Digital Governance in a Multi-level and Multi-actor Ecosystem

The rapid expansion of digital technologies has paved the way for new forms of organising, facilitated by increased data and knowledge exchange between individuals and organisations. However, this poses major new challenges for designing effective governance mechanisms. Recent studies within information systems illustrate a multi-actor and multi-layer system of digital infrastructure. These studies show that the rapid digital transformation creates a gap between digital solutions, marked and policy response which leaves governments “lagging behind” in this policy field. These studies address the need to develop governance strategies to adopt to rapid changes in citizens- and marked needs, but at the same time develop a policy securing predictable digital solutions. Governance strategies to regulate rapid transformation within this policy field of digital infrastructure and digital solutions calls for coordination and meta-governance where flexibility and control can be combined. This is an ecosystem consisting of international markets, international policy, and also national and local priorities. Governments at local, national, and international levels are also expected to cross-leverage and coordinate regulations. This transformative role pressures States at all levels to adapt their policymaking and implementation capacities and capabilities. Some of these capacities and capabilities concern internal government processes such as setting up new coordination structures, developing new data capabilities, or rethinking performance measurement practices to enable innovative action. Others may concern the ways governments are engaged with the politics of technology and the future of economic growth (and other measures of societal success) as well as external relationships with citizens and the private sector, which often challenges local governance. We are at the crucial point in our development where governments need to possess capacities and capabilities for “agile stability”, i.e. capacities and capabilities to provide and sustain a long-term and stable vision and direction for socio-economic development while allowing for constant agile search and discovery of ever better ways of doing things and delivering the expected results. We invite papers that explore multifaceted dimensions of governance capacities and capabilities for societal transformations – especially concerning the adaption of local policy within this ecosystem where a marked oriented multi-actor competition and multi-level governance and needs coordination.