Digital government inclusion: Exploring strategies for inclusive government automation

Abstract

The idea of ‘digital government inclusion’ – which builds upon notions of digital and social equity – implies that every person is equally able to participate in and benefit from digital government applications and procedures. In this article, through a policy stages lens, we explore aspects of government automation that complicate various dimensions of equity and inclusion as well as propose mitigating mechanisms that can improve digital government equity and inclusion. For a broader understanding of digital government inclusion, we start with a historical exploration of how data collection and digital government are inherently intertwined with notions of (statistical) normality. We then identify key findings from the broader literature and the articles included in GIQ's special issue on digital government inclusion that point to challenges as well as some potential tools to confront these issues.