Samordning, effektivisering og forenkling En sosiologisk analyse av begrunnelser for digitaliseringsprosesser i moderniseringen av norsk offentlig forvaltning

Sammanfattning: This thesis examines the arguments used by politicians and civil servants to justify the implementation of digitalisation processes to modernise and reform the Norwegian public sector. The research questions are “What arguments are used within the Norwegian public administration to justify the implementation of digitalisation processes?” and “How can these arguments be understood in relation to ideas about modernisation and ongoing reforms within the administration more generally?”.Three studies of digitalisation and reform processes within the Norwegian public administration have been carried out to answer the research questions. The first study is of the Minside public electronic communications service from its inception in 2004 until the service was discontinued in 2012. The second study is an analysis of governmental documents on the role and importance of digitalisation reforms in the Norwegian public sector from the mid-1980’s to today. The third outlines how digitalisation is related to a reform process within the public sector, widely referred to as New Public Management (NPM).The analysis shows that justifications for the implementation of Minside and for digitalisation in the Norwegian public administration are generally focused on the simplification, coordination and rationalisation of the public sector. These justifications are closely connected to key normative ideas of NPM on how and why modernisation and reform processes should be carried out within the public sector in general.Despite high expectations, many digitalisation and electronic service implementations aimed at the population do not achieve the effects expected. This does not, however, appear to have had any impact upon these seemingly deeply entrenched expectations. They continue to be as widely held and as high as they have always been, despite widespread evidence to the contrary.