Research Institute has 3 papers, 3 posters being presented at the annual international conference in the Netherlands

The Center for Technology in Government at the University at Albany (CTG UAlbany) continues to make an international mark on public innovations.

Overall, representatives from CTG UAlbany will present three research papers, make three poster presentations, and participate in editorial board meetings at the 19th Annual International Conference on Digital Government (dg.O) at Delft University of Technology’s Aula Conference Centre from May 30-June 1.

A complete overview of the conference is available here.

“One of the greatest strengths of CTG UAlbany is not just the research that we do – it is robust and detailed, of course – but also the willingness to share our findings and collaborate with other colleagues,” CTG UAlbany Research Director J. Ramon Gil-Garcia. “Every year we bring our knowledge to the conference, but we also learn so much. It is exciting to be part of the discussions and the community.”

The research theme for the conference is “Governance in the Data Age,” and CTG UAlbany follows through with research papers:

• “Ready for Data Analytics? Data Collection and Creation in Local Governments” by Minyoung Ku from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York and Gil-Garcia
  
  
• “Discussing Open Government as a Concept: A Comparison between the Perceptions of Public Managers and Current Academic Debate” by Edgar A. Ruvalcaba-Gomez and J. Ignacio Criado from the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid (Spain) along with Gil-Garcia
  
  
• “Reconsidering the Importance of Context for the Success of Digital Government: The Case of Legal Vulnerability and Extreme Poverty in the Provision of Migration Services at the Southern Mexican Border” by Luz Maria Garcia-Garcia from the Universidad de la Sierra Sur Oaxaca (Mexico) and Gil-Garcia

And posters:

• “Investigating Blockchain as a Data Management Tool for IoT Devices in Smart City Initiatives” by CTG UAlbany visiting scholar Lingjun Fan who is from the Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. CTG UAlbany’s Brian Burke, Gil-Garcia, Derek Werthmuller were part of the project, while Xuehai Hong from the Institute of Computing Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences is a co-author.
  
  
• “The Role of Public Libraries in Smart, Inclusive, and Connected Communities: Current and Best Practices” by the University at Albany’s Shannon Mersand along with Mila Gascó-Hernández, Gil-Garcia, Burke, Miguel Figueroa from the American Library Association and CTG UAlbany’s Megan Sutherland.
  
  
• “A Tale of Two Information Systems: Transitioning to a Data-Centric Information System for Child Welfare” by the University at Albany’s Teresa M. Harrison along with CTG UAlbany’s Donna Canestraro, Theresa A. Pardo, Burke, Gasco-Hernandez and Meghan Sutherland. Martha Avila-Marilla from UAlbany’s Department of Information Science and recently graduated master’s student Nicholas Soto also contributed.

Finally, Gil-Garcia will sit in on an Editorial Board Meeting for the journal Government Information Quarterly, which is the top journal in the field of Digital Government. A number of members of CTG UAlbany sit on the journal’s editorial board.

Overall, the dg.O conference was established as a forum for presentation, discussion, and demonstration of interdisciplinary research on digital government, political participation, civic engagement, technology innovation, applications, and practice. Each year the conference brings together scholars recognized for the interdisciplinary and innovative nature of their work, their contributions to theory (rigor) and practice (relevance), their focus on important and timely topics and the quality of their writing.

“As governments continue to explore digital solutions to pressing public problems it is very important that they are well informed on what technologies can do, and maybe even more importantly, should do,” Gil-Garcia said. “We are happy to share our expertise with anyone interested and we are looking forward to seeing what others have found out as well.”