For the EGPA Annual Conference held at the Centre for Public Policy at the University of Glasgow, from 26 - 29 August 2025, the Permanent Study Group on e-Government requests: (1) abstracts for papers relating to the themed session on The Governance of AI; and (2) abstracts for the general sessions drawing on current research which is relevant to the interests of this Permanent Study Group.

1. Themed Session: The Governance of AI

We are interested in studies on the governance of Artificial Intelligence (AI) including aspects around data analytics, machine learning, automated decision-making, generative artificial intelligence, and other forms of data- enabled processes in various jurisdictions. While there is no shortage of studies on AI in government and society, the regulation of AI, and the ethical sides of this emerging technological infrastructure, less attention has been paid to the governance side. We welcome contributions to the governance of AI from several different disciplinary backgrounds including public administration, public policy, information systems, computer science, law, media studies, and ethics/philosophy.

Topics covered may include, but are not limited to:

- Policy instruments regulating AI (legislation, standards, guidelines...)

- Policy communities and actors regulating AI (regulatory bodies, legal experts, activists, (big) tech community...)

- The policy discourse surrounding the regulation of AI (prevailing attitudes and debates in society, media, academia, politics...)

Strong contributions can be considered for publication in the forthcoming edited book “A Modern Guide to the Governance of Artificial Intelligence” (Edward Elgar), editors: Prof Karl Löfgren (Victoria University of Wellington, NZ), Prof Albert Meijer (Utrecht University, NL), Prof William Webster (University of Stirling, UK), Dr Shirley Kempeneer (Tilburg University, NL), Dr Keegan McBride (Oxford University, UK). The EGPA Conference represents an excellent opportunity to present chapters and obtain feedback before the full chapters need to be submitted (November-December 2025). These chapters should be shorter than standard journal articles (in the region of 6,000 words) and should seek to give a general and global overview of the topic (e.g., technical standards for AI) rather than presenting specific empirical cases. Please explicitly note in your submission whether you would like your contribution to be considered as a chapter for this edited volume. For further questions please reach out to Prof Karl Löfgren: karl.lofgren@vuw.ac.nz

2. General Sessions: Papers on e-Government

For those who may be new to the Study Group, please note that it is unnecessary to address the theme set out above in your submission. This Permanent Study Group is a podium for a broad discussion about e- Government with a specific interest on the administrative, political, and organizational aspects of service delivery, as well as information flows in and around government, public services, and policy. Papers on other topics in the broad area of e-Government, ICT in public administration and e-democracy are very welcome. In recent years, papers have been presented on a diverse range of topics, including smart cities, big data, governance and regulation, privacy and surveillance, social media, accountability and trust, public policy, national and international policy and practice around e-government, etc. We are also keen to encourage papers that explore innovative methods in the study of e-Government and those that set out to assess novel technological applications.

Publication of Papers

Strong papers may also be published in Information Polity, as well as in other academic journals such as the Electronic Journal of e-Government and in the International Review of Administrative Sciences. Subject to editorial and peer review, the best paper from the conference will be fast-tracked for publication in Information Polity.

Information Polity URL: https://informationpolity.com

Further Information

Submissions should preferably be uploaded directly to the EGPA site, but if you are having problems with the EGPA site you can mail your abstract directly to any of the Study Group Co-Chairs below.

As in previous years, we will try to organise our time to maximize opportunities to reflect on and discuss papers in depth. The EGPA Study Group on e-Government provides the strongest possible discussion forum for both established and new scholars in this field and gives a good opportunity for scholars to present new ideas and have those ideas discussed and debated by their peers.

Acceptance

This call is for abstracts. In keeping with the aims of the Study Group, the co- chairs will be looking for several key features in the proposed papers. These features are as follows:

- Abstracts should have a succinct and relevant title;

- Abstracts should include author affiliations and contact details;

- Abstracts should be no longer than 500 words in length;

- Abstracts should be submitted in Microsoft Word, PDF or RTF formats;

- Abstracts should cover the main line of argument to be explored in the full paper;

- Abstracts should show evidence of innovative and creative thinking which is well grounded in theory or well argued;

- Abstracts should indicate whether the proposed paper is theoretical and/or empirical in orientation; and

- Abstracts should relate the proposed paper to contemporary discourse in e-Government.

In all cases, there should be evidence that the proposed paper emerges from contemporary debates within the sphere of public administration and e- Government, broadly defined.

Papers should be submitted in PDF, Microsoft Word, or RTF format and a maximum length of approximately 8,000 words. We will ask some lucky participants to act as discussants for each of the presented papers. Discussants provide a further stimulus to valuable discussion on each paper.

Please note that we are keen to encourage new and existing scholars in the field to contribute to the Study Group. The group is open to new members, and we would ask senior members to encourage younger colleagues and PhD students to consider submitting abstracts.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any questions regarding the conference and/or the Permanent Study Group. We look forward to hearing from you.

With best wishes,

Albert, William and Shirley

e-Government Permanent Study Group 1 Co-Chairs

 

Professor Albert Meijer Utrecht University Netherlands a.j.meijer@uu.nl

Professor William Webster University of Stirling Scotland United Kingdom william.webster@stir.ac.uk

Dr. Shirley Kempeneer, Tilburg University, Netherlands S.Kempeneer@tilburguniversity.edu

 

Practicalities - Important dates:

Deadline for submission of abstracts: March 28, 2025

Deadline for acceptance notifications to the authors: April 18, 2025

Deadline for online submission of full papers: July 25, 2025

EGPA PhD Symposium: August 26, 2025

EGPA 2025 Conference: August 27-29, 2025

EGPA 2025 Conference Website: https://iias-iisa.org/egpa-2025-conference/

EGPA 2025 Conference Management System: https://www.conftool.org/egpa2025conference

For any questions regarding EGPA 2025, please contact us at: info@egpa-conference2025.org