Sharon S. Dawes
Natalie Helbig
ABSTRACT
Global issues present many opportunities for digital government (DG) researchers to form long-lasting relationships that lead to shared research agendas focused on questions of international importance. However, the relatively young DG community has little experience and few guiding strategies or methods for encouraging these kinds of investigations. As a result, the practical feasibility of international DG research partnerships is of interest for both investigators and funders. This paper reports the evaluation of an experiment to create sustainable international digital government research collaborations by providing legitimacy and modest funding within a minimal set of structural and management requirements. Participants rated the experience as highly positive, contributing substantially to their research productivity, community building, international awareness, and professional growth. While the working group strategy is not a substitute for direct research support, it is a readily replicable method to build international research communities, and to stimulate and enhance their scholarly work.
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Index Terms
- Promoting international digital government research collaboration: an experiment in community building
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