Digital transformation

The importance of digitalization for public administrationOver the past few decades, the digital universe has invaded our daily lives from every angle: online shopping, music and video streaming, remote home monitoring and more.Digitalization is conquering our society and overturning our leisure and work habits (for the latter, at least in certain sectors).But what about the digitalization of government services?How does the shift to digital-the digital transformation-affect public administration?Before addressing these issues, we need to distinguish between the confusingly similar terms digitization and digitalization.They are often used synonymously in practice.As used in the IDHEAP model, and generally in the English-speaking world, the term digitization means the transition (for example, by scanning) from analogue information carriers, such as a paper form or deed, to their digital counterparts.This conversion process is usually aimed at dematerializing tangible, archivable objects or documents.This translates into a number of both positive and negative effects that are perceptible in physical reality: for example, a reduced need for storage and archiving systems on the one hand, and increased energy consumption on the other.However, the logic behind day-to-day activities, such as filling in forms or filing paperwork, is practically unaffected.Digitalization, on the other hand, is a broader term going far beyond the conversion of analogue information carriers to digital media: the word denotes (as the corresponding French term transformation digitale makes clear) a radical shift, a huge change in established ways of working.Digitalization requires a complete rethinking, and even redefinition, of daily routines and practices in order to respond to