Tweet      

The Center for Technology in Government (CTG), University at Albany-SUNY has named Dr. J. Ramon Gil-Garcia as its research director, following an international search that attracted top candidates in the field of digital government research and practice.

Dr. Gil-Garcia has served as associate professor for the Division of Public Administration and the director of the Data Center for Applied Research in Social Sciences at Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE) in Mexico City since 2007. He is author of the 2012 book, Enacting Electronic Government Success: An Integrative Study of Government-wide Websites, Organizational Capabilities, and Institutions. 

“Dr. Gil-Garcia is one of the leading scholars in his field with a strong record of external funding and demonstrated leadership who will continue to expand CTG’s global leadership position in digital government research and practice,” said Theresa Pardo, CTG Director. “I am delighted that we have attracted such an accomplished scholar and researcher to CTG.”

“I want to thank the University, Vice President for Research James Dias, Dr. Pardo, and all those involved in the search process for the opportunity to join CTG in this leadership capacity during this important period of technological innovation and government reform,” said Dr. Gil-Garcia. “The Center is a unique resource, bringing together award-winning research and solution-focused partnerships at all levels of government and around the world. I look forward to working with the exemplary staff of the Center and our extensive network of partners as we continue to explore the potential of information technology as a tool for government transformation.”

“CTG is an exemplar of how institutes of higher education link research and government in a dynamic partnership,” said James Dias, Vice President for Research at UAlbany. “As research director, Gil-Garcia will bring not only leadership, great talent, and experience, but a keen sense of how that relationship can deliver lasting value to both the academic and public sectors. His creativity and commitment to excellence will lead the Center into a future that is responsive to societal change and will respond to these societal needs and embrace them as new opportunities for new and continuing partnerships with government and industry.”

“Ramon is recognized as the most productive digital government scholar in the world and he is a superb colleague and mentor,” said Sharon Dawes, senior fellow at CTG. “From this leadership position, his contributions will strengthen not only CTG, but our entire international research community.”

"We had a very competitive search for this position but Ramon’s distinguished research contributions to public policy analysis and management in the area of technology-related public policies and projects at the local, state, and national levels of government helped make him the ideal candidate,” said Brian Burke, CTG senior program associate and search committee chair.

About J. Ramon Gil-Garcia 

Dr. Gil-Garcia is a member of the National System of Researchers in Mexico and the Mexican National Academy of Sciences. He is a former Fulbright Scholar and Digital Government Fellow with the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and is currently a Faculty Affiliate at the National Center for Digital Government, University of Massachusetts Amherst. Dr. Gil-Garcia has been an adjunct professor in the Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy, the Department of Management Science and Information Systems at the School of Business, and the School of Information Science and Policy at UAlbany, and a Post-Doctoral Fellow and a Research Fellow at CTG. He has been a lecturer for bachelors, masters, and doctoral programs in Mexico and a few other countries around the world.

In 2009, Dr. Gil-Garcia was identified as the most prolific author in the field of digital government research worldwide. Some of his publications are among the most cited in the field of digital government. He is the author or co-author of articles in The International Public Management Journal, Government Information Quarterly, Journal of the American Society for Information Science and Technology, European Journal of Information Systems, Journal of Government Information, International Journal of Electronic Government Research, Public Finance and Management, International Journal of Cases on Electronic Commerce, International Journal of Electronic Governance, International Journal on Computers, Systems and Signals, Reforma y Democracia, Gestión y Política Pública, Convergencia, Ciencia Ergo Sum, and Espacios Públicos, among other prestigious journals.

Dr. Gil-Garcia’s research has been funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada, and the National Council for Science and Technology (CONACYT) in Mexico, and he has participated in many projects funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF). His research interests include collaborative electronic government, inter-organizational information integration, smart cities and smart governments, adoption and implementation of emergent technologies, information technologies and organizations, digital divide policies, new public management, public policy evaluation, and multi-method research approaches. Within the next few months, he will become the Editor of the journal Gestión y Política Pública, which is one of the only two public administration journals in Spanish that are included in the Social Science Citation Index.

Prior to his academic positions, he worked as a systems analyst and the director's executive assistant at the General Direction of Rural Development, Secretary of Agricultural Development of the State of Mexico. Dr. Gil-Garcia also has experience as a consultant for federal, state, and local public organizations. He has been a volunteer in several non-profit organizations and is an active member of professional associations in fields such as Public Administration, Information Systems, and Political Science.

The mission of the Center for Technology in Government at the University at Albany is to foster public sector innovation, enhance capability, generate public value, and support good governance. We carry out this mission through applied research, knowledge sharing, and collaboration at the intersection of policy, management, and technology. 

The University at Albany-SUNY has a broad mission of excellence in undergraduate and graduate education, life-enhancing research and scholarship, and a commitment to public service. A University at Albany education brings the world within reach to students through nine schools and colleges, and an honors college. A student body of more than 17,000 students has a global connection to more than 140,000 alumni. For more information about this internationally ranked institution, visit www.albany.edu. For UAlbany's extensive roster of faculty experts, visit www.albany.edu/news/experts.php.