Reshaping the Monolith: how to develop state capacity in the digital era
Join us at UCL IIPP for a talk by David Eaves and Beatriz Vasconcellos.
Reshaping the Monolith: how to develop state capacity in the digital era
11 May 2023, 13:00 – 14:00
This event is open to IIPP’s students only
Hosted at UCL IIPP on Thursday 11th May 2023 from 13:00 - 14:00 (GMT) on Zoom for a talk by David Eaves and Beatriz Vasconcellos.
Policymakers are asking many questions on how to do digital transformation. These are not the right questions. Digital transformation in government is not about how governments use technology. It is the starting point to rethink and reshape how public administration can generate more public value and capacity in the digital era. And this is an agenda of the present, not the future. The questions policymakers should ask are about how public administration changes in the digital era. Reshaping the Monolith offers a unique approach to help policymakers navigate this complex terrain. Drawing on David’s work at Harvard and UCL, we provide a novel articulation of where governments are heading and explore different models to move toward that destination. Rather than focusing on how governments use technology, we emphasize the need to develop new state capacities to fulfill society’s expectations and redefine public value in the digital age. Specifically, we explore how governments can move away from paper-based systems and office buildings’ siloed logic to reflect how digital-enabled practices and infrastructure work.
The talk is being organised as an enrichment event as part of an IIPP MPA module led by Prof Rainer Kattel. Students who would like to be notified of other events in the future can sign up by emailing IIPPComms@ucl.ac.uk.
- David Eaves, Associate Professor in Digital Government, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
- Beatriz Vasconcellos, Programme Manager for Public Sector Innovation, UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
Associate Professor in Digital Government
UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose
Previously a lecturer at Harvard Kennedy School where he taught and wrote on digital era public administration, digital transformation and the governance of digital public infrastructure, David has co-founded Teaching Public Service in a Digital Age, which has sought to bring together faculty from around the world to co-design and share an open licensed curriculum to teach the minimum needed digital competences for future public leaders.
Programme Manager for Public Sector Innovation
UCL Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose (IIPP)
Beatriz is a hands-on idealist who strongly believes in the government’s capacity to lead better societal outcomes. She works at the Transformative Governance team at Demos Helsinki, where she collectively tackles the challenge of making governments more resilient, and agents of systemic change. Her work work ranges from reimagining new pathways and narratives regarding the future, to experimenting, learning and building long-term state capacity.