administrative authorities during covid-19 for a sustainable future: comparing five european countries
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/79dd86e44abc4abeb6b145286dfcdcaa
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The Use of ICT by Local General Administrative Authorities during COVID-19 for a Sustainable Future: Comparing Five European Countries

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