Morten Meyerhoff Nielsen

United Nations University (UNU) | UNU · Operating Unit of Policy-Driven Electronic Governance

Utilising the recommendations of the two most quoted online usability experts, Jacob Nielsen and Ben Shneiderman, as an analytical framework, this paper compares the approaches of Denmark, Portu- gal, and the United Kingdom (UK) to online service design standards and usability over time. The paper finds that all three countries address the recommen...

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities of 2006 recognises the right to access Information and Communication Technologies as a human right – and proposed for inclusion in the upcoming UN Global Digital Compact. The objective is to enable the equality of persons with disabilities in exercising their fundamental human freedoms and r...

As an immersive virtual experience, the Metaverse is enabled by multiple technologies and concepts, such as extended reality, blockchain, artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and digital twins, among others. This reflection paper discusses the concept of the Metaverse and the role of the government and the public sector in maximising th...

Australia, Denmark and the Republic of Korea are front-runners in the public sector use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) globally, resulting in a high degree of digitisation of public services production and delivery. While a multitude of factors may account for their successes, what is the role played by their strategic approach to go...

The digital transformation of social security administration and services is complex and multifaceted. It requires careful consideration of various factors, such as the legal and regulatory frameworks, technological infrastructure, and social and cultural norms. This comparative analysis examines the digital transformation of social security admini...

Several factors influence the success of the public sector’s digital transformation. Case studies are often used in literature to study them. However, case studies usually focus on a single country or a small sample of countries, selected by convenience, geographical proximity, or even specified by the funding sources. Using data from the United Na...

Joint ISSA - UNU-EGOV report A digital transformation of society, including the public sector and social security, is underway. This trend has been accelerated further by the global COVID-19 pandemic. The digital transformation of service production and delivery entails the application of both new technologies and new concepts, alongside new ways...

Joint ISSA - UNU-EGOV report A digital transformation of society, including the public sector and social security, is underway. This trend has been accelerated further by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Full description in the English entry. The report is available in English, French, Spanish and German.

Joint ISSA - UNU-EGOV report A digital transformation of society, including the public sector and social security, is underway. This trend has been accelerated further by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Full description in the English entry. The report is available in English, French, Spanish and German.

Joint ISSA - UNU-EGOV report A digital transformation of society, including the public sector and social security, is underway. This trend has been accelerated further by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Full description in the English entry. The report is available in English, French, Spanish and German.

Dans le monde entier, l’e-administration connaît un essor rapide, que la pandémie de la Covid-19 a accéléré. L’expérience des pays les plus avancés dans la mise en ligne de leurs services publics montre que la réussite ne tient pas qu’aux seuls aspects techniques. Reposant sur l’interaction entre les personnes, les processus et les technologies, el...

Danish e-government has for two decades been considered a global leader. Among the various reasons for this Danish success, this article explores the mandatory online self-service and digital post initiative (2012-2015) as one of the effective, strategic contributions in increasing the wider penetration and use of digital public services in Danish...

Taking up the challenge laid down by the High-Level Panel on Digital Cooperation to develop a global framework for measuring digital inclusion, this paper analyses ten current international and national attempts to measure and monitor digital inclusion. Two key questions are asked: What indicators of digital inclusion or inequality exist in current...

A s sociedades continuam sendo transformadas pela rápida integração das tecnologias digitais em seu cotidiano, o que muda, consequentemente, a forma como as pessoas se relacionam com os governos. O número de serviços governamentais on-line 5 que estão disponíveis para crianças e adolescentes, bem como suas famílias, em todo o mundo continua a cresc...

Societies continue to be transformed by the rapid integration of digital technologies, changing the way people engage with governments. The number of online government services5 available to children and families around the world continues to increase, not least as a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic. While digital services present the possibi...

With the ever-increasing pace of technology innovation and rapid digital transformation of society, the impact on digital inclusion, and particularly gender equity is surprisingly under-analyzed. The article outlines and classifies the concept of digital inclusion and its effects on traditionally marginalized groups, specifically, girls and women....

Qatar ranked second in the Arab region on the Government Electronic and Mobile Services Maturity Index 2020, 10th in Western Asia and 66th on the UNDESA E-Government Development Index for the same year. Performing well above the global average on most international indexes what are the Qatari lessons to the measurement of the digital transformation...

Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV 2021) Loukis, Euripidis, Macadar, Marie Anne and Meyerhoff Nielsen, Morten ed. Proceedings of the 14th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV 2021) 2021/10/06-08 Athens. New York: Association for Computing Machinery, 2022. The 14th Interna...

For a representative public sector serving society, personal and proactive service delivery remains a largely uptapped potential in Europe. Personalized service delivery has the potential of increasing the perceived quality and personal value of existing public services. If delivered proactively, it can increase the inclusiveness of service deliver...

This thesis explores how to improve governments’ approach to the successful provision and citizens’ actual use of online public services. The potential of the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the public sector is well-established. Many argue that the world is on the precipice of an ICT-led industrial revolution, but many actors are...

This paper provides a brief overview of how e-government bench- marks have evolved over time, why this has happened and what the consequences have been, with a particular focus on UNDESA’s biennial e-government surveys. Such change is inevitable and in- deed necessary as both technology and government change and the societal challenges they are app...

Australia, Denmark and the Republic of Korea are among the most connected countries in the world, with high-speed infrastructure widely available and with high rates of internet use by businesses and individuals alike. The three countries are also among the front-runners when it comes to the utilisation of Information Communication Technology (ICT)...

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) as an enabler of public sector reform, efficiency and effectiveness gains is a key topic in Public Administration, IT governance and electronic government (e-Government) literature. While the study of small states is a specialised research field of, not much has been written on the application of ICT i...

“Efforts to improve digital inclusion would be greatly helped if there were a clear and agreed set of metrics to monitor it.” -- United Nations Secretary General’s High-level Panel on Digital Cooperation In response to the call put out by the United Nations in The Age of Digital Interdependence, the objective of this report is to present a compreh...

Denmark has consistently ranked in the global top when the digital transformation of the public sector is evaluated, but what are the lessons we can draw from the Danish approach to technology? This paper focus on three key enablers of Danish approach, that is governance, intergovernmental cooperation and benefit realisation. The analysis finds a n...

Today, 1.1 billion people have no formal identity. A full 50% of the world population does not have access to social security. At the same time, the number of 60+ year-olds will double to 2 billion by 2050, and the high levels of youth unemployment will limit the funds available for public services. Technology-driven efficiency and effectiveness in...

This half-day tutorial, to be delivered in English, provides a practical answer to the question: How do governments ensure a minimum level of usability in public service offers online? Two elements are of particular interest here: first, the tutorial focuses on usability guidelines and standards, which have emerged, in the last few years, as a dire...

For over a decade, Electronic Government has been seen as instrumental for a more efficient public sector and more effective public service delivery. The trends in government and public service delivery transformation strategies emphasise a move from organisational silos to joined-up, whole-of-government and citizen-centric service delivery and ser...

From 2007 until 2017, ten editions of the ICEGOV conference have been held in ten cities, in ten countries and economies, across four continents. A total of 1841 papers have been submitted, a yearly average of 90 submitted papers (58%) have been accepted. This ongoing experience paper gives a brief overview of the major trends of all past ICEGOV ed...

As part of a larger study, this research paper answer two key research questions: How are we performing better in bridging the digital divide? What are the trends and most influential factors in digital divide? To answer these two questions, the paper uses ITU data for 209 countries between 2010 and 2015. The descriptive statistics show that the ke...

the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) by the public sector is often highlighted as a key tool for the transformation of public sector service delivery. Recent literature reviews have highlighted the limited understanding of the role played by governance, intergovernmental decision making and cooperation when introducing ICT solution...

This research study aims to assess the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) initiatives in Balochistan. Digital government through use of ICT is slowly diffusing in Balochistan. There is a lack of e-readiness whereas public sector officials are willing to use ICT to enhance their performance. In Balochistan, political, social and econom...

Poster version of conference paper titeld “Digital Government Initiatives in Balochistan: A Case Study, 9thInternational Conference on Information and Communication Technologies and Development (ICTD2017) in collaboration with ACM-Dev, Avari Hotel, Lahore, Pakistan, November 16th – 19th, 2017

This research study 1 aims to analyse the digital government initiatives in Balochistan. The study finds that there is a lack of e-readiness even if public sector officials are willing to use Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) to enhance their performance. In Balochistan, political, social and economic instability are found to be the...

Demographic, economic and other challenges is putting the public sector and service deliver under increasing pressure. ICT as an enabler of increased efficiency, effectiveness and transformation has long been recognized as part of the solution. National experiences show that the potential of ICT has not been fully realized, especially not in relati...

Georgia's achievements in public sector modernisation have been lauded, since 2004, for their ability to increase transparency, fight corruption, ease the way of doing business and improve public service delivery to citizens. Information Communication Technology (ICT) played an important role as an enabler of public sector reform. Despite this, res...

Estonia's use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in the public sector is regularly highlighted as an innovative model worth emulating. Despite this, research into the Estonian governance and inter-governmental cooperation model is limited, with most being 5-10 years old. In addition, recent literature reviews point to a limited understan...

Recent literature reviews highlight a limited understanding of technology use in public service delivery and the role played by governance, intergovernmental decision making and cooperation when introducing ICT solutions and online services to citizens. By comparison, public sector use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Estonia and Ge...

This paper follows the research framework for context-specific public service delivery presented at ICEGOV 2016. The research has been conducted at the UNU-EGOV unit during the last year. The paper presents the research landscape for ICT enabled public service delivery scientific and policy literature. The findings are analyzed and presented in a c...

Burden reduction is a key issue in modern public administrations’ and businesses’ agendas. Compliance with mandatory regulations can have a direct impact on a country’s economic performance, growth, and development. Research in this area, contributes to a better understanding of the implications and context of administrative burden, and increases t...

This paper follows the research framework for context-specific public service delivery presented at ICEGOV 2016 [1]. The research has been conducted at the UNU-EGOV unit during the last year. The paper presents the research landscape for ICT enabled public service delivery scientific and policy literature. The findings are analyzed and presented in...

The 10th International Conference on Theory and Practice of Electronic Governance (ICEGOV2017) took place in New Delhi, India, between 7 and 9 March 2017. The conference was held under the high patronage of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, and it was co-organized by Digital India: National e-Gover...

In 2012, Meyerhoff Nielsen and Igari compared the eGovernment efforts and governance models of Denmark and Japan. Their analysis concluded that Japan could learn from the Danish approach to standardized formats and processes; share components and contents, especially basic technologies such as unique identifiers and digital signatures for coordinat...

In 2012, Meyerhoff Nielsen and Igari compared the eGovernment efforts and governance models of Denmark and Japan. Their analysis concluded that Japan could learn from the Danish approach to standardized formats and processes; share components and contents, especially basic technologies such as unique identifiers and digital signatures for coordinat...

ICT enabled public sector reform and service delivery is actively researched in both classical Public Administration, Information System Management, and eGovernment literature. Multiple studies, research projects, and benchmarking efforts nonetheless highlight gaps in the current literature, not least in the eGovernment maturity models. Research po...

Despite 60 years of use, challenges in relation to information communication technology (ICT) in public administration prevail. Statistics in 18 Eurasian countries show a linear relationship between internet access and frequency of use, and between internet use and the propensity to use private sector services such as online banking, but that this...

ICT as an enabler of public sector reform, efficiency and effectiveness gains is a key topic in Public Administration, IT governance and eGovernment literature. Still, little has been written on the application of ICT in the public section of microstates and -dependencies. This article is part of an ongoing case study on the Faroe Islands. The arti...

With a classical literature review of research on public sector reform, IT governance, and eGovernment, this article aims to identify the role of governance and cooperation in the public sector’s implementation and actual use of citizen eServices. Thirty-four eGovernment stage models with 11 overarching stages and five metacharacteristics are ident...

デンマーク行政サービスの デジタル化 (in Japanese) / Digitization of Danish Administrative Services (2015). In Administrative & Information Systems. Administrative Information Research Institute , vol. 51, p. 10-16, 2015.

The reuse of existing government data in online service provision is an opportunity not yet utilised in many public administrations. Often legal barriers, privacy and security issues are used as an excuse for the lack of personalised and proactive service delivery to citizens. This paper highlights the key challenges in light of the current state o...

The successful use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) in public administration and for service delivery has long been the focus of research, international benchmarking, and various case studies. Similarly, governance and cooperation, and multi-stakeholder models used to implement national strategies for electronic government (eGovernment...

Sixty years after Gammon's analysis, key challenges in relation to ICT use in public administration still prevail. Statistical data analysed show that there is a linear relationship between Internet access and frequency of use. While the linear relationship between Internet use and the propensity to use private sector services such as online bankin...

The Regional School of Public Administration (ReSPA) organised its 6th Annual Conference, with the theme “Good Governance through Participative Democracy and Client Oriented Public Administration, on 19-20th of April, in Danilovgrad, Montenegro. The main conference objective focused on increased awareness on the changing mode of the Governance ove...

MyPage is the citizen’s own personal page and entrance to public administration (local, regional and national) in Denmark. Developed on time and on budget, MyPage is linked to the national citizen portal, borger.dk (BDK). MyPage allow all Danes to: log in using their digital signature; access personal information from tax and health authorities, th...

MyPage is the citizen’s own personal page and entrance to public administration (local, regional and national) in Denmark. Developed on time and on budget, MyPage is linked to the national citizen portal, borger.dk (BDK). MyPage allow all Danes to: log in using their digital signature; access personal information from tax and health authorities, th...

Denmark has been at the forefront of eGovernment development and implementation for the last ten years. ICT facilitated modernisation has been a focus area for increase efficiency and effectiveness since the mid-1980s with eGovernment national initiatives and strategies in place since 1999. Still the current state (May 2010) of public sector digiti...

The digitisation of processes and services within public administrations has for some time been of increasing importance as a means to increase the efficiency and quality of services. It is therefore paramount that IT systems and databases can communicate with one another in a manner that ensures that data transfers can be interpreted by the recipi...