“Smart Government”: prospects for introduction of digital technologies in public administration in Russia

Abstract

The article discusses the prospects for introducing government technologies (GovTech) in Russia and the possibility of using digital technologies to improve public administration. GovTech projects are related to forming a “smart state” that uses new approaches to economic regulation, planning, and communication with citizens and businesses. In this regard, GovTech is a set of tools that allow adaptation of the models of public administration to social reality and increase the effectiveness of planning. GovTech is defined as the operationalization of space and resources of management through the creation of digital identities: GovTech tools allow to determine the object’s position in real-time and assess the consequences of economic decisions. The author discusses trends in different directions of GovTech development in Russia: 1) open data, 2) public services and digital profiles, 3) integrated platforms and monitoring systems in “smart cities” and regions. Three scenarios of the results of the implementation of GovTech are formulated: 1) digital democracy; 2) machine of targeted control; 3) resource of technocracy.