Constructing Digital Public Service Democracy in the Era of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Indonesia
Abstract
The purpose of this paper was to reconstruct the practice of digital-based public service democracy, particularly in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is commonly assumed that service democracy places a high value on users and citizens. Furthermore, in the context of public services, democracy should be directed at the public, which includes all stakeholders with an interest in and a role in service delivery. This paper examined the findings of two previous research studies on digital public services in the era before and after the COVID-19 pandemic, based on this understanding. According to the findings of the analysis, the current digital public service democracy is still more focused on service users than on other stakeholders. A solution is proposed in the form of strengthening public service providers’ human resources capacity as one of the keys to the success of digital public service democracy. Internalizing public service motivation, ethics, and culture must become a basic competency for civil servants providing digital services. Thus, digital public service democracy requires a greater focus on the role of each stakeholder.
Keywords: digital public service democracy, digital services, COVID-19 pandemic
References
[1] Lewis CW, Gilman SC. The ethics challenge in public service: A problem-solving guide. New Jersey: Jossey-Bass; 2005.
[2] Palast G, Oppenheim J, MacGregor T. Democracy and regulation: How the public can govern essential services. London: Pluto Press; 2003.
[3] Wainwright H, Little M. Public service reform... But not as we know it! Bradford: Picnic Publishing; 2009.
[4] Durant RF. Why public service matters public managers, public policy, and democracy. New York: Palgrave Macmillan; 2014.
[5] Herwanto TS, Sasmitha GPAN, Utama AAP, Setiawan YF. Did digitalization in public sector guarantee the citizen’s right? Lesson learned from DPT 2019. Paper presented at: National Paper Competition by Indonesian Association for Public Administration; 2019. (Saturday, 14 November 2019, Bali-Indonesia)
[6] Herwanto TS. Observing the aid program in combating the Covid-19 outbreak in West Java. Paper presented at: National webinar Policy Strategy for Coping with Covid-19 in West Java by Indonesian Association for Public Administration Regional West Java; 2020. (Saturday, 9 May 2020, Bandung-Indonesia)
[7] World Bank. Public expenditure analysis. Public sector, governance, and accountability series. Washington D; 2005.
[8] Cheema GS. Decentralizing governance: Emerging concepts and practices. Washington: Brookings Institution Press; 2007.
[9] Dudley E, Lin DY, Mancini M, Ng J. Implementing a citizen-centric approach to delivering government services. San Fransisco: McKinsey Center for Government; 2015
[10] Dudley E, Lin DY, Mancini M, Ng J. Implementing a citizen-centric approach to delivering government services. San Fransisco: McKinsey Center for Government; 2015
[11] Chen YC. Citizen-centric e-government services: Understanding citizen service information systems. Social Science Computer Review. 2010;28(4):427-442.
[12] Aikins SK, Krane D. Are public officials obstacles to citizen-centered e-government? An examination of municipal administrators’ motivations and actions. State and Local Government Review. 2010;42(2):87-103.
[13] World Bank. Public expenditure analysis. Public sector, governance, and accountability series. Washington D; 2005.