The Role “Chief Digital Officer (CDO)” in Public Municipalities—The Conceptual Effect of a Functional Profile for Successful Transformation

Abstract

The objectives of this study are to demonstrate the effect of a function called ‘Chief Digital Office’ as a responsible positioning of digitization at the C-level. This is intended to show both the importance of digitization measures and the effect of change projects with a methodical approach in cross-sectional tasks for strategic work. The previous work shows different functional layouts and individual responsibilities without conceptual foundations in the implementation of digital strategies. To provide the first contribution to a common framework for the work of CDOs, a basic concept for public administration based on the municipalities is to be launched. The results lead to statements about the optimization potentials of the status of the study survey of the digitization of German municipalities: “Digital Vorangehen [Leading the way digitally] (2020)”. In particular, this includes the development of a holistic digital agenda, the use of future technologies and the mindset for the development of innovative implementation solutions in both internal service provision and outward-looking services. The value lies in contributing to the establishment of the framework of ‘Public Digital Transformation Governance’ to transfer the fundamental standardization of the action strands into a functional profile.