DG.O 2019 will be hosted by the Mohammed Bin Rashid School of Government (formerly the Dubai School of Government), Dubai, United Arab Emirates on 18-20 June, 2019. 

The dg.o conferences are an established forum for presentation, discussion, and demonstration of interdisciplinary research on digital government, political participation, civic engagement, technology innovation, applications, and practice. Each year the conference brings together scholars recognized for the interdisciplinary and innovative nature of their work, their contributions to theory (rigor) and practice (relevance), their focus on important and timely topics and the quality of their writing.

Track proposal Submission Deadlines:

  August        1, 2018:      Track proposals due

  September 3, 2018:      Acceptance notification for tracks

  September 15, 2018:    First Call for papers for all tracks

TRACK PROPOSAL SUBMISSIONS:
Email to:  m.f.w.h.a.janssen@tudelft.nl and fadi.salem@mbrsg.ac.ae

*         Conference Home page: http://dgo2019.dgsociety.org/  (under construction)

Track chairs may be able to edit a special issue based on their track papers. Some possible venues include but not limited to:

*         Government Information Quarterly
*         Transforming Government: People, Process, Policy
*         International Journal of E-Government Research
*         Information Polity
*         International Journal of E-Planning Research
*         International Journal of Public Administration in the Digital Age

THEMES & TOPICS
The 20th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research will feature the main theme of "Governance in the Age of Artificial Intelligence". The growing applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) are triggering numerous opportunities-as well as challenges and dilemmas-for governments worldwide. Traditional forms of service provisioning, policy-making and enforcement are changing due to the inclusion AI algorithms, mechanisms and techniques. The growing digitization of government operations, the universal datafication of societal activities, behaviors and sentiments, as well as the maturity and feasibility of big data techniques and applications have collectively laid down solid foundations for industrial-scale operationalization of AI across most governments and societal sectors.

This year's timely theme, builds on the dg.o 2018 conference which focused on governance in the data age. The rapid growth of the data-driven economy and the use of intelligent mechanisms result in rapid digitalization of government operations and the emergence of new governance structures. This datafication and AI revolution is boosted by growing smart cities applications, Internet of Things (IoT), social media, mobile apps, among other sources of big data.

However, there is still limited understanding of the multifaceted changes brought about by the advent of AI in government. Increasing number of governments, international organizations, leading research centers, think tanks and global private sector corporations are coming together to explore these challenges. However, there is a dearth of thought-leadership in the areas of policy, development and societal implications of AI. This knowledge gap is a key developmental barrier as many governments wrangle with the societal, economic, political and ethical implications of these transformations.

During the past two decades, the dg.o conference has been at the helm of the digital governance transformations. In its 20th anniversary, the dg.o 2019 conference will build in past themes to explore the fast maturing artificial intelligence drive embraced by an increasing number of governments and businesses worldwide. The dg.o 2019 theme on governance in the age of artificial intelligence links with numerous frequent tracks featured at past DGO conferences, including:

*         Social Media and Government
*         Organizational Factors, Adoption Issues and Digital Government Impacts
*         Opening Government: From Open Data Infrastructures to Collaboration
*         Engagement in government
*         Smart cities models and platforms
*         Cybersecurity and Government
*         Beyond Bureaucracy, Co-Producing Governance & New Models of Governance
*         Public value creation and innovation
*         Proactive transparency
*         Open and big data analytics
*         Participatory Democracy
*         Open Government Data Policies & Politics
*         Blockchain and transformational government

We encourage past track chairs to update and submit their track. In addition, new tracks related to the emergence of AI applications in government are invited. This includes, but is not limited to themes like:

*         Policy implications of AI in government
*         Ethics of AI
*         Societal implications of algorithmic bias
*         Internet of Things
*         Cybersecurity
*         From data to intelligence

In dg.o 2019, we solicit for track proposals having a focused theme to avoid overlap with other tracks. Tracks should be related to digital government, but do not have to be limited to the conference theme. The highly successful track proposals will be selected, based on the reputation of the track chairs in the proposed field, continuation of past tracks, novelty, coherence of the topics covered in alignment with the digital government themes that may be of interest to the research community and practicality. As a general policy, you can only be a track chair in one track. We also welcome new industry tracks which were not featured in the past.

Finally, the dg.o 2019 will be held at the MBR School of Government in Dubai, UAE. The UAE government has officially acknowledged the importance of AI in government operations, economic and societal development. For example, on the strategic level, the UAE government has issued the national "UAE Artificial Intelligence Strategy". On the organizational level, it has also appointed a "Minister of State of Artificial Intelligence", a global first, who is tasked with coordinating the government's AI efforts and driving the government's AI agenda. On the global level, the UAE is also proactively contributing to the global agenda addressing the multi-faceted implications of these transformations. For example, the government has recently introduced its "Fourth Industrial Revolution" agenda and took the lead on putting together a council to address the manifestations of the fourth industrial revolution and its impact on society and economy, it is leading a global blockchain council, while convening a global AI expert group of practitioners and thought-leaders. These developments align well with the conference theme, and will increase the impact of the knowledge created during the conference on policy, whether through the tracks, workshops, submission, and discussions.

SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS AND FORMATS

Track proposals (1 - 2 pages). Submission of your track proposal should indicate:
*         The title of the track
*         Track chairs (multiple track chairs are encouraged to attract more submissions, cover diverse aspects and ensure attendance during meetings and conference)
*         Summary of track goals and motivation, including a list of topics.
*         If applicable, past history of track chair's effort or research in the proposed area.

The track chairs are expected to:
*         attend the online organization meetings, and attend the conference
*         monitor the submitted track papers and to oversee the review of the submitted papers
*         propose to accept/reject papers for the track
*         select and nominate the best paper in the track
*         communicate with the PC and Organization chairs of the paper submission and selection status
*         plan track sessions to support PC chairs, and assign the session chairs of the track
*         write a brief summary for inclusion in the dgs newsletter.

Track proposal Submission Deadlines:

  August        1, 2018:      Track proposals due
  September 3, 2018:      Acceptance notification for tracks
  September 15, 2018:    First Call for papers for all tracks

Track Proposal Submissions:
Email to:  m.f.w.h.a.janssen@tudelft.nl and fadi.salem@mbrsg.ac.ae

We look forward to receiving your proposals.

The Conference Chairs