Governments around the world are increasingly adopting Blockchain technology to digitalize Public Administrations (PAs) and deliver efficient public services to citizens. In addition, also the interest of the academic community is growing; however, empirical evidence is still limited. This thesis aims to contribute to the extant knowledge by providing a comprehensive understanding of Blockchain projects in the public sector. Hence, the following research question is addressed: which is the worldwide distribution of Blockchain projects that PAs are adopting, and which are their peculiarities? Starting from the international census initiated by the Digital Agenda Observatory of Politecnico di Milano, Blockchain projects are analyzed following a set of predefined variables to identify their main characteristics (i.e. public domains and actor(s) involved, interactions, processes and benefits enhanced, timing, geographical distribution, and maturity level). The analysis of the census provides a snapshot of the features of Blockchain projects within public boundaries. It proves which are the public dimensions mostly impacted by Blockchain up to now, and those requiring more investigation. Academic studies concerning projects’ implementation are still limited: the census could be used as a map to identify the areas where practitioners are implementing Blockchain projects and it could be the initiator of additional studies aiming to systematize Blockchain usage in PAs. Nevertheless, I am aware that the census has some limitations. Indeed, a set of variables (such as for instance the risks) are not explicated and it is hard to guarantee that all existing initiatives are included in the census. For these reasons, additional and in-depth studies of the implementation of Blockchain in PAs could help to increase the knowledge of Blockchain projects in the public sector.
La tecnologia Blockchain è percepita sempre di più come uno strumento strategico per implementare il livello di digitalizzazione nella pubblica amministrazione. Sebbene l’interesse degli studiosi sia alto a riguardo, sono poche le evidenze empiriche sullo sviluppo di progetti Blockchain nel settore pubblico. Il presente elaborato mira quindi a fornire una panoramica sul livello di adozione di progetti Blockchain nella pubblica amministrazione, chiarendone la distribuzione e le peculiarità. A partire dal censimento internazionale avviato dall’Osservatorio Agenda Digitale del Politecnico di Milano, i progetti Blockchain sono stati quindi raccolti e analizzati secondo una serie di variabili predefinite. Come risultato, l’analisi ha dimostrato quali settori, all’interno dei confini pubblici, siano maggiormente propensi a implementare e adottare la Blockchain e quali, invece, richiedono osservazioni aggiuntive. Inoltre, data la limitata presenza di studi accademici in questo campo, il censimento mira a offrire spunti di riflessione sugli ambiti in cui ampliare la letteratura esistente, al fine di sistematizzare l’utilizzo di Blockchain nel settore pubblico e di aumentare la conoscenza sui progetti avviati in questo contesto.
Blockchain technology in Public Administrations : empirical evidence from an international census
Mastrolorenzo, Debora
2020/2021
Abstract
Governments around the world are increasingly adopting Blockchain technology to digitalize Public Administrations (PAs) and deliver efficient public services to citizens. In addition, also the interest of the academic community is growing; however, empirical evidence is still limited. This thesis aims to contribute to the extant knowledge by providing a comprehensive understanding of Blockchain projects in the public sector. Hence, the following research question is addressed: which is the worldwide distribution of Blockchain projects that PAs are adopting, and which are their peculiarities? Starting from the international census initiated by the Digital Agenda Observatory of Politecnico di Milano, Blockchain projects are analyzed following a set of predefined variables to identify their main characteristics (i.e. public domains and actor(s) involved, interactions, processes and benefits enhanced, timing, geographical distribution, and maturity level). The analysis of the census provides a snapshot of the features of Blockchain projects within public boundaries. It proves which are the public dimensions mostly impacted by Blockchain up to now, and those requiring more investigation. Academic studies concerning projects’ implementation are still limited: the census could be used as a map to identify the areas where practitioners are implementing Blockchain projects and it could be the initiator of additional studies aiming to systematize Blockchain usage in PAs. Nevertheless, I am aware that the census has some limitations. Indeed, a set of variables (such as for instance the risks) are not explicated and it is hard to guarantee that all existing initiatives are included in the census. For these reasons, additional and in-depth studies of the implementation of Blockchain in PAs could help to increase the knowledge of Blockchain projects in the public sector.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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2022_04_Mastrolorenzo.pdf
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/188213