Midway assessment: Framing and implementing the data-driven public sector

PhD candidate Heather Broomfield is presenting her PhD project "Framing and implementing the data-driven public sector".

Portrait of Heather Broomfield against grey background

Heather Broomfield (Foto: UiO)

PS. Please note that the event will solely take place on Zoom. Please register via the link below, and you will receive the link to thee Zoom event.

 

  • Leader of the assessment: Professor Kirsten Sandberg, Head of Department of Public and International Law, UiO.
  • Assesor: Professor Anne Kaun, Södertörn University Stockholm.
  • Supervisors: Professor Malcolm Langford, UiO; Associate Professor Jon Christian Fløysvik Nordrum, UiO; Dr. Rozemarijn van der Hilst-Ytreland, Digitaliseringsdirektoratet.

About the dissertation

The ambiguous, multifaceted, and contested nature of data-driven public administration presents a serious challenge to practitioners, policymakers and scholars alike, bringing with it a paradigm shift for public administration. This data-driven turn is highly prioritised in many countries and seems to promise endless opportunities for public administrations in need of reform. The rhetoric is often, as Elish and Boyd (2018) put it, 'boundless, seasoned with a sort of magic'. Moreover, a data-driven public administration is far from a benign instrument, leading to the holy grail of effective and efficient public administration. Several negative, albeit often unintended, consequences are being increasingly documented. The challenge for public leadership in this age of the algorithm is as much about the framing of problems as their resolution, and flawed policy design can seriously impede implementation (Andrews, 2019; Öberg et al., 2015). This project asks how the issue of data driven-public administration is being framed and implemented in Norway, and whether it could and should be reframed.

Registration

The assessment will take place on Zoom. All participants must register ahead of the event:

https://nettskjema.no/a/242711

Guidelines

Guidelines for Midways Assessments at the University of Oslo Faculty of Law

Programme

According to the guidelines, the assessment shall consist of an open seminar (of approximately 90 minutes) and a closed meeting (lasting approximately 30 minutes).

The department head (or their representative), supervisor and assessor(s) will take part in the closed meeting. The doctoral research fellow may also be invited to attend all or parts of this meeting. Here, an assessment must be made of whether the progress of the project is realistic in relation to the remaining time available, and whether there is a need for measures to improve the progress (e.g. additional supervision resources), and whether there is a need to alter important aspects of the project.

Published Jan. 17, 2022 10:24 AM - Last modified Mar. 7, 2022 9:50 AM