30 September 2011
Information system investments in the public sector benefit both users and the national economy.
The relationship between public value and public administration's IT investments was the topic of an Information Systems Science guest lecture held at Turku School of Economics on Friday, 29 September. The lecture was given by Anthony Cresswell (Center for Technology in Government, University at Albany) who has researched the use of information technology in the US state administration.
In the state administration, the latest technology is harnessed by means such as digital archives and effective means of distributing information. As in most IT projects, in the state management's IT projects it is important to conduct a thorough overview of the problem to be solved instead of blindly trusting in technology as the solution.
Cresswell also reminded listeners that the public administration should pay attention to measuring the overall value of IT investments, not just to increasing efficiency.
– State IT projects do not only benefit people and groups, they also develop the state administration as a public asset, Cresswell explained.
Benefits not always immediate
According to Cresswell, return on IT investment in the public sector is a broader concept than is traditionally understood. Indirectly, such investments benefit citizens using the systems, the companies delivering them as well as the growth and development of the national economy as a whole. For this reason, investment results are difficult to measure.
– Public administration operations, such as basic education, only yield results over the course of several years. The results cannot always be measured in monetary terms – what, for example, would be the value of safety, Cresswell ponders.
Cresswell thinks that the prerequisites for success in public administration IT projects include understanding and business processes rather than purely focusing on the technological side.
– People must understand the environment in which they work. Technology will not help if operational processes are ineffective.
During Cresswell's visit, Anthony Cresswell and Reima Suomi, Professor of Information Systems Science, discussed closer collaboration between the University of Turku and the University at Albany.
– For example, studying the additional public value of IT systems can offer much to our research projects in the field of health care information systems, Suomi says.