The Public Official’s Selection Parameters for E-Competence Continuous Education

Koddebusch, Michael; Brützke, Paul; Koelmann, Holger; Becker, Jörg

Abstract

Abstract: Given the public officials’ importance in public sector digitalization, e-government-competence education must be designed in accordance with their individual needs. Only by fostering e-government-competences, or short, e-competences, can they actively participate in the transformative process. Although the importance of e-competences is evident, the landscape of education and continuous education offers does not address the diversity of requirements of the public sector’s workforce. Therefore, enabling public administrations to provide their workforce with appropriate continuous education is imperative. The present study sheds light on the parameters public officials apply to assess the appropriateness of a given continuous education offer for their individual situation. To achieve these insights, we conducted an in-depth interview study with a subsequent qualitative content analysis, utilizing eleven semi-structured interviews with members of the German public sector. Upon the interview results, we discovered the parameters and constructed an Entity-Relationship-Model reflecting them for future use in continuous education systems.

Keywords
E-Competence; Continuous Education; E-Government; Public Sector; Digital Transformation