Four Short Teaching Cases on Automated Decision-Making in the Public Sector

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Strauss ◽  
Isaiah Wonnenberg
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
The Public ◽  
Teaching Cases ◽  
Automated Decision Making

scholarly journals Digital Discretion: Unpacking Human and Technological Agency in Automated Decision Making in Sweden’s Social Services

2020 ◽  
pp. 089443932098043
Author(s):  
Agneta Ranerup ◽  
Helle Zinner Henriksen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Social Services ◽  
Civil Servants ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
The Public ◽  
Automated Decision Making ◽  
New Situation

The introduction of robotic process automation (RPA) into the public sector has changed civil servants’ daily life and practices. One of these central practices in the public sector is discretion. The shift to a digital mode of discretion calls for an understanding of the new situation. This article presents an empirical case where automated decision making driven by RPA has been implemented in social services in Sweden. It focuses on the aspirational values and effects of the RPA in social services. Context, task, and activities are captured by a detailed analysis of humans and technology. This research finds that digitalization in social services has a positive effect on civil servants’ discretionary practices mainly in terms of their ethical, democratic, and professional values. The long-term effects and the influence on fair and uniform decision making also merit future research. In addition, the article finds that a human–technology hybrid actor redefines social assistance practices. Simplifications are needed to unpack the automated decision-making process because of the technological and theoretical complexities.

Developing a Digital Welfare State: Data Protection and the Use of Automated Decision-Making in the Public Sector across Six EU Countries

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Choroszewicz ◽  
Beata Mäihäniemi
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
The Netherlands ◽  
Welfare State ◽  
Data Protection ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
General Data Protection Regulation ◽  
The Public ◽  
General Data ◽  
Automated Decision Making

This article uses the sociolegal perspective to address current problems surrounding data protection and the experimental use of automated decision-making systems. This article outlines and discusses the hard laws regarding national adaptations of the European General Data Protection Regulation and other regulations as well as the use of automated decision-making in the public sector in six European countries (Denmark, Sweden, Germany, Finland, France, and the Netherlands). Despite its limitations, the General Data Protection Regulation has impacted the geopolitics of the global data market by empowering citizens and data protection authorities to voice their complaints and conduct investigations regarding data breaches. We draw on the Esping-Andersen welfare state typology to advance our understanding of the different approaches of states to citizens’ data protection and data use for automated decision-making between countries in the Nordic regime and the Conservative-Corporatist regime. Our study clearly indicates a need for additional legislation regarding the use of citizens’ data for automated decision-making and regulation of automated decision-making. Our results also indicate that legislation in Finland, Sweden, and Denmark draws upon the mutual trust between public administrations and citizens and thus offers only general guarantees regarding the use of citizens’ data. In contrast, Germany, France, and the Netherlands have enacted a combination of general and sectoral regulations to protect and restrict citizens’ rights. We also identify some problematic national policy responses to the General Data Protection Regulation that empower governments and related institutions to make citizens accountable to states’ stricter obligations and tougher sanctions. The article contributes to the discussion on the current phase of the developing digital welfare state in Europe and the role of new technologies (i.e., automated decision-making) in this phase. We argue that states and public institutions should play a central role in strengthening the social norms associated with data privacy and protection as well as citizens’ right to social security.

scholarly journals Administrative law and the machines of government: judicial review of automated public-sector decision-making

Legal Studies ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 636-655 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Cobbe
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Administrative Law ◽  
Machine Learning Techniques ◽  
Clear Understanding ◽  
The Public ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Sector Decision ◽  
Public Sector Decision Making ◽  
Automated Decision Making

AbstractThe future is likely to see an increase in the public-sector use of automated decision-making systems which employ machine learning techniques. However, there is no clear understanding of how English administrative law will apply to this kind of decision-making. This paper seeks to address the problem by bringing together administrative law, data protection law, and a technical understanding of automated decision-making systems in order to identify some of the questions to ask and factors to consider when reviewing the use of these systems. Due to the relative novelty of automated decision-making in the public sector, this kind of study has not yet been undertaken elsewhere. As a result, this paper provides a starting point for judges, lawyers, and legal academics who wish to understand how to legally assess or review automated decision-making systems and identifies areas where further research is required.

Framing Information Technology Governance in the Public Sector: Opportunities and Challenges

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 89-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khalifa Al-Farsi ◽  
Ramzi EL Haddadeh
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Information Technology ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
It Governance ◽  
Decision Makers ◽  
The Public ◽  
Technology Governance ◽  
Support Organizations ◽  
Information Technology Governance ◽  
Decision Making Processes

Information technology governance is considered one of the innovative practices that can provide support for decision-makers. Interestingly, it has become increasingly a de facto for organizations in seeking to optimise their performance. In principle, information technology governance has emerged to support organizations in the integration of information technology (IT) infrastructures and the delivery of high-quality services. On the other hand, decision-making processes in public sector organisations can be multi-faceted and complex, and decision makers play an important role in implementing technology in the public sector. The aim of this paper is to shed some light on current opportunities and challenges that IT governance is experiencing in the context of public sector services. In this respect, this paper examines the factors influencing the decision-making process to fully appreciate IT governance. Furthermore, this study focuses on combining institutional and individual perspectives to explain how individuals can take decisions in response to institutional influences.

scholarly journals A Framework of High-Stakes Algorithmic Decision-Making for the Public Sector Developed through a Case Study of Child-Welfare

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (CSCW2) ◽  
pp. 1-41
Author(s):  
Devansh Saxena ◽  
Karla Badillo-Urquiola ◽  
Pamela J. Wisniewski ◽  
Shion Guha
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Child Welfare ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
The Public

Professionalism in Defence Acquisition

2017 ◽  
pp. 242-262
Author(s):  
David M Moore
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Professional Knowledge ◽  
Acquisition Performance ◽  
The Public ◽  
Customer Perspective ◽  
Professional Prerogative ◽  
Contextual Setting ◽  
And Training

This chapter discusses the nature of professionalism generally and then in the contextual setting of defence acquisition. Changing socio-political and economic pressures have resulted in a paradigm shift in the way that the public sector based business of defence acquisition is undertaken. There is policy movement towards greater commercialism but the rhetoric has not necessarily led to improvement in performance. Indeed, criticism of acquisition performance has been constant for some time. With improved professionalism, and the legitimisation of the professional prerogative and practice of personnel within the acquisition community, a move away from reliance upon process led decision making, could result in enhanced acquisition performance. This requires the development of relevant knowledge, in a suitable format, such that acquisition professionalism can enable an ‘Intelligent Customer' perspective. It recognises the need for education and training, balanced with relevant experience as the basis of professional knowledge and the concept of an ‘Intelligent Customer'.

scholarly journals Managing divided loyalties in the emerging profession of community engagement

2019 ◽  
pp. 144078331987924
Author(s):  
Helen E Christensen
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Community Engagement ◽  
Ad Hoc ◽  
Public Institutions ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Unique Role ◽  
The Public

Community engagement practitioners design, deliver, report and evaluate processes which invite the community to influence decision-making. It is a unique role, with practitioners serving two masters: the organisations that employ or contract them and the communities whose views they are engaged to elicit. In balancing these interests, practitioners experience a number of tensions in their work, and employ a variety of methods to address them. This article draws on a series of 20 semi-structured interviews with senior practitioners and finds that these tensions mainly relate to: the need to serve both the community and the engagement sponsor, their position in either the public sector or as a private consultants to the public sector, and the constraints and behaviours of public institutions. They way in which they manage these is relatively ad hoc, although it is often informed by principles and position.

Underlying values and competencies of public and private sector managers

2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 371-387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean D. Darling ◽  
J. Barton Cunningham
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Public Sector ◽  
Private Sector ◽  
Critical Incident ◽  
Visionary Leadership ◽  
Political Environment ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Public ◽  
Public And Private Sector

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify unique values and competencies linked to private and public sector environments. Design/methodology/approach This study is based on critical incident interviews with a sample of senior leaders who had experience in both the public and private sectors. Findings The findings illustrate distinct public and private sector relevant competencies that reflect the unique values of their organizations and the character of the organization’s environments. This paper suggests a range of distinct public sector competencies including: managing competing interests, managing the political environment, communicating in a political environment, interpersonal motivational skills, adding value for clients, and impact assessment in decision-making. These were very different than those identified as critical for the private sector environment: business acumen, visionary leadership, marketing communication, market acumen, interpersonal communication, client service, and timely and opportunistic decision-making. Private sector competencies reflect private sector environments where goals need to be specifically defined and implemented in a timely manner related to making a profit and surviving in a competitive environment. Public sector competencies are driven by environments exhibiting more complex and unresolvable problems and the need to respond to conflicting publics and serving the public good while surviving in a political environment. Originality/value A key message of this study is that competency frameworks need to be connected to the organization’s unique environments and the values that managers are seeking to achieve. This is particularly important for public organizations that have more complex and changing environments.

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