EIBURS - EIB University Research Sponsorship Programme Line of research: Development of public e-services in Europe

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1 EIBURS - EIB University Research Sponsorship Programme Line of research: Development of public e-services in Europe TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION AND INNOVATION IN PUBLIC SERVICES. THE CASE OF E-SERVICES, University of Urbino, Italy Index 1. PROGRAMME DESCRIPTION LETTER FROM THE HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT ACCEPTING THE CONDITIONS OF THE COMPETITION THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS AND QUANTITATIVE METHODS THE DIFFUSION OF EIBURS ACTIVITIES: COURSES, SEMINARS, AND CONFERENCES THE BUDGET INFORMATION ON ACTIVITIES WITH RESEARCH NETWORKS RELATED TO THE PROPOSED TOPIC THAT COULD REQUIRE FINANCIAL SUPPORT HOSTING CONDITIONS OFFERED TO EIB STAFF TRAINEES TO THE EIB... 8 Appendix A STATEMENT OF COMMITTMENT... 9 Appendix B DESCRIPTION OF THE DEPARTMENT Appendix C BUDGET Appendix D GANTT OF THE PROJECT

2 1. PROGRAMME DESCRIPTION Analysts agree that improving Public Administrations (PAs) in terms of more transparency in procedures and decision making processes as well as higher efficiency of their services to citizens and business enterprises has a positive influence on the economy and on society. This issue has then ranked high in the EU political agenda to renew the Lisbon Strategy. The use of digital technologies at all levels of PAs and the development of e-services are viewed as key aspects of this transformation. The project will focus on two major research areas: a) state-of-art of the development of e-services across EU countries, and b) quantitative and qualitative analysis of factors affecting the actual and potential provision of public e-services. Firstly, the project will review the empirical studies on e-service development and diffusion to shed light on the considerable heterogeneity which exists across countries and regions in delivering on-line public services. Using available indicators and developing new ones, the aim of this part of the project will be to draw a picture of the degree of implementation of on-line services offered by PAs at the local, regional and national levels. In particular, the following activities will be carried out: a1) provide a comprehensive classification of the different types of on-line services currently developed for PAs activities (e-government, e-health, e-learning) in terms of such characteristics as information content, data sharing, interactivity, and the like; a2) review the main exercises carried out by different institutions to measure e-service development and diffusion; a3) draw a comprehensive ranking of EU countries in terms of PAs on-line service provision, using comparable indicators developed from available datasets. Secondly, the project will examine the factors that are associated to the decisions of PAs concerning whether and how to get involved into e-services activities. Econometric evaluation tools as well as case study methodologies will be used. The analysis will be carried out at different levels of aggregation and will include: a detailed assessment of public e-services in a single country (Italy), several case studies on innovative service provision by individual PAs, and an exploratory comparative survey of public e-service across different EU countries. At all levels of analysis, we shall consider the co-evolution of internal competencies accumulated by providers of different categories of public e-services (e-government, e-health, e-learning) with the more general contexts in which they are active. A specific attention will be given to different context-specific factors affecting public e-service provision, such as: EU initiatives, national and sub-national actions promoting the efficiency of public sector and technological 2

3 development of infrastructures; the characteristics and strategies of private suppliers and users of ICT tools; the nature and evolution of partnerships between public and private institutions in different sectors where the development of e-services may play a crucial role. More precisely the following activities will be carried out: b1) a close-up on public e-service provision in Italy, with a consideration of e-government services as a special case. This will be conducted by merging two different surveys: the survey conducted by Italy s National Bureau of Statistics (Istat) in 2006 and 2008 on the diffusion and usage of ICT in some three thousands Italian local PAs; and the survey carried out by the National Centre for the Information Technology in the Public Administration (Cnipa) on the official websites of some two thousands Italian PAs, that includes information on more than two hundred on-line services provided by the municipalities. Data on contextual (mainly regional) variables will be taken from different surveys. We shall then use synthetic indicators based on the two Istat surveys and the Cnipa one to analyse the evolution of ICT endowment and usage in Italian PAs on one side (back-office dimension) and the provision of on-line public services (frontoffice dimension). A further step will be to specify and estimate a micro-econometric model using the dataset obtained as the intersection of the Cnipa dataset with the two Istat surveys to assess how PAs decision to provide digitalized front-office services is affected by different factors, at the municipality and contextual levels; b2) development of an innovative dataset on several quali-quantitative aspects of public e- services across some EU countries to be used as a basis for an exploratory study. From this perspective, we shall develop micro-level indicators of vertical as well as horizontal service platforms. The former involve applications used within individual sectors: egovernment, ehealth and Telemedicine, digital School and University (elearning), Urban Mobility (Infomobility), Bureaucracy for business (ebusiness), eenergy, and etourism. The latter (horizontal platforms) are usable in different areas where PAs are active (hence they can be applied in the provision of several vertical services): eauthentication, eprocurement, Interoperability and applicative Cooperation, Paperless, On line transactions. These platforms play a key role in the availability of interactive services and in the evolution of public sector activities. Based on this distinction we shall classify services according to their technological and functional characteristics, to their degree of adoption and use by users and the community of interest, and to their actual and potential impact on the relevant sectors. The survey will be conducted at both a quantitative and qualitative level. Data collection will take place through telephone interviews of managers of a sample of public administrations at the local level (municipalities, schools, universities, healthcare, public transport companies). Moreover, we shall carry out a comprehensive review of policies and 3

4 sectoral plans of the EU countries, their progress through acquisition of programming documentation. Finally case studies will be examined for each service category investigated; b3) develop a taxonomy of the different sets of actors involved in Public Private Partnerships (PPP). We shall identify their respective roles and interests and discuss the factors that bring PPP e-services to success or failure, analyzing the determinants of their performance, the expected benefits and the motivations for Business involvement in PPP. Factors underlying the choice between PPPs and other contractual arrangements (including service sharing and outsourcing) will be examined, from the perspective of both private and public entities involved. Data will be collected from a variety of sources including the project financers, sponsors, beneficiaries and telephone interviews with managers of a sample of European ICT businesses and public administrations at the local level (municipalities, schools, universities, healthcare, public transportation companies). Moreover, a review of empirical studies will be carried out for each sector (egovernment, ehealth, elearning, Infomobility, ebusiness, eenergy, and etourism). This will allow us to extend the analysis well beyond the scope of previous works on the subject, as in the case of the Resource Book on PPP case studies (European Commission, 2004) which refers only to Water and Wastewater Management, Solid Waste Management and Transport sectors. Finally, quali-quantitative information gathered through case studies will be organised according to various classification criteria including value of investment, contract duration, transfer of responsibility, demand risk, availability risk and contract type. Throughout all the stages of the project, existing surveys and database on the provision and diffusion of public e-services will be accessed and reviewed. Among the various sources available some relevant examples are: i) the OECD E-Government Project, launched in 2001, which produces reports on best practices and carries out country-level reviews on e- government; ii) the OECD Telecommunications Database, yearly updated, which supplies time-series data covering thirty OECD Member countries on Telecommunications and IT indicators; iii) the OECD Key ICT Indicators, updated annually; iv) the OECD Community Survey on ICT Usage and e-commerce in Enterprises, yearly updated; v) the Eurostat Egovernment, yearly updated, which includes time-series data at EU national level on e- government on-line availability, e-government usage by individuals and enterprises, and the like; vi) the ISTAT (Italian National Bureau of Statistics) and CNIPA (National Centre for the Information Technology in the Public Administration) Surveys on the diffusion and usage of ICT and e-services in Italian central and local Public Administrations ; vii) the Italian annual 4

5 survey on the diffusion of the various platforms of on-line services conducted by Between, an ITIC Group (International Telecommunication & IT Consultant Group) consultancy company. In particular, we shall purchase the Between survey Osservatorio Piattaforme dei Servizi ( Service e-platforms Survey ) which includes data on Infomobility (interviews with 21 Region Governments, 107 municipalities, 110 public transportation companies), e-certification (sample survey of 1,000 municipalities with representativeness at regional level), e-education (interviews with officers of 21 Regional administrations and a sample survey of 800 schools with representativeness at the regional level), ehealth (interviews with 21 Region Governments and a web survey of 279 health units and hospitals), and etourism (web survey and interviews with 21 Region Governments). Moreover, other vertical as well as horizontal service platforms will be investigated. The originality of the project lies in three important aspects. First of all, gathering together existing and original dataset it will provide a comprehensive state-of-the-art of e-service development across EU countries. We shall try to overcome a major drawback of existing statistics and benchmarking studies of public e-services, which are largely based on the count of services provided on line. Although these represent a valuable source of data, the main limitation of these studies is that they focus on the visible interface between public service providers and their clients, they only partially capture the quality of services offered, and neglect more complex back office changes. The on-line availability of e-service is only one of the indicators of technical advancements of public administrations and can hardly be considered a determining factor for further diffusion of e-services. Other important elements to be considered are the integration of all actors in the chain of production and service delivery, the actual adoption of services by users and the economic impact of e-services actually produced. The originality of this project also relates to the possibility of disentangling factors associated with PAs decision to innovate and factors associated with specific characteristics of innovation that are carried out by public service providers. While promoting competencies and context specific characteristics of the former type should be of paramount importance in areas where e-services have not yet been offered or are at the embryonic stage of development; singling out the latter factors, will provide guidance for further developing and improving digitalised front office services where these are already available. A third, and final, motive of interest is that the study will capture the role of a variety of technical, organisational and institutional aspects affecting the diffusion of public e-services. The development of public e-services is a complex phenomenon, encompassing an extremely large sets of decision making processes affected inter alia by political and institutional factors which can hardly be observed. By focusing on e-government the project will be able to measure 5

6 and explore a relevant and emerging part of innovative activities in this domain, paving the way to a more comprehensive understanding of this phenomenon. 2. LETTER FROM THE HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT ACCEPTING THE CONDITIONS OF THE COMPETITION See Appendix A. 3. THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS AND QUANTITATIVE METHODS The resources of the (DEQM) of the University of Urbino involved in the project include 2 full professors, 1 contract professor, 2 research fellows, 1 part-time administrative officer and 3 scholars from other institutions. The project will be coordinated by Professor Antonello Zanfei (Department of Economics and Quantitative Methods, University of Urbino, via Saffi 42, 61029, Urbino, Italy, Tel. +39(0) , Fax +39(0) , antonello.zanfei@uniurb.it). For a detailed description of the activities of the DEQM on the research line proposed, including the CV and dedication of the various professors and researchers attached to the centre see Appendix B. 4. THE DIFFUSION OF EIBURS ACTIVITIES: COURSES, SEMINARS, AND CONFERENCES Within eight weeks from the official start-up of the project, a kick-off meeting will be hosted by the DEQM at the University of Urbino. An EIBURS representative will be invited to join the meeting. During the meeting a detailed plan for the first year will be discussed and agreed. Days of training, in the forms of seminars and lectures, will be organized each year. Moreover, the project will promote at least 3 workshops (one per year) and one final conference. These events will be organised together with the EIB unit involved in the project. Representatives of local, national and international public institutions will be invited by researchers to discuss on the results of the project. The results of the research questions previously defined will be summarized in at least two research papers for each year of the project. Some of the papers will then be submitted to refereed economic journals. A book or a special issue of an international journal will be considered for the dissemination of results. The diffusion of information about the project activities will be supported by a newly designed website of the project. The website will provide the main information and details on 6

7 the project: research activities and dissemination of results; research team and research networks involved in the project; related events and news. 5. THE BUDGET An indicative annual budget of the expenditure to be assigned to the sponsorship during the three-year period is reported in Appendix C. A list of eleven cost items has been provided and an indicative amount of financial resources has been attached to each item for every year of the project. The list includes: contracts for two full-time research fellows per year and those for the university personnel involved in the project; the acquisition of computing facilities and that of the databases illustrated above; the cost of submitting the papers to referred journals and that of publishing the final book; the organization of seminars, workshops and the final conference, including the travel and accommodation costs of University and EIB members; the participation in national and international conferences and workshops; hospitality offered to EIB fellows, including travel and accommodation costs, and the cost of a university trainee to the EIB (again, the estimated amount includes travel and accommodation costs); and, finally, overheads amounting at 10% of total cost of the project, including mail, phone, fax, and stationary. 6. INFORMATION ON ACTIVITIES WITH RESEARCH NETWORKS RELATED TO THE PROPOSED TOPIC THAT COULD REQUIRE FINANCIAL SUPPORT DEQM is currently involved in the project The Role of Dynamic Capabilities in Fast Changing Environments: Implications for Sectoral Strategies and the Firm Organization, carried out by a network of universities including the University of Catania, the Bocconi University, the University of Cagliari, and the Polytechnic University of Milan. The research focuses on the determinants of the development of a particular type of innovative activities, namely e-government services supplied by local public administrations. Started in 2008, the project ends in 2010 and is sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Research and University. This research can be viewed as complementary to the EIBURS project and the links between the two lines of research can be exploited through some coordinated activities (research papers, seminars, conferences) that might be partially sponsored by the EIBURS. We shall exploit scientific and professional relationships with distinguished scholars from different national and international institutions which will be invited at seminars and at the final conference to discuss research methodologies as well as intermediate and final results. 7

8 7. HOSTING CONDITIONS OFFERED TO EIB STAFF As specified in the budget, the DEQM can host a EIB researcher per year in its premises, providing financial contribution for travel and accommodation expenses. This can be an opportunity for EIB researchers to be directly involved in the EIBURS project and to participate in the research activity, workshops and conferences organised by the Department. 8. TRAINEES TO THE EIB The project includes 2 full-time research fellows whose activity will be dedicated at the start-up of the research in the first year. In the second and third year, they can spend some months at the EIB premises (up to one month equivalent per year). This will provide co-ordination between the research carried out by the DEQM team for the EIBURS project and the typical activity of the EIB, so guaranteeing that the former will meet the EIB needs. At the same time, the DEQM researchers can be involved in traineeship programs on the general EIB activity. For a breakdown of the structure of the project including the list of deliverables, see Appendix D. 8

9 Appendix A STATEMENT OF COMMITTMENT 9

10 Appendix B DESCRIPTION OF THE DEPARTMENT THE DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS AND QUANTITATIVE METHODS (DEQM) The (DEQM) is part of the Faculty of Economics at the University of Urbino (UNIURB). The department currently hosts 16 full professors, 5 senior researchers, and 7 junior researchers in different fields of economics, such as economic theory, applied economics, industrial organisation, economics of technical change, innovation diffusion, regional economics and economics of innovation, as well as in mathematics, finance and statistics. The Department publishes a Working Paper series in Economics, Mathematics and Statistics and participates in a PhD program in Economics taught at the Polytechnic University of Marche. In recent years the department has coordinated an FP5 project on The structure of innovation and economic performance indicators (SIEPI), and participated in a number of national and regional projects on the diffusion of ICT in private and public sectors: Capacità dinamiche e diffusione delle attività innovative nel settore pubblico (Dynamic capabilities and the diffusion of innovative activities in the Public Sector); Un approccio settoriale alla diffusione delle ICT: evidenza empirica nelle imprese italiane (A sectoral approach to the diffusion of ICT: empirical evidence on Italian firms); Indagine conoscitiva sulla diffusione dell ICT nella Pubblica Amministrazione delle Marche (Survey on the diffusion of ICT in the Public Administration of the Marche Region). Among others, people at DEQM involved in this project have also participated in two FP6 projects on subjects directly or indirectly related to the topic of this call, including: Democracy in Europe and the Mobilization of Society (DEMOS) and Inequality: mechanisms, effects and policies (INEQ); and in a number of TSER projects, namely: Dynamic capabilities growth and long term performance competitiveness of European firms: a diagnosis and the implications for EU policies (DYNACOM); From Science to Products ; The Relationships between Science and Technology Policies and Broad Industrial Policy ; Thematic Network, Research Network for Economic Studies on Technical Change and Innovation; Assessing the Impact of Technology and Globalisation: the Effects on Growth and Employment (AITEG).DG III- ESTO, An Integrated Appraisal Methodology on the Environment, Innovation and Competitiveness, in collaboration with CEST (UK) and IPTS (E); DG XII-STRATA, New Policy Rationales for the Support of Public Research in the EU. Participation in these projects has contributed to build strong experience in project management and coordination. The group of senior and junior researchers which is specifically involved in this project, has a longstanding experience of collaboration and has developed a specific experience on theoretical work and empirical analysis in measurement of determinants, effects and diffusion of innovation in the ICT sector and in the e-government sector. Over the last decade, the department staff developed international connections in research, including European Network on the Economics of Technological and Institutional Change (EUNETIC) promoted by the Université L. Pasteur de Strasbourg, European Science and Technology Observatory (ESTO) 10

11 promoted by the European Commission, and the Network on Innovation Studies promoted by TIK (University of Oslo). DEMQ members have connections with the EIB-sponsored consortium UNIMED - Mediterranean Universities Union - founded in October 1991, which associates 84 Universities of the countries of the Mediterranean basin, including the University of Urbino which has joined in May Favouring the mobility and the exchange of human resources, UNIMED has the aim of promoting, in a multidisciplinary perspective, the interuniversity research and education within the fields of cultural heritage conservation and development, tourism, environment, health, economics as well as new technologies, thus contributing to the integration process between the two Mediterranean shores. Some of the scholars, as individuals and members of the department, took part in some international networks and have been involved in research promoted by other national and international institutions such as: Rand Corp. (Santa Monica, USA), SIEPR (Stanford University, USA), European Science Foundation, CNR (National Research Council), MIUR (Italian Ministry of Research and University), Formez (National Centre of training and study), CRC Network (Regional Competence Centres for the egovernment and the Information Society), ISTAT (National Bureau of Statistics), CNIPA (National Centre for Information technology in the Public Administration), IPTS (Institute for Prospective Technological Studies - European Commission), and AGCM (Italian Competition Authority). Within the EIBURS project, the DEQM team will include also distinguished scholars from other institutions, who have established research links with DEQM, such as Davide Arduini (CNIPA and Interregional Center for Information, Geographic and Statistical Systems, CISIS), Gerolamo Giungato (ISTAT, National Bureau of Statistics, Rome), Mario Denni (AGCM, Italian Competition Authority, Rome), and Annaflavia Bianchi (Faber Industria e Futuro Foundation, Bologna, and University of Ferrara) and will provide inputs on specific research activities. A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SOME PROJECTS ON TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATION AND ICT Il ruolo delle capacità dinamiche in ambienti in continua evoluzione e il loro influsso sulle strategie innovative e sui processi organizzativi (The Role of Dynamic Capabilities in Fast Changing Environments: Implications for Sectoral Strategies and the Firm Organization) Sub-project: capacità dinamiche e diffusione delle attività innovative nel settore pubblico (dynamic capabilities and the diffusion of innovative activities in the Public Sector) Financial support: Italian Ministry of Research and University Time span of the project:

12 Abstract: the research has been carried out in collaboration with the University of Urbino and Italy s National Bureau of Statistics (ISTAT). Using data on 1,176 Italian municipalities in 2005, the research discusses a number of factors associated with the development of a particular type of innovative activities, namely e-government services supplied by local public administrations (PAs). The research finds out that municipalities which get involved into e-government are larger, carry out more in-house ICT activities and are more likely to have intra-net infrastructures, relative to PAs that do not offer front office digitalised services. They are also generally located in regions with relatively large shares of firms using or producing ICT, where many other municipalities offer digitalised services, and where concentration of inhabitants in metropolitan areas is not very high. The range and quality of e-government services supplied by local PAs tend to increase with their stock of ICT competencies, with their efforts to train workers, and with their ability to organise efficient interfaces with end-users. Moreover, there is a correlation between the range and quality of e-government services offered and the broadband infrastructure development of the geographic area in which local PAs are located. In more general terms, the research shows that the combination of internal competencies and context specific factors is different when explaining the decision to start e-government activities vs. the intensity of such activities. Regional factors, relating to both demand and supply of services, appear to affect only the decision to enter e-government activities. Competencies needed to expand and improve the quality of services are much more numerous and complex than the ones associated with the mere decision to start e-government activities. Dissemination of results: among others, a paper presented was presented at the 2008 EAEPE Conference Labour, Institutions and Growth in a Global Knowledge Economy, Rome, November 6-8 and accepted at the 2009 EMAEE Conference Evolution, Behavior and Organizations, Volksbad Jena, May Le ICT per la qualificazione delle Piccole Imprese Marchigiane (ICT and SME in the Marche Region) Sub-project: Un approccio settoriale alla diffusione delle ICT: evidenza empirica nelle imprese italiane (A Sectoral approach to the diffusion of ICT: empirical evidence on Italian firms) Financial support: Marche Region Government Time span of the project: Abstract: the research has been carried out in collaboration with the University of Urbino and Italy s National Bureau of Statistics (ISTAT). It suggests that understanding of ICT adoption in the Italian economy can benefit from complementary insights derived from some of the most 12

13 important theoretical approaches to sectoral diffusion of innovation (epidemic, probit and systemic). As regards the epidemic models the key variables are firms market performance indicators. Probit models call our attention to the size of user firms, their ability to utilize technology and the degree of industrial concentration. Systemic models emphasise the role played by the public sector, which is viewed as catalyst and stimulator of innovative activities in the industrial system, and by the evolution of the technological and infrastructural context in which users are active. The research utilizes a composite indicator, which describes the use of ICT in a sample of 1947 Italian firms in 2004 and 2005, as the dependent variable for an econometric exercise which allows to assess the importance of factors identified in the different approaches emerging from the existing literature. Data are drawn from the Statistical survey on Information and Communication Technologies within firms produced by Italy s National Bureau of Statistics Dissemination of results: among others, a paper presented was presented at the 2007 DRUID Summer Conference Appropriability, Proximity, Routines and Innovation, Copenhagen CBS, Denmark, June Innovazione, domanda e prestazioni economiche (Innovation, demand and economic performance) Sub-project: La diffusione dell egovernment presso i comuni italiani. Il ruolo dei legami fra servizi di back e front office (The diffusion of egovernment in public administration bodies. The links between back and front office services) Financial support: Italian Ministry of Research and University Time span of the project: Abstract: the research has been carried out in collaboration with the University of Urbino and Italy s National Bureau of Statistics (ISTAT). The research contributes to explaining the dynamics of egovernment diffusion in Italian municipalities which play a key role at the interface between citizens and Local Public Administrations. By defining appropriate synthetic indicators, the research analyses the relationships between the digitalisation of back office services in terms of ICT equipment and use as well as inner work process re-engineering and front office services - in terms of quantity and interactivity of on line services provided through the official web site of municipalities. The research make use of two integrated datasets. The first dataset, which was set up by ISTAT, is made up of a final sample of 3,323 administrative bodies, representing the 8,100 Italian municipalities. The second one was set up by the so called RCC Observatory (Regional Competence Centres for egovernment and the Information Society) and it is made up of an overall sample of 1,825 municipalities. It contains precise information on a set of online services provided 13

14 by the official websites of municipal administrations with more than 10,000 inhabitants. Research provides a contribution to the political debate about the priority of investing in front and back office services so as to enhance a more effective introduction of new technologies in public sector Dissemination of results: among others, a paper presented was presented at the workshop on Innovation, demand and economic performance, Bocconi University, Milan, 2005 November 24. The structure of innovation and economic performance indicators (SIEPI) Financial support: EU, FP5 Time span of the project: Abstract: The SIEPI Project has been coordinated by DEMQ, University of Urbino, and carried out in collaboration with the Centre for Technology, Innovation and Culture (Oslo), the Fraunhofer Institute for Systems and Innovation Research (Frankfurt), and the Faculty Technology Management (Eindhoven). It aimed at developing new indicators of innovation, capable to describe the variety of efforts devoted to technological change and the resulting economic performance in terms of output and productivity growth, employment patterns and international production. These indicators have been developed at the sectoral level for both manufacturing and service industries, including ICT based tools and service. SIEPI has developed a methodology for the exploitation of data from the second Community Innovation Survey (CIS 2) made available by national statistical sources associated to the project. The aims of the project include: advancing the understanding of S&T indicators, address the methodological questions on innovation and performance research, produce and analyse the new sectoral database based on CIS 2, produce a new set of indicators on innovation and economic performance, relevant for policy making and assure their wide dissemination and usage, provide guidelines for the use of S&T indicators for RTD policy making. The research has allowed the systematic use of the results of the Community Innovation Survey 2 at the industry level with a degree of disaggregation about twice as much as the one previously available from EUROSTAT Dissemination of results: among others, a paper presented was presented at a number of international conferences including the 2004 International Schumpeter Society Conference Innovation, Industrial Dynamics and Structural Evolution: Schumpeterian Legacies, Bocconi University, Milan, June 9-12, and the 2005 European International Business Academy Conference "Landscapes and Mindscapes in a Globalised World", Oslo December. 14

15 Indagine conoscitiva sulla diffusione dell ICT nella Pubblica Amministrazione delle Marche (Survey on the diffusion of ICT in the Public Administration of the Marche Region) Financial support: Formez (National Centre of training and study) Italian Ministry for Innovation and Technologies Time span of the project: Abstract: focussing attention on the case of local administration in the Marche Region, the research offers some insight and interpretation elements concerning the more general process of the ICT diffusion in PA and aims to further understanding of factors that favour and inhibit the development of e-government applications and services. As well, the research offers some evaluations concerning areas in which policy makers could intervene to remove obstacles and improve opportunities linked to these technologies and services. Public Administrations must take on the important role of purchaser of ICT tools and services in order to be able to deliver their digital services. In this light, the public purchaser increasingly takes on the flexible and dynamic role of intermediary between demand for ICT service from families and businesses and the supply of technology and services offered by private companies. Three types of e-government services were considered in estimating the intensity of its adoption among the sample towns: Front-Office services; local Back-Office services and central Back-Office services. In order to evaluate the intensity with which each town uses e-government services it was developed a synthetic index of the diffusion of these services. By applying a cluster analysis it was possible to identify three different types of town, statistically significantly differentiated in terms of intensity of adoption of e-government services. To facilitate reading, it was defined towns falling on average into the higher segment of the diffusion index as innovators. Towns falling on average into the lower segment of the diffusion index are defined as disinterested. Towns falling into the intermediate category are defined as abiding : as they are neither convinced innovators nor, substantially, disinterested in undertaking the path towards e-government Dissemination of results: among others, a paper presented was presented at the workshop on Spatial Econometrics and Statistics, Luiss Business School, Rome, 2004 May RESEARCH STAFF ANTONELLO ZANFEI is Professor of Industrial Economics at University of Urbino, DEMQ, and Associate member of the European Science and Technology Observatory (ESTO). He has been Visiting Scholar at Stanford University, Dept. of Economics, and CEPR, in 1988 and visiting Professor at the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Telecommunications, Paris, in 1991, and at the Bureau d'economie Theorique et Appliquée, Université L.Pasteur, Strasbourg, in 1994, 1997 and 15

16 1998, at Southbank University, London in 2003 and 2004, at the Institute for International Integration Studies, Trinity College, Dublin and at the Instituto Complutense Estudios Internacionales, Madrid in 2004 and 2008, and at SPRU, Sussex University, in 2004 and His research focuses on innovation, market structure and industrial dynamics, inter-firm agreements and learning, international technology transfer, innovation diffusion, economics of multinational enterprises, international competitiveness assessment. In recent years he has been involved in several research projects such as Dynamic capabilities growth and long term performance competitiveness of European firms (Dynacom), DGXII, contract n.soe1-ct (scientist in charge for the Urbino unit, ); A methodology for appraising the sustainability implications of EC initiatives, EC-JRC project, (member of an international panel of experts coordinated by the Institute of Perspective Technology and Science - IPTS Sevilla, 2000); Assessing the impact of technological innovation and globalisation (AITEG), Research DG, contract n. HPSE-CT (scientist in charge for the Urbino unit, ); as well as scientific coordinator of various national projects funded by the Italian Ministry of Research and University. Since 2001 he has been responsible for the Observatory on Economics of Information and Communication Technologies, published in Economia e politica industriale, a major Italian journal of industrial economics. Moreover, he coordinated in a research project on the development of the local markets of Information and Communication Technology promoted by Bocconi University and funded by leading telecommunications operators. He co-authored several working papers on the diffusion of ICT in the private and public sectors, and on the introduction of e-government services in Italy. His main publications include: a chapter in the Oxford Handbook of Innovation, edited by J.Fagerberg, D.Mowery, and R.Nelson, Oxford University Press, 2005; a book co-authored (with D.Castellani) on Multinational firms Innovation and productivity, E.Elgar, 2007; and a number of articles published in international journals (Journal of International Economics, Journal of Economic Behavior and Organisation, Research Policy, the Journal of Industry Studies, Revue d'economie Industrielle, Economics of Innovation and New Technology, Applied Economics Quarterly, Applied Economics Letters, The World Economy, and the Cambridge Journal of Economics). MARIO PIANTA is Professor of Economic Policy and Economics of Innovation at the University of Urbino, (DEMQ). He holds a Ph.D. from the London School of Economics (1984) and has been Visiting Scholar at the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington DC (1986), Research Fellow at Columbia University, New York ( ), Braudel Fellow at the European University Institute ( ) and Visiting Fellow at the Centre for International Studies of the London School of Economics (2007). He works on technological change, employment, and international economic policy. He has been a consultant for the OECD, the ILO, UNRISD, the European Commission and the Bank of Italy. He participated in many European project funded over the past FP and he has been the coordinator of the EU research 16

17 project The structure of innovation and economic performance indicators (SIEPI), He has published widely in economic journals and is the author of several books, including The Technological Specialization of Advanced Countries. A Report to the EC on International Science and Technology Activities, preface by Jacques Delors (co-author, Kluwer, 1992); The employment impact of innovation. Evidence and policy. (co-editor, Routledge, 2000). Recent works include the chapter 'Innovation and employment', in the Oxford Handbook of Innovation (OUP, 2005), and the book Innovazione tecnologica e sviluppo industriale in Italia nel secondo dopoguerra (co-author, Laterza, 2007), and a thematic paper for the 2009 Innovation scoreboard (co-authored with F. Bogliacino) on Innovation performances in Europe: a long term perspective. DAVIDE ARDUINI since 2008, is contract Professor of International Industrial Economics at University of Urbino and collaborates with the Interregional Center for Information, Geographic and Statistical Systems (CISIS). He holds a PhD in Economics (2006) and Master of Science in Economics (2003) from Polytechnic University of Marche. In recent years he has been involved in several collaborations with the following institutions: the National Centre for Information technology in the Public Administration CNIPA ( ); the Formez - National Centre of training and study ( ); the Development Society of Marche Region Government ( ). In the period he was the responsible of CNIPA for the ICT survey on local public Authorities (Regions, Provinces, Municipalities) and contributed to the ISTAT methodology (National Bureau of Statistics). Moreover, he worked on several research projects regarding The Role of Dynamic Capabilities in Fast Changing Environments: Implications for Sectoral Strategies and the Firm Organization ( ), ICT and SME in the Marche Region ( ) and Innovation, demand and economic performance ( ) in collaboration with the University of Urbino, Inequality: mechanisms, effects, policies in collaboration with the University of Siena ( ), Trans Adriatic Communication Line in collaboration with Marche Region Government ( ) (INTERREG III A). His research focus on Economics of technical change and technology policy, innovation diffusion, patterns of innovation and industrial dynamics in the ICT sector and in the egovernment sector, market structure and industrial dynamics, regional economics. He worked on several papers, among which: An exploratory analysis of egovernment diffusion in Italian Municipalities (co-author, 2009), The diffusion of egovernment in public administration bodies. The links between back and front office services (co-author, 2008), The diffusion of ICT in Italy: firm level and industrial system evidences (co-author, 2006), Technology Adoption and Innovation in Public Services. The Case of egovernment in Italy, (co-author, submitted to Information Economics and Policy). He worked on several reports, among which: Regional Plan for broadband and digital divide overcoming (co-author, Marche Region Government, 2008), Equipments and use of ICT in Municipalities (co-author, 2006), Equipments and use of ICT in households and firms (co-author, 2006), Survey on the diffusion of ICT in the Public Administration of the Marche Region (co-author, 2003). 17

18 ANNAFLAVIA BIANCHI is economist and scientific coordinator at the Faber Industria e Futuro Foundation in Bologna, where she carries out studies on technology foresight and company level innovation. She is contract professor at the University of Genova and at the University of Ferrara teaching Economics of innovation. She is specialised in ICT-IST innovation strategies and policies. Her previous experience includes the research institute Nomisma, where she focused on industrial policies for innovation studies, ASTER and ERVET Emilia-Romagna regional research centres and the Centre for Urban and Regional Studies at the University of Newcastle for ICT and regional development studies, the Centro Studi San Salvador and then Future Centre on Telecom Italia in Venice for IST foresight and e-services for industrial clusters studies, the IPTS-JRC Institute for Prospective Technological Studies of the EC in Seville for IST and economic development and e- service development strategies studies, namely e-government and e-inclusion. She was involved in several EC research evaluations, among which one of the first regional policy exercise on Information Society and eservices, synthesised in The Evaluation of the IRISI in Piemonte, in Technopolis (1997), Monitor and Evaluation of the Commission's Inter-Regional Information Society Initiative IRISI, study for CE DG XIII and DG XVI. She recently co-edited a book (with G.N. Von Tunzelmann and M. Bogdanowicz; 2009) on: ICT for Growth and Cohesion in a Global Knowledge-based Economy: Lessons from East Asian Growth Areas, World Scientific Publishing Co., Singapore). Other works include: with Centeno C., M. Bogdanowicz, et al., Inter-relation between Information Society and egovernment developments in the New Member States, Proceedings of the international conference egov Days 05, Budapest; Asian growth: Patters and challenges for Europe, in IGEC (2006) Knowledge Economy, Innovation and Growth in Europe, Budapest; with Pascu C., Compañò R., Burgelman J-C, (eds.) (2006), Information Society Technologies and Economic Growth, FISTERA, Publishing House of the Romanian Academy, Bucarest. GEROLAMO GIUNGATO is researcher at Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) since Since 2005 he is head of the Information Society unit and responsible for the National Statistical Programme - Information Society Statistics sector, the ICT impact on enterprises performances years project, and the annual surveys on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises, ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises of financial sector, ICT usage in local governments, Telecommunication survey: Telephone operators, and Telecommunication survey: Internet Service Providers. He is in charge for the Eurostat projects Data collection on ICT usage and e-commerce in enterprises. He is the Italian delegate at annual Working Groups and Task Forces of EUROSTAT for the Information Society statistics Regulation and at the annual OECD Working Party of OECD for the definition of indicators on Information Society. He is member of Eurostat project ICT impact assessment by linking data from different sources. In 2005 he was coordinator and responsible of the survey ICT usage and e-government in Italian local governments, and project leader of the Eurostat pilot study ICT investments and expenditure in Italian local governments. His participation at international 18

19 conferences include: Statistics of the new economy: Measuring Knowledge Economy Sectors in an Evolving Context (Higher School of Economics University of Moscow, Nov. 2007); Measuring ICT in enterprises (Higher School of Economics University of Moscow, May 2007); Benchmarking in Information Society (session Survey methods and techniques about ICT in local governments, Regione Emilia-Romagna, Bologna June 2005), Projects of innovation in Public Administration The relation between efficiency and quality of performances (Roma, Dec. 1997). MARIO DENNI is economist at the Agricultural, Food, Pharmaceutical, and Transport Directorate of the Italian Competition Authority since December He is specialised in the quantitative analysis of diffusion and economic impact of information and communication technologies. He has a Ph.D. in statistical methods for economics and a Master of Arts (MA) in Economics at the Université catholique de Louvain (Louvain-la-Neuve, Beglium). Since 2006 he is teaching assistant in Econometrics and Statistics for Economics at LUISS University. His previous experience includes the Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), the Italian National Research Council (CNR), and the European Investment Bank. As to the latter, he was involved in a consultancy project Analysis of the prospects for telecom investment in developing countries at the Projects Directorate - Telecommunication Division ( , project leader: dr. H. Gruber) and in a traineeship program Econometric analysis of the relationship between crude oil and petroleum product prices at the Projects Directorate - Energy Oil and Gas Division (2004, program leader: dr. G. Frewer). His publications in economic journals include The Technological Capabilities of Nations: The State of the Art of Synthetic Indicators (co-author, Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 2009, forthcoming), The Diffusion of Broadband Telecommunications: the Role of Competition (with Gruber H., Communications & Strategies, 2007), and Technology Adoption and Innovation in Public Services. The Case of e-government in Italy (co-author, Working Papers Series in Economics, Department of Economics, University of Urbino ). Other works include New Evidence on the Relationship between Crude Oil and Petroleum Product Prices since 1990 (with Frewer G., working paper, Department of Economics, Roma Tre University), Tackling the Digital Divide in Developing Countries (report for EIB), and The Usage of new Information and Communication Technologies: is this a Possibility to Enhance the Competitiveness of Small Firms? (Italian National Institute of Statistics). REFERENCES Arduini, D., Iacobelli G., 2003, Stima della Domanda ICT regionale e riscontro con la struttura produttiva locale, in Favaretto I. (a cura di), Territorio e Impresa. Dinamiche e competitività, Carocci; Arduini, D., Nepi S., 2005, Importanza delle infrastrutture a Banda Larga per la diffusione dell egovernment, Argomenti, n. 15, pp ; 19

20 Arduini, D., Reggi L., 2006, Dotazioni e uso delle ICT nelle Amministrazioni comunali, 4 Rapporto sull Innovazione nelle Regioni d Italia, Collana Ricerche e Studi, CNIPA; Arduini, D., Zanfei A., 2003, Struttura di mercato e diffusione delle ICT nelle Marche, Piccola Impresa/Small Business, 3, pp ; Arduini, D., Zanfei A., 2004, La diffusione di tecnologie e servizi di egovernment nella Regione Marche, Economia e Politica Industriale, 31(121), pp ; Arduini, D., Nascia L., Zanfei A., 2006, La diffusione delle ICT in Italia: determinanti a livello di impresa e di sistema industriale, Economia e Politica Industriale, 33(3), pp ; Arduini, D., Nascia L., Zanfei A., 2007a, A Sectoral Approach to the Diffusion of ICT: Empirical Evidence on Italian Firms, DRUID Conference on Appropriability, proximity, routines and innovation, Copenhagen, CBS, Denmark, June 18-20, 2007; Arduini, D., Nascia L., Zanfei A., 2007b, L innovazione nelle imprese. Evidenza sulla diffusione delle ICT in Italia e nelle Marche, in Ferrero G. (a cura di), Le ICT per la qualificazione delle Piccole Imprese Marchigiane, Carocci; Arduini, D., Nurra A., Reggi L., 2006, Dotazioni e uso delle ICT nelle famiglie e nelle imprese, 4 Rapporto sull Innovazione nelle Regioni d Italia, Collana Ricerche e Studi, CNIPA; Arduini, D., Pignoloni L., Zanfei A., 2003, Indagine conoscitiva sulla diffusione dell ICT nella Pubblica Amministrazione delle Marche, Collana Ricerche e Studi, Formez Ministero per l Innovazione e le Tecnologie; Arduini, D., Belotti F., Denni M., Giungato G., Reggi L., Zanfei A., 2008a, L innovazione nelle Amministrazioni Pubbliche. Evidenza sulla diffusione dell egovernment in Italia, Economia e Politica Industriale, 35(2), pp ; Arduini, D., Belotti F., Denni M., Giungato G., Reggi L., Zanfei A., 2008b, La diffusione dell egovernment presso i comuni italiani. Il ruolo dei legami fra servizi di back e front office, Economia dei servizi, III, pp ; Arduini, D., Belotti F., Denni M., Giungato G., Zanfei A., 2009a, Technology Adoption and Innovation in Public Services. The Case of e-government in Italy, Working Papers Series in Economics, Mathematics and Statistics, Department of Economics, University of Urbino, Arduini, D., Belotti F., Denni M., Giungato G., Reggi L., Zanfei A., 2009b, La diffusione dell egovernment nelle Amministrazioni Locali Italiane: un analisi esplorativa, Rassegna Economica, 1, pp ; Berce, J., Bianchi A., Centeno C., Osimo D. (eds), 2006, Towards the egovernment Vision for the EU in 2010: Research Policy Challenges, EUR n EN, Brussels; Bianchi, AF., 2006, Asian growth: Patters and challenges for Europe, in IGEC (2006) Knowledge Economy, Innovation and Growth in Europe, Budapest; Bianchi, AF., Kluzer S., 1997, The Information Society and Regional Development in Europe, WP 27, ACTS FAIR, EU DGXIII; 20