Government 4.0 – the public sector in the digital age

| Analyse
Digitalizing something as large and complex as the public sector is an enormous transformation task. Doing so would lead to a host of new policy challenges for governments, including the digitization of public administration, the automation of public sector work flows, and policy issues – such as structural changes to the job market and cybersecurity.

Digitizing public service administration interactions can save citizens significant time

Promoting and regulating the digital economy

Digitalization has a strong impact on national economies; value pools may shift within and across industries and the economic leaders of today may be replaced. Governments need to take precautions to ensure that start-ups and established companies can create new business models and digitize their existing operations. The public sector, including the education system, can play an important role in three areas:

  • Human capital development
  • Regulatory enablement
  • Support of innovative networks.

Putting people on jobs of the future: globally, up to 375 million workers may need to switch occupational categories

The fast overtake the slow

In most countries, public sector expenditure represents 35 to 60 percent of the GDP. This means that the state’s digital transformation is the largest transformation. Fast progress requires agile, interdisciplinary teams that can quickly turn an idea into implementation. While that may not be possible in every context, examples – such as the redesign of the German refugee administration within 18 months following the 2015 situation – show that it is not unthinkable.