Belarus and Ukraine embarked on digitalisation relying on an international experience. Ukraine experienced difficulties in building infrastructure and connecting their regions and faced challenges in providing training and raising citizen awareness on advantages of the digital services. Yet, the digitalization reform proceeded from the principles of citizen-centeredness and e-participation. Belarus, on the contrary, was quick in building the basic infrastructure and training their public officials. However, the e-government was oriented rather on technical aspects and inter-sectoral communication, than on the needs of the citizens. Despite the differences in both cases, the level of trust, the basic prerequisite for the quality e-services, has been low (Ukraine) or non-existent (Belarus). This paper uses multi-method approach to examine citizen trust and their adoption of e-services in developing political or administrative regime contexts that are characterized by low trust, variable digital literacy, and variable access to information. A key finding is that in both countries it was the historical legacy of access to free services, that was one of the barriers to building a sustainable and reliable system of e-services. However, while Ukraine started to improve their infrastructure and building trust towards digital services during the COVID-19 pandemic, in Belarus the authorities’ ineffective management of the pandemic has led to sharp decrease in trust towards authorities. As a result, rudiments of an alternative system of public-services’ delivery, based on the people-to-people model, have been launched by the civil society.

eGovernment continues to expand in the Swedish welfare state. Sweden aims to “become world leader in harnessing the opportunities of digital transformation” (Government Offices of Sweden, 2017 p.1), and is highly ranked in indexes measuring digital development such as UN’s e-Government Development Index and EU’s Digital Society and Economy Index. Digital development is still partly understood as ‘neutral’ and ‘progressive’. However, previous research on eGovernment and related fields have highlighted that governmental policies, institutions, and services are embedded in ideological imaginaries, which challenges the idea of technology as being value-neutral and without ideology (Schuilenburg & Peeters, 2020; Hintz et al., 2019; Verdegem & Fuchs, 2013). Still fewer have focused on questions about what citizenship ideals are imagined and pursued based on ideological grounds of eGovernment. A recent literature overview (Chen et al. 2021) has found that there is a lack of critical perspectives in digital citizenship studies. However, Isin and Ruppert (2020) offer a critical conceptualization of digital citizenship, that challenges the dominating conceptualizations which focus on internet-usage (Mossberger et al. 2007) and digital literacy (Ribble, 2015). While Isin and Ruppert (2020) argue that digital citizens come to existence through imaginary, legal, and performative dimensions, Mejer (2012) brought to discussion the prospective of a new type of citizen-driven production of public benefits that would transcend the traditional state-led welfare structures.  

This paper answers to the call for more critical perspectives on digital citizenship, by identifying and unpacking the imagined ideals of digital citizenship in the Swedish digital welfare state. Inspired by Isin and Ruppert’s (2020) conceptualization, Laclau & Mouffe’s (1985) discourse theory, and Schou and Hjelholt’s (2017) citizenship framing in the Danish context, this paper identifies and unpacks imagined citizen ideals by analysing imaginary, legal, and performative dimensions of the Swedish digital welfare state. Data for the imaginary dimension consists of the Swedish national digitalization strategy (Government Offices of Sweden, 2017). Data for the legal dimension consists of the Swedish Library Act (‘Bibliotekslag’ SFS 2019:961). Lastly, data for the performative dimension and imaginary dimension is gathered from 11 Swedish municipal libraries, including observations of daily citizen-interactions regarding digital issues collected in 2019, and interviews with library staff collected in 2022. Libraries are one of the primary public organizations which facilitate digital motivation, access, competence, and usage (van Dijk, 2020) in Sweden (Bernhard et al., 2019; Mersad, 2019), and where citizens are assisted in claiming their citizenship rights in a digital society (Gustafsson et al., 2020).  

This paper contributes to eGovernment and digital citizenship studies by investigating the Swedish case and by identifying and unpacking specific imagined ideals to move beyond digital citizenship as an “catch-all phrase to describe an ideal” (Becker, 2019). This paper also enables comparison with the Danish case, which both are characterized by the Nordic welfare state model but also vary in terms of approaches to digital transformation. The contribution is both empirical and theoretical by investigating the Swedish case and expanding critical conceptualizations of digital citizenship. 

The purpose of this chapter is to identify and analyze key tensions in the governance, the management, and the organization of RPA-practices in public services. Key tensions will be analyzed in an agency–structure framework and using empirical data on introduction of RPA-tools in income support services in three Swedish municipalities. The analysis will be guided by two research questions: what tensions underly RPA-integration by actors in their practices; and how these tensions can be understood based on an agency–structure framework. The findings discuss issues such as coordination dilemmas in decentralized structures, different interpretations of the legal frames, standardization versus individualization logics of the profession, trust versus control mechanisms, but also elements of municipal innovation and accommodation of case processing when RPA is integrated into income support services.

There is a demand for systematic assessments of actual impacts of au-tomation of decision and case management in public services. The aim of the paper is to investigate how effectiveness and quality aspects are considered in public services that are introducing automation, based the case of Income support in four Swedish municipalities. Based on empirical evidence from reported sta-tistics and qualitative interviews and observations, the study found that munici-palities using RPA scored higher on quality indicators and user satisfaction. In-crease of resource spending showed in three of the municipalities, regardless they use or not RPA. Among the qualitative effects we found mutual changes between the RPA-integration and adjustments and the organization of work and exercise of authority.

In this paper we address the increased digitalization of the fabric ofmodern welfare societies, and the expectations on individuals to be independentand digitally capable that follows from this. We focus on enactments of repairaimed at maintaining the lives of individuals situated in unstable sociomaterialrelations in the context of social care and a public library in Sweden. The purposewas to explore enactments of repair in two Swedish empirical contexts: one ina social service setting, and one in a municipal library setting. The analysis wasconducted with the help of the concept of repair, understood as maintenance ortransformation. We conducted interviews and observations in these two settingsand analyzed these with the help of the concept of repair. The analysis shows that inthe context of social service, repair was enacted differently in relation to differentinterpretations of existing legislation concerning minimal livelihoods, and that inthe context of the public library repair was enacted in relation to expectations of thelibrary visitors to become digitally independent. The analysis showed that in bothof these contexts repair was enacted as maintenance rather than as transformation.

As societies become increasingly digitalized, the requirements for inclusion continuously increase. In a Swedish public, municipal, library context,it is common that individuals who face difficulties related to digital technologies come and ask for help. In this paper, we explore care in relationsconstituted by individuals and digital technologies and analyze how care matters for digital inclusion. It builds on field studies in a Swedish librarycontext and includes qualitative interviews, focus groups, and observations of employees working to support individuals with digital needs. Inorder to analyze the material, we apply the concept of care. In the concluding discussion, we argue first for viewing individuals as sociomaterialentanglements of relations constituted by humans and non-humans, second that these soc

Digitalization of public services has been high on the political agenda in Sweden, with the goal to reform and modernize the welfare services. Digital solutions are used to build both technical and organization innovations in the services and in bureaucratic decision-making. Automation of social assistance services is currently implemented in many Swedish municipalities. It calls for new ways of running and administrating income support services for citizens with vulnerabilities. In the context of thorough national regulations, wide local autonomy and variation in resources, the introduction of automation is rife with tensions and challenges. This study looks at automation as an innovation implementation in public services, focusing on one municipal case. Based on interviews, observations, and focus groups, we can conclude that the process has been hampered by a lack of focus on the core service of coaching for self-sufficiency, and that it has made the system less transparent.

Scandinavian welfare services are undergoing advanced digitalization in a context rife with diversified client needs and demands. The political ambition is to draw the benefits from technological developments to address the new demands from society and challenges in health, social care and education [1, 2]. Beyond the municipal organization, technology mediated decision making, also called Robotic Process Automation (RPA), require new, cross-jurisdictional governance and coordination mechanisms, as well as new institutional arrangements. Such transformations entail at least a thorough revision, if not totally new logics on service administration, organization management, professional roles and relation to the clients. 

Rules and principles for public service provision and administration are now re-designed and implemented as RPA applications are introduced in municipalities. To understand RPA practices, their municipal context and the transformations of services that they set out, as well as their impacts upon societal needs, it is critical to identify and understand the assumptions that underly such arrangements, the different logics at play and the tensions and value conflicts that arise. The Purpose of this paper is to uncover and explain institutional, organization and governance tensions and implications of RPA in income support services.  

In this paper we address the increased digitalization of the fabric of modern welfare societies, and the expectations on individuals to be independent and digitally capable that follows from this. We focus on repairment practices aimed at repairing the lives of individuals situated in unstable sociomaterial relations in the context of social care and a public library in Sweden. The aim was to explore repairment practices in two Swedish empirical contexts: one in a municipal library setting, and one in a social service setting. The analysis was conducted with the help of the concept of repairment, understood in relation to feminist STS points of departure of relationality and entanglement of humans and non-humans. We conducted interviews and observations in these two settings and analyzed these with the help of the concept of repair. The analysis shows that in the context of social service, repairment was enacted differently in relation to different interpretations of existing legislation concerning minimal livelihoods, and that in the context of the public library repairment was enacted in relation to expectations of the library visitors to become digitally independent. We also relate these repairment practices to the current pandemic. 

Advanced digital societies in democratic societies are conceived to besustained by informed, active and responsible citizens. While internet and informationtechnologies are both hailed for their empowering potential for the citizensto express their civic and political rights, they also pose considerable literacy andusage challenges, and thus can raise exclusionary thresholds for these same aspirations.Digital skills and information literacy as preconditions for tapping intosuch technology potential, can thus affect theway citizenship is practiced and conceivedby the members of society. Based on an extensive field study at Swedishlibraries practices with helping and educating clientswith awide diversity of questionsrelating to digital technologies and e-services, we examine both empiricallyand conceptually how citizenship is practiced in an advanced digital society, ina universal welfare state. The analysis focused on citizenship practices in dailyactivities when technologies mediate participation and interaction among the public,civic andmarket actors. The conclusions contribute to the conceptualization ofcitizenship act and agency and elaborates on citizenship as a performative process.

The concept of digital divides has been on the agenda in research and policy making for at least the last 20 years. But it is still, a challenge to grasp this concept that is so elusive and transforming. Inclusion, access and equality are still key values for democratic governance and must be addressed in particular when forming and contributing to a digital government. This paper seeks to intervene in current debates on digital divides and digital inclusion by analyzing two cases of responses among street-level public administration in relation to e-government services in Sweden. The case studies are strategically chosen and conducted in national agencies and in local public libraries. Three lines of contributions are discussed, firstly the importance to care for equality secondly the need to see the non-users, and thirdly to discuss the potential of putting focus on digital diversity.

The purpose of the paper is to use the concept of ethics of care in order to explore and reconceptualize the entangled relations that come into play when employees (librarians and others) in a Swedish public librariy context work to support citizens with digital problems. Application of ethics of care lens is interesting in this context from at least two perspectives. It can be used as a theoretical lens to analyze the librarians’ care practices in their mission for digital inclusion and addressing digital diversity needs. By uncovering the entanglements of relations between the librarians, the services, the visitors of the library, and the digital technologies, it opens for a contribution to the reconceptualization of digital citizenship (Mossberger et al, 2008) in relation to digital divide and participation, as well as access to services and opportunities. A care ethics lens is also valuable in terms of uncovering tensions and value conflicts that arise from normatively conflicting principles that govern public administrations in practice, such ex. New Public Management (Giritli Nygren, 2009; Rose, Persson, & Heeager, 2015), or service manufacturing logics governed by business rationale (Cordella, Paletti, Chun, Adam, & Noveck, 2018; Gustafsson & Wihlborg, 2019).

The purpose of the paper is to use the concept of ethics of care in order to explore and reconceptualize the entangled relations that come into play when employees (librarians and others) in a Swedish public librariy context work to support citizens with digital problems. Application of ethics of care lens is interesting in this context from at least two perspectives. It can be used as a theoretical lens to analyze the librarians’ care practices in their mission for digital inclusion and addressing digital diversity needs. By uncovering the entanglements of relations between the librarians, the services, the visitors of the library, and the digital technologies, it opens for a contribution to the reconceptualization of digital citizenship (Mossberger et al, 2008) in relation to digital divide and participation, as well as access to services and opportunities. A care ethics lens is also valuable in terms of uncovering tensions and value conflicts that arise from normatively conflicting principles that govern public administrations in practice, such ex. New Public Management (Giritli Nygren, 2009; Rose, Persson, & Heeager, 2015), or service manufacturing logics governed by business rationale (Cordella, Paletti, Chun, Adam, & Noveck, 2018; Gustafsson & Wihlborg, 2019).

Digitalization of public services has been high up on the political agenda in Sweden, with considerable efforts that accompany other initiatives to reform and modernize production of welfare services and their administration. Digital solutions are used to build both technical and organizational innovations in public services, as well as in bureaucratic decision-making. The “Digital first principle” is guiding the European policies in the field and is also central in the Swedish digitalization strategy for public administration. This means that the contact between the citizens, the companies or other society actors, and the public sector authorities shall initially and to largest possible extent occur digitally.

    A digital innovation that is currently spreading among Swedish municipalities is automatizing social assistance services mainly addressing income support for vulnerable citizens. In a context of nationally highly regulated income support schemes, the municipalities manage the digitalization of services highly differently, coping with inherent tensions in relation to their local autonomy. We have conducted a long-term case study following such an implementation case in a medium size Swedish municipality. Based on interviews, observations and workshops we can conclude that the implementation is hampered since it is not focusing on the core to coach for self-support and that it even made the system less transparent. This indicates that the principle ‘digital first’ has to be embedded into the core focus of the service and not address shallow interfaces.

Digital delaktighet är en demokratisk rättighet. Därför är digitalt utanförskap ett demokratiskt problem när allt fler offentliga tjänster hanteras i digitala kanaler med allt från bankärenden till skolfrågor, bussturlistor och kommunal information. I FN:s Agenda 2030 för hållbar utveckling, som ligger till grund för en del av forskningen som presenteras i denna rapport, talas det om att ingen ska lämnas efter eller utanför – alla ska med. Vi tar denna uppmaning från global policy som ett riktmärke för studier av lokal praktik.

I rapporten presenteras kommunens och bibliotekens roll i vår digitala omvärld. På biblioteket stöttar medarbetarna medborgarna med både informationsinhämtning och att lära sig att använda digital teknik. Biblioteksmedarbetarna arbetar också med yttrandefrihet, medie- och informationskunskap och hållbar utveckling. Vi beskriver arbetet på bibliotek för att kunna tillmötesgå såväl politiska förväntningar och lokala realiteter, som vilka kompetenser personalen behöver och hur arbetet kan organiseras. Ett syfte har även varit att sprida erfarenheter av de arbetssätt för digital delaktighet som utvecklas på DigidelCenter i Motala, till i första hand politiker och tjänstemän i Sverige. Karaktären på studierna har varit aktionsforskning där design och resultat kontinuerligt diskuteras med intresserade aktörer i kommunen och på bibliotek i samverkan, i Östergötland.

I rapporten beskriver och analyserar vi arbetet på DigidelCenter i Motala kommun som en demokratisk arena. Motalas arbete har i flera sammanhang lyfts fram som en framgångsrik modell för att stödja digital inkludering, bland annat av digitaliseringsministern Peter Eriksson vid hans besök våren 2018. Det framhölls även när regeringen lanserade en satsning på flera DigidelCenter runt om i Sverige och sköt till medel för arbetet (Regeringen Pressmeddelande, 2018). Därför står arbetet på Motala bibliotek i fokus här.

En utmaning här är svårigheterna att mäta digital kompetens, men även hur den kan studeras och beforskas. I policydokument finns många olika perspektiv som pendlar mellan uppfattningar om enskilda personers kompetens att vara aktiva medborgare (EU:s styrdokument/ EU, 2017?), till krav på tjänstemän och medarbetares digitala kompetens att kunna förklara för andra, visa och leda (OECD, 2017). I båda fallen handlar det om vad som händer i möten med digital teknik.

Vi presenterar resultat från aktiviteter med besökare och deltagare i DigidelCenters verksamhet i form av observationer, en enkätstudie, och intervjuer med bibliotekspersonal och kommunala politiker. Dessa olika sammanhang visar på vad vi måste förstå för att tala om digital delaktighet i det offentliga, det vill säga det vi har för avsikt att studera inom forskargruppen DINO.

Resultaten indikerar att arbetet med digital inkludering behöver fortsätta, samt att det handlar om mer än tillgång till teknik - kompetens är också viktigt. Resultaten från DigidelCenter i Motala visar även att personal som i sin tjänst möter människor med digitala frågor behöver både pedagogisk kompetens och kännedom om samhällets logik kring var olika e-tjänster ”hör hemma”. Dessa resultat kommer att bidra till att utveckla stöd för dem som arbetar med digital kompetens och inkludering.

Income support schemes are key policies in an inclusive welfare state. To make them legitimate they are strictly regulated. As such they provide good prerequisites for standardization and automation, in theory. The aim of this paper is to analyze a case of municipal administration of income support, where automatization is resisted despite managements’ ambitions. We focus on the case workers’ interpretations of changes conducive to automatization and discuss how different service logics may explain the tensions and resistance of the frontline case workers. Our findings suggest that digitalisation and automatization challenge the balance of two logics and raise concerns of accountability in exercise of public authority; and concerns of value in terms of support towards self-sustainability and social integration of the clients (We are humbly grateful to the research council FORTE, for the opportunity to carry this research, through financing of the project: “The computer says no!” – en studie om det offentligas legitimitet och medborgares tillit när e-förvaltningen växer fram. We are also grateful to our informants in the Income Support unit in the municipality who shared their perceptions and experiences in this research.).

Smart Specialization (RIS3) is an innovative approach/strategy to bring together local authorities, academia, businesses and society to boost growth and jobs in Europe. It prioritizes domains, areas and economic activities where regions have a competitive advantage.

We introduce an innovation model to facilitate translation of ideas and knowledge into regional implementation. Instead of focusing on technology, the innovator / entrepreneur himself is in focus. The proposed model is based on the Buurtzorg model which originally focusses on supporting patients in health care, and which has an onion frame: the patient is surrounded by informal network (family, etc), next is the Buurtzorg support team, and final level is the formal network (society). The individuals need are steering the health care support, rather than adapting it to the social and economic constraints of the health care system. The team consists of specialists who decide how they organize the work, share responsibilities and make decisions. The team is self-managing and with entrepreneurial spirit.

We will argue in this paper that a support mechanism as innovation model may be applicable to regional capacity building, and the support acts as a clustering process. Clusters are often limited by geographical constraints, such as having a number of local actors in a certain field. Clustering may be based on other values than given by physical ones.

Our model approach is based on that there are innovators who have visionary ideas which are outside their traditional business. They could potentially be of great important for regional growth since they will create value chains, jobs etc, but given the non traditional innovation character they will not be realized unless there is a support mechanism. Similar to the Buurtzorg model, there is a team of specialists that will support the innovator and the innovator informal network. The specialist team has competencies related to smart specialization, regional growth etc (formal network).

When RIS3 is applied to broad areas like advanced materials or nanotechnology such a mediation becomes highly complex. Both these areas include an extremely broad range of areas, examples include anything from food (through modifying functional properties by physical and chemical changes), digital communication or connected systems (new materials’ approaches for faster processors or use of higher/faster band frequencies), to construction related materials (buildings, transport, etc). Very likely they do not have actors located geographically close to create a cluster.

For synergistic effects, activities in the RIS3 within advanced materials can be linked to other fields, as well as to implementation synergies. If the smart specialization of advanced materials can interact with efforts in building competence, smart industry, sustainable production, automation, digitalization etc, the advanced materials could then find a value chain in specific avenues instead of building ones in its own area. This is a viable route to hold together the fragmented and broad character of advanced materials field, where transferring/translation activities (competence, technical, etc) are a binding agent. Therefore, the specialist team is crucial for such transfer, and a core element in an innovation model.

Samhällets digitalisering påverkar tydligt den offentliga förvaltningen. Svensk förvaltning har länge arbetat med datorer för effektivisering och förbättrad administration. Men idag ställs nya krav då digitala verktyg för informationshantering och kommunikation används allt mer i samhället och på nya sätt. Kraven på säker informationshantering ökar, samtidigt som tillgänglighet och transparens är viktiga ledord i policyer kring digitaliserad förvaltning. I Sverige är det tydligt att regeringens ambitioner med digitaliseringen av förvaltning inte går i linje med vad som sker och implementeras i kommunerna. Skillnaderna ligger i hur e-förvaltning prioriteras, förankras i lokala behov och implementeras. Därför krävs både förbättrad styrning och tydligare möjligheter att lokalt översätta nationella policyer och internationell teknikutveckling för en effektivare och mer legitim digital förvaltning. Syftet med avhandlingen är att analysera implementering av digitalisering i kommunala förvaltningar utifrån nätverksstyrning (governance) och översätts av olika aktörsgrupper.Studiens konstruktivistiska och tolkande ansats baseras på två empiriska studier. Den första handlar om kommunal utbildningsadministration och den andra om den regionala digitala agendan i Östergötland. Studierna  presenteras i fyra artiklar. De övergripande slutsatserna pekar på spänningar som uppstår när digitaliseringen blir en del av den kommunala förvaltningspraktiken. Spänningarna har identifierats i relation till medarbetarnas varierande kompetenser, informationssäkerhet samt kommunernas olika resurser och kompetenser vilka betingas av dess storlek och förutsättnignar. Bidraget visar att etablerade  managementmodell och evolutionära perspektiv är otillräckliga för att tolka och förklara hur digitaliseringen förändrar kommunal förvaltning. Istället framhålls betydelsen av att skapa förståelsen för hur digtalisering översätts i olika sammanhang. Analyserna pekar på behovet av att öppna för nya sätt att styra och organisera digital offentlig förvaltning.

Purpose– The purpose of the paper is to reveal how identities are constructed when electronic identification (eIDs) cards are introduced through information systems in public organisations. Design/methodology/approach– Through two case studies, the authors generate rich data on the construction of identities through use of eID within public organisations. The author’s analysis, based on actor network theory, focusses on the translation of eIDs in these two settings. Findings– ID can be viewed as an artefact where the public and private spheres meet. The authors found at least three mixed roles in employees’ use of eID: as a purely private person; as a private person in the work place; and as a professional in the work place. Research limitations/implications– There is a need for further research on how eID is translated into organisational contexts and how institutional settings define the openings for local translation processes. However, the results are based on two small cases, meaning that broad generalisations are difficult to make. Practical implications– EID is so much more than technology. The technical framing of the identification system appears to be subordinated to organisational arrangements and cultures, making it important to apply a socio-technical perspective when working with eID. Originality/value– The empirical cases have offered a unique chance to study implementation and use of eID in two very different public service organisations. The findings illustrate how eID translated into organisational contexts, and how identity management within an organisational setting is linked to the employees’ private and professional roles.

This paper presents a case study on the adoption and implementation of a digital agenda in the Region of Östergötland, in Sweden. I aim to describe and analyze the collaborative policy network around the agenda and the challenges of engagement of key regional and local actors with it. The underlying research question for this inquiry is how can I understand better the difficulties of engaging key local and regional actors in collaborative policy networks on digitalization policies and their implementation, in conditions when administrations and politics are compelled to reform. The study analyses the type of governance network and the difficulties of engaging the different local and regional actors in a multilevel, cross-jurisdictional collaboration. The findings present and discuss challenges such as changing roles, appraisal of utility of digitalization and new collaboration that it involves, ownership of digitalization and parallel networks as hinders or catalysts. It is concluded among others that the network is a hybrid combination of policy community and issue network that really does not govern in practice and still struggles at the moment to hold together.

This paper addresses how people construct meanings regarding “the concept of security”, based upon the descriptions collected from participants in a case study of the use of electronic identification in ICT platforms in schools. The aim of the paper is to reflect on the concept of security by identifying and analyzing how people build their own understanding of security when using ICT platforms in schools. The analysis identifies three ontological instances of security: security as an ideal state of affairs, security as a value and information security. The analysis also clarifies the difference between the objective and subjective nature of security, as well as the differences between factual and perceived information security. As a result, I raise several research questions concerning “security”, and identify common assumptions with regard to constructing the concept of security. 

Att identifiera sig är något vi gör i många olika vardagssituationer; exempelvis när vi ska styrka vår ålder i krogkön, uträtta bankärenden eller bli insläppta av vakten på en bevakad arbetsplats. För att identifiera oss i dessa situationer använder vi oftast någon form av fysisk identitetshandling; ett körkort, pass eller ID-kort. Samtidigt har vi idag ett samhälle där allt fler ärenden går att utföra via nätet, där såväl offentliga som kommersiella aktörer erbjuder elektroniska tjänster (e-tjänster) i ökande omfattning. Vi blir därmed alltmer beroende av informationsteknik (IT) i samhället för att samverka och kommunicera effektivt och enkelt. Vår riskexponering och sårbarhet ökar i takt med att vi utför allt fler ärenden via e-tjänster. Känslig information kan utnyttjas av obehöriga eller missbrukas på olika sätt.

Elektronisk identifiering blir i dessa sammanhang en viktig komponent och förutsättning för att kunna erbjuda och använda effektiva och säkra e-tjänster. När man identifierar sig på nätet och i IT-system kan man göra det på många olika sätt; man kan logga in med användarnamn och lösenord, använda elektroniska ID-lösningar (eID) med dosor och koder, scanna fingeravtryck, använda e-tjänstekort och kortläsare eller RFID-teknik. Man skulle kunna betrakta dessa identifieringslösningar som rent tekniska landvinningar, som bara syftar till att man ska kunna nå den e-tjänst man vill använda. Likt en nyckel som används för att låsa upp dörren så att man kommer in i sitt hus. Vi menar dock att det är en alldeles för snäv syn på elektronisk identifiering – den behöver vara vidare än så för att vara fruktbar och kunna sättas i meningsfulla sammanhang av exempelvis design, utvärdering och vidareutveckling.

Även om det är en teknisk lösning (en artefakt) med en begränsad uppgift vi avser, så kan dess utformning och sättet den införs och används på få stora konsekvenser för hela användningssituationen. Med artefakt menas här konstruerade föremål i form av olika tekniska lösningar och människors meningar kopplade till dessa. Identifieringslösningen påverkar både säkerheten i sig och den bild vi får av den e-tjänst eller det IT-system där vi identifierar oss. Dessutom påverkar den också bilden vi har av det sammanhang där vi använder identifieringslösningen. Om vi använder en e-tjänst som erbjuds av exempelvis den kommun där vi bor, påverkas också vår tilltro till kommunen och samhället av hur vi uppfattar identifieringslösningen och e-tjänsten. Samma resonemang gäller om vi köper en vara av ett privat företag på nätet. Med andra ord påverkas samhällets såväl som företagens legitimitet av hur vi som medborgare eller kunder uppfattar olika IT-lösningar.

Den här boken handlar därför om de möjligheter och utmaningar som elektronisk identifiering kan innebära för individer, organisationer och samhället. Vi talar inte om isolerade tekniska problem i första hand, utan anlägger ett vidare perspektiv på de möjligheter och problem som kommer med e-tjänster och elektronisk identifiering.

Vi har skrivit den här boken för att dela med oss av en del av de tankar och insikter som vi fått under projektet. Syftet med boken är att sätta ljuset på ett antal teman som framstår som centrala för utveckling och användning av elektronisk identifiering. Vi beskriver tre exempel som hämtar inspiration från våra studier inom projektet. Utifrån dessa exempel lyfter vi fram ett antal teman och diskuterar dessa samt sammanfattar utmaningar som vi sett i våra studier. Vår förhoppning är att Du som läser vår bok kan använda våra resonemang för att diskutera frågorna vidare i det praktiska sammanhang som Du befinner Dig i. Oavsett om Du finns på ett kommunkontor, i ett landsting, i en myndighet eller i en privat livssituation. Vi har inte haft ambitionen att skriva en vetenskaplig, teorirelaterad text, men Du som vill läsa forskningsbaserade publikationer från projektet hittar lästips i slutet av boken.

There is an increased use of public e-service integrating citizen into public administration through electronic interfaces. A safe entry into these systems is essential for security and trust in the e-governmental systems in particular and governmental activities in general. Electronic identification has over the years developed and been improved in order to be applicable and useful in different settings. This paper addresses how electronic identification has been used for access to public e-services in schools. The aim of the paper is to present a case study of use of electronic identification into ICT platforms in schools in order to analyze security, organization and potential development of the platforms. The analysis focuses on how security is arranged and perceived among users, using electronic identification and other types of login (passwords) and studies the differences of actual and perceived safety. The study found that there was an un-organized presentation of information in the system; both general and personal information had to be accessed through the same identification systems. The organization of identification and access to public e-services seemed highly dependent of the organizational structure of the educational sector in the municipality. There are potentials for development of trust and safety mainly by improving the awareness of different security levels of information. There is potential for development both of electronic identification, the organization of it and the use of public e-services in general.

There is an increased use of public e-services integrating citizens into public administration through electronic interfaces. The relation among parents and public schools is a daily and important relation that has to be trustworthy. On-line interaction among public organizations and citizens can be seen as e-government, indeed embedded into daily practices. A safe entry into such systems is essential for security and trust in the e-governmental systems and schools as well as public services in general. This paper addresses how electronic identification has been used for access to public e-services in schools in a Swedish municipality. The aim of the paper is to present a case study on how electronic identification is used and implemented in ICT platforms in schools. The analysis focuses on information security, organization and potential development of the platforms. The main finding in the case study is that there was an un-organized presentation of information in the system; both general and personal information had to be accessed with the same level of security (identification systems). The organization of identification and access to public e-services seemed highly dependent of the organizational structure of the public schools. The more general implication is that safe and well organized identification systems that are considered as trustworthy and useful among citizens are essential for increased use of the services and legitimate public e-services in general. 

There is an increased use of public e-services integrating citizens into public administration through electronic interfaces. On-line interaction among public organizations and citizens is one core relation in e-government that hereby becomes embedded into daily practices. A safe entry into e-governmental systems is essential for security and trust in the e-governmental systems and schools as well as public services in general. This paper addresses how electronic identification has been used for access to public e-services in schools in a Swedish municipality. This paper draws on a case study of use of ICT platforms in education administration in order to study the implementation of secure login process and factors that may have implications upon trust in-and legitimacy of public e-services at local e-government level. Besides describing the implementation process and analyzing security and organizational arrangements connected to the use of the platform, the paper address the argument that secure identification tools are essential for increased use of e-services and lead to greater legitimacy of the public (e)services. The analysis focuses on information security, organization set-up and potential development of the platforms, contributing with empirical findings and conceptual applications. A key finding was that the organization of identification and access to public e-services seemed highly dependent of the organizational structure of the public schools. The more general implication of the findings was that safe and well organized identification systems that were considered as trustworthy and useful among citizens were essential for increased use of the services and legitimate public e-services in general.