A Case Study of Digital Transformation of Danish Public Services: Actors and Policies

Abstract

This paper investigates the policies and actors that have contributed to achieving the digital transformation in Danish public administration as it is reflected by the current 2018 DESI index (European Commission, 2018). The study is part of a European Horizon 2020 project entitled Co-Val (Understanding value co-creation in public services for transforming European public administrations) and reports some partial results of WP3 on digital transformation in European public administrations (http://www.co-val.eu/)1. The study uses a qualitative methodology in the form of case study (Yin, 2009). In particular, a longitudinal case study and process tracing methodology is used to identify the key factors. The data are secondary data consisting of digital transformation strategies, policies and related documents and press releases retrieved on official governmental websites. The case study provides an overview of Denmark’s digitalization position in relation to the rest of EU, the basic digital policies and strategies that the Danish government has undertaken over the last two decades as well as an account of the key stakeholders involved in such a process.