Unity in diversity: An analysis of inter-governmental cooperation in the field of geoICT

Abstract

Despite consecutive policies towards Joined-up government in the Netherlands, cooperation in the public sector with ICT is still considered problematic. The effects are often considered insufficiently visible or even considered absent. The domain of geoICT has various examples of cooperative activities, often intertwined with E-government programmes. The gap between policies and practice is investigated in this domain of geoICT. An exploratory, hermeneutic approach, supported by a quantitative survey is employed to research this gap. This approach has provided an insight in the dynamics and in which factors play a role. Not the technology in the cooperation or the structures in which the organizations work are important in how the cooperation with geoICT is shaping and evolving, but the degree to which the actors can maintain their own role. Finally, there is a disconnect between societal cooperation and cooperation with technology. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2008.