=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-2588/paper43
|storemode=property
|title=Information Exchange and Communication Infrastructure in the Public Sector
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2588/paper43.pdf
|volume=Vol-2588
|authors=Inna Semenets-Orlova,Nataliia Halytska,Alla Klochko,Irina Skakalska,Natalia Kosyuk
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/cmigin/Semenets-Orlova19
}}
==Information Exchange and Communication Infrastructure in the Public Sector==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2588/paper43.pdf
Information Exchange and Communication
Infrastructure in the Public Sector
Inna Semenets-Orlova 1 [0000-0001-9227-7426], Nataliia Halytska 1 [0000-0002-3789-5376],
Alla Klochko 2 [0000-0001-6631-2638], Irina Skakalska 3 [0000-0001-8705-7971],
and Natalia Kosyuk 1 [0000-0002-4065-5437]
1
National Aviation University, Kyiv, Ukraine
2
Bila Tserkva Institute of Continuous Education of State Higher Educational Institution
“University of Educational Management”, Bila Tserkva, Ukraine
3
Kremenets Regional Academy named after Taras Shevchenko,
Kremenets, Ukraine
semenetsorlova@gmail.com
Abstract. The article provides an analysis of the characteristic features of
communication infrastructure in the public sector in European countries, with
their distinguished temporal and contemporary trends in the development of
communication infrastructure in public sector. The authors emphasized that the
development of government communications contributed to the establishment
of mutual communication lines between the state and society, the understanding
of public opinion, provided for the modernization of the form of government in-
formation. It is revealed that informing the public about government policies
can be key for their efficiency. Therefore, governments of modern democracies
are likely to develop their own "codes of communication" and recommenda-
tions for government advertising in the near future.
Keywords: Communication in Public Sector, Government Communication,
Communication Infrastructure.
Introduction
As the experience of work of public administration bodies in young European democ-
racies shows, for a long time the instrumental potential of the dialogue was not con-
sidered to be fully relevant to the goals of public administration. A number of coun-
tries have been literally pushing for a review of public communication strategies with
the society through the opportunities provided by the Internet and new technologies.
Modern information technologies contribute to the convergence of social problems
and conflicts. «Less government ‒ more governance» becomes another slogan of
public administration in many developed countries.
Communication is, above all, the exchange of information in society. More widely,
communication is a deal that requires finding understanding as well as building and
maintaining relationships where dialogue is needed [1].
Copyright © 2020 for this paper by its authors. Use permitted under Creative Commons License Attrib-
ution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) CMiGIN-2019: International Workshop on Conflict Management in
Global Information Networks.
The scientist E. Jianu emphasizes that the purpose of institutional communication
in public administration is to ensure the public interest [2]. Public administration serv-
ing citizens should ensure a clear communication process, "written in simple lan-
guage" that everyone can understand. Institutional communication allows public au-
thorities to ensure their image and create an atmosphere of trust around them.
Well-known theorist R. Burkart has developed a consensus-oriented public rela-
tions theory, which provides for the quality assurance of communications at three
levels: 1) the level of information that the system disseminates; 2) the level of organi-
zation that the media disseminate information about; 3) public education on the issue
(Burkart, 2007). The scientist emphasized that if the target audience considers a cer-
tain information issue to be extremely important or controversial, a face-to-face con-
sultation tool should be applied as well as online chats or social networking. Media
platforms should be widely used, and the current situation of information messages
should be assessed and monitored [3].
Dutch scientists R. Dekker and L. Melenhorst's studies have focused on the grow-
ing influence of the media on society in general and on the behaviour of politicians
and the functioning of political and administrative institutions in particular (this is
defined as a process of "mediatization") [4]. These scientists insisted that relations
between journalists and political actors are mutually dependent.
Theorist B. Head stated that channels for two-way communication between the
government and citizens have become more important in the modern world. Indeed,
public consultation and citizen feedback provide public servants with the information
they need to review service packages that better meet customers’ needs. This ap-
proach has been particularly useful in reforming the systems of social service deliv-
ery. B. Head believes that there is a great interest in developing "partnership ap-
proaches" between government, sectoral and social sections to share their skills and
experience in finding solutions to the main issues [5]. Such developments have great
potential for increasing opportunities to improve public sector service provision.
Government communication also concerns long-term cultivated public relations
with regional and local institutions established by the Government [6].
Theorist E. Klijn distinguishes three specific theoretical traditions of the study of
the prospects of media and public authorities: 1) a tradition of public relations (em-
phasis placed on conveying specific ideas, brands or media messages to the general
public), 2) The tradition of the agenda (emphasis on how the media influence the
political agenda) and 3) The tradition of mediatization (an aspect of possible subjec-
tive re-interpretation of government reports in the media) [7].
Results
In the era of the information society communication technologies change the process
of communication and promote social services through a computer-based communica-
tion network. The system of e-government is effective means of communicating pow-
er with society, which ensures openness and transparency of the activities of authori-
ties at all levels, simplifies the procedure of obtaining services and increases the level
of confidence of citizens in power.
Since the introduction of electronic services for citizens, which Ukrainians have
begun to actively use in recent years, Ukraine has risen from 87th to 62nd place in the
rating of development of the e-government, consisting of the United Nations, and
from 75th to 32nd place in the rating of e-activity (e-participation) [8]. However, the
implementation of e-management in the country has a number of problems. The
availability of updated and well-structured content sites that tastify the information
needs of people about public services or tools of interaction with authorities is the
official source of up-to-date information for community residents.
As a result of a sociological survey on the use of information and communication
technologies in work with the public on the question "How do you assess your level
of information and communication competence?" only 9% of respondents identified
their level as high, 11% of respondents indicated an average level of knowledge. The
level of respondents (80%) was very high who spoke about the low level of ignorance
and inability to use new information technologies (Fig.1).
9%
11%
high
average
80%
low
Fig. 1. Levels of information and communication competence
The answers of respondents are presented in Fig. 2, on the feasibility of using In-
ternet technologies and in what directions to build effective work with the public.
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
informational provision of electronic surveys of
messages services participation of citizens in
citizens in the electronic form
discussion
Fig. 2 Directions of Internet technologies usage
It is worth noting that in conditions of constant renewal of information and commu-
nication technologies it is difficult for every citizen to learn in a huge flow of infor-
mation without having new skills to work with information. Therefore, in the process of
establishing a modern information society, the practical application of information and
communication technologies, and the information competence of public servants should
be of great importance, since only a specialist can improve the efficiency of public ser-
vice structures, involved in the processes related to social changes that take place.
Analysis of statements during sociological research allowed to identify the main
topics that interest respondents in improving their own skills in the field of use of
information technologies in professional activities.
Table 1
Names of topics in the field of information technology use
The title of topic Indicator,%
Search for information on the Internet 23,6
Work with email 12,7
Work with electronic services of authorities 12,3
Electronic workflow 19,5
Electronic digital signature 12,1
Internet Security 8
Web Page Development and Provisioning 6
Electronic government procurement 5,8
If in European countries Internet services are used by people of all ages, in Ukraine
the most active users of the Internet are persons between the ages of 18 and 44, it
creates a gap between citizens over 55 years of age, mainly less use of Internet ser-
vices. At the same time, there is an increase in the Internet audience of users aged 55
and over in 2019 compared to 2017 (Fig. 3) [9].
30%
25%
20%
15% 2017 year
10% 2019 year
5%
0%
15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+ ages
ages ages ages ages ages
Fig.3 Demographic structure of "regular" Internet users
Consequently, the level of information and communication competence of persons
of public authority should be better developed. After all, the development of effective
and efficient e-government in Ukraine is possible provided that the information and
competence leadership staffs of the region are formed, which will be able to raise the
processes of interaction with civil society and business needs to the modern level.
Extensive electronic application process is widely used by the Office, which is a spe-
cial smart software system. Since 2003, the British Directgov portal has provided the
fullest range of public services in one place (government services, recommendations,
tips). Thus, the government in this case positions itself as a service provider, as a
subject of service policy, and citizens – as clients served by the government. In this
case, Directgov is like a mobile “live” government information center available any-
where.
The meaning and structure of democracy is changing dramatically. Citizens, as ac-
tive participants in the political and administrative process, feel the need to demand
more information, and they receive it. When the public is able to understand the pro-
cess of public policy development, then it is easier for public authorities to ensure its
development, implementation and achievement of the main goals. Mainly one-way
information flows between the subjects of political administrative communication are
replaced by communicative bilateral information exchanges. In the new model, media
play not only the role of mediator, but also an independent actor of public policy.
However, on the other hand, there are also doubts about the time consuming public
discussions in terms of the time pressure of making a management decision (crisis or
post-crisis context). In one of his interviews, the Minister of State Property Mikołaj
Budzanowski stated that endless public debate and decision-making paralysis would
be detrimental to a long-term strategy for the development of the Polish economy
[10]. Given the importance of prompt public administration, this view is noteworthy.
However, in the preparation of strategic documents, public discussion is very im-
portant, and for these reasons the above statement is debatable, while clearly illustrat-
ing the position of some of the public officials in post-communist countries.
As far back as in 1995, one of the goals of the Latvian State Reform Concept (Lat-
vijas Valsts reformu koncepcija, 1995) was conducting state reforms to promote the
involvement and personal interest of citizens in government processes and to obtain
current accurate socio-political information. Mechanisms for public participation in
the development and elaboration of public policy have been identified by such im-
portant documents as the 2001 Policy Planning Guidelines and the 2008 Government
Communication Policy Guidelines, the 2014 Public Administration Policy Develop-
ment Guidelines. Since 2003, the NGO representative has the opportunity to cooper-
ate consultatively at the meetings of the secretaries of state, and since 2009 a new
form of public participation – Green Books (discussion papers) – has been introduced.
This allows the public to promptly get acquainted with the draft legislation – at least
14 days before its submission.
In 2016, inefficient bureaucracy was identified as the second main barrier to busi-
ness in Latvia after high taxes (Global Competitiveness Report, World Economic
Forum, 2016). To the opinion of the Latvian scientist A. Petersons, the main reason
for the inefficient activity of public servants is inefficient communication policy of
public authorities [11]. As A. Petersons notes, as early as at the beginning of the XXI
century, a small number of public managers, who due to their positions interacted
with entrepreneurs in the country, understood their values and needs, were very far
from making important political decisions. In the opinion of M. Zanders, the word
"dialogue" was compromised in the Latvian reality, as it was used by many policy-
makers who were not ready to listen to public opinion, not to mention the promotion
of public participation, partnership in policy making and implementing [12]. This
practice reaches the Soviet times, when any professional dialogue in the socio-
political sphere was considered strange or even dangerous. Democracy is an asym-
metric process of communication in Latvia, where the public has great opportunities
to express their opinions, but there is no significant feedback from the political elite,
says the Latvian theorist J.Ņikišins [13].
As of 2017, about 66.2% of Latvian residents used the Internet regularly [11],
while in Iceland and Denmark the same indicator is 80% [14]. The need to ensure
"legal awareness and public involvement in decision-making processes, ensuring
modern communication" was defined in the Latvian document "Guidelines for the
Development of Public Administration for 2014-2020". Public servants had to learn
how to use twitter, youtube, facebook and local social networks. The State Chancel-
lery in cooperation with the Latvian School of Public Administration has started to
work on a new modular system of training for public servants, including the topics of
"customer orientation, cooperation, public involvement, integrity" and other princi-
ples and practices of good governance [15].
According to some scientists, in the case of Latvia, it is possible to talk about
asymmetrical two-way communication, rather than two-way symmetrical communi-
cation [16]. According to I. Pure, and in the case of asymmetry, many things can be
achieved as people live in large amounts of information and do not have enough free
time for frequent dialogues. Therefore, a two-way asymmetric model is more widely
used in communication than a two-way symmetric model, as resources (finance, time,
personnel and technology) are in some way limited for both parties and the dialogue
is too complex as a tool. As of 2016, there were 16 259 registered NGOs in Latvia, of
which 2.4% are continuously involved in the development and implementation of
public policy [11].
Given that there are overlaps between policy areas, ministries often have coordi-
nated communication policy. Ministries are also responsible for the operation of
shared infrastructure and information distribution channels in general and social me-
dia. The Information Council also joins the audit of the media, which remain within
the competence of the ministries. Each year, a list of selected media companies to be
audited is submitted to the lower house of parliament. The Information Council is also
responsible for promoting the evaluation of new electronic media, exploring opportu-
nities to provide information to ethnic minorities and other target groups. The Infor-
mation Council also provides a platform for promoting various mutual interests of the
parties involved in the implementation of the communication policy of public authori-
ties. For example, arranges meetings with municipal and provincial information offic-
ers, members of major press organizations, consumer organizations and private asso-
ciations, which deal with the provision of services [17].
In order to continuously develop professional competencies of communication em-
ployees, the Information Council regularly organizes conferences and trainings for
information service employees. Topical issues in the work of the Netherlands Infor-
mation Council still include the problems of building a national image of the country,
public relations, promotion of the Netherlands abroad, effective social media cam-
paigns, discussions on European integration issues, information policy on possible
natural disasters and joint development of the recommendations on that issue with
popular television organizations.
Discussion
The existence of information (educatio1n on social and political issues) rationalizes
the choice and behavior of citizens, and thus increases the constructive component of
civic participation.
In most European countries, the communication policy of public authorities is co-
ordinated by an office located in the centre of government buildings or close to them,
which is the main provider of information services for citizens and the general infor-
mation needs of the media (Federale Voorlichtingsdienst (Service Fédéral
d’Information) in Belgium, Bulgaria Government Information Service, French Ser-
vice d'Inform du du Gouvernement, Dipartimento per l'informazione e l'editoria in
Italy). As a rule, the central information office serves as the main contact point for
providing detailed information about the state organization, laws, plans, social ser-
vices and benefits, statistics. The central information management system performs at
least six functions: 1) conducting research and analysis, 2) consulting senior officials,
3) media relations management 4) informing citizens; 5) coordination of communica-
tion policy and promotion of internal services, coordination of information flows 6)
measurement and evaluation of public opinion (viewing correspondence and com-
ments received over the phone, conducting surveys, distribution of questionnaires,
holding public hearings, round tables, organization, focus groups can get useful in-
formation about the perceptions, needs and wishes of citizens).
The Central Information Office as a rule manages the cooperation between servants
on information of public authorities. In many countries, this office takes a leading role
in organizing regular meetings of information servants to review government themes,
priorities and developments along with potential media campaigns. However, the full
integration of policy and communication remains an unachievable ideal; Some public
servants tend to perceive communication as an additional activity in the process of im-
plementation of decisions, rather than the main function of public administration bodies.
As mentioned earlier, the central information service in many countries serves as a
first 'stop' for citizens' requests for public services (as a clearing (remote) home for
public information). The development of a "connected society" provides an attractive
opportunity for democratic governments to regularly develop broad public infor-
mation campaigns to raise citizens' awareness of social issues (for instance AIDS
prevention, reduction of smoking, promotion of waste sorting). These campaigns are
also used to train the society and develop support for citizens for major government
plans. Such campaigns in EU member states have been linked to problems of Europe-
an integration, explanations of referendums on EU treaties and the consequences of
adopting the euro as the common currency of the Union.
The UK has a Central Information Office attached to the Prime Minister of the
United Kingdom. The Office is based in London and has eight regional offices. The
staff of the institution is just over 300 servants. The main powers of the Office are to
advise the government, inform the general public about procurement and project
management, and share information with the media. The human resources potential of
the Office is special – the majority of public servants employed here were involved
from the private sector, which made it possible to fully implement a client-oriented
approach within the framework of the New Public Management concept. The innova-
tive process of electronic applications is widely used in the work of the Office – it is a
special smart software system.
But to the reform of government communication, which started in 2003, in the UK
there were about 1800 government portals, most of which did not respond to citizens'
requests for some kind of information. As a result, users were automatically (and
ineffectively) redirected from one website to another, from ministry to ministry. So
the government information did not reach the citizens, they did not respond to it, and
moreover, they almost never visited the ineffective government websites.
The Government Information Service plays a central role in providing information
support to government policy in the Netherlands. There are about 135 people working
in this government body. The main activity of the the Government Information Ser-
vice is to provide information on weekly meetings of the government. This requires a
great number of prior consultations with ministries. Emphasis is placed on highlight-
ing and explaining politics through the independence of the media; journalists cover-
ing parliamentary affairs provide detailed information on official visits within the
country and abroad. Office staff provides the Cabinet, Parliament, Committee, The
Council of State, the General Accounting Department, the National Ombudsman and
all other ministries of information from daily newspapers, radio, television and maga-
zines. The Office forms this information using computerized filing systems and also
performs certain tasks in special circumstances, such as natural disasters, military
affairs, hostage situations, flood warnings.
At present, the expectations of citizens of democratic countries regarding what in-
formation on government activities should be available have changed significantly
[18]. The demand for more responsibility and transparency in the activities of public
authorities is also linked to new technologies, the potential of which can be used to
spread a huge amount of information more easily and quickly.
In 2000 the Dutch theorist Bart W. Édes noted that no other country is yet taking
full advantage of the rich potential of the internet to communicate and better serve its
citizens, the movement towards online government and online civic engagement is
implacable [19]. According to Bart W. Édes, the balance of power shifts from public
buildings to a "click-through", and this is an IT revolution in the relationship between
the state and citizens.
Modern theorists call the sphere of internal and external communication policy of
public authorities variously: "public relations in public administration", "communica-
tion in public administration", "government communication". M. Lee notes that the
relationship between public authorities and the media has grown from competitive to
cooperative, but still far from progressive [20]. (Public servants sometimes treat jour-
nalists in a hostile manner in the process of revealing scandals, while journalists treat
in a stereotypical way individual reports of public servants as propaganda).
Conclusions
In the modern world, it is more and more difficult for public servants to justify the
need for limited access to certain information. Citizens feel the need to demand more
information and they receive it. When the public is allowed to understand the policy-
making process, it is easier for the government to build support for the implementa-
tion and achievement of key objectives. Therefore, an important state objective is to
improve public information services. Public expectations of "open authorities" may be
higher today than ever before. Citizens recognize that there is a greater risk of not
having access to information than of using it for dangerous purposes.
Perhaps the most significant development in the provision of public information at
the beginning of the 21st century has been the increased use by governments of the
Internet as a tool for communication between the society and servants. As of 2000, all
European Governments had an official website, and almost all ministries and key
agencies also had their own websites. This sets new challenges for the public admin-
istration systems of the states: 1) it is necessary to actively direct efforts to overcome
the "digital divide" (the problem of providing wide access to the Internet in insuffi-
ciently economically active regions); 2) upgrade the system of training and profes-
sional development of staff in the field of information support (e.g., introduce mod-
ules from web design into their training programs), provide modern equipment for
information services employees, etc. Through the process of communication, the state
authorities seek to establish close relations with the citizen; by drawing nearby and
starting a dialogue, they see personal demands and complaints.
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