Tutorial 1 - ICEDEG 2026

Title: From Measurement to Strategy: Making Sense of E-Government Benchmark Results

Tutorial Outline:

Digital government benchmarks and indexes have become increasingly influential in shaping reform agendas, international comparisons, and policy priorities. Yet, for many public administrations, engaging with these exercises is not limited to submitting data or reviewing final rankings. It also involves understanding methodologies, coordinating inputs across institutions, validating results, and interpreting findings to inform strategic decision-making. This tutorial explores how governments, practitioners, researchers, and policy advisors can make better use of e-government benchmark results. It focuses on the practical and institutional challenges faced by national administrations when interacting with benchmarking exercises, including data provision, methodological clarification, inter-institutional coordination, validation processes, and the interpretation of published results. Common risks such as superficial complacency, gaming, fragmented interpretation, and weak alignment between benchmark findings and broader digital government strategies will be discussed. The tutorial uses the European Commission’s European eGovernment Benchmark as a central empirical reference point. Participants will be introduced to its structure, methodology, assessment phases, and main indicators, including its life-event-based approach, mystery shopping, and automated tools, as well as the landscaping and validation phases. This will provide a concrete basis for discussing how benchmark results are produced, what they can and cannot reveal, and how public administrations can engage with them more effectively. The session will encourage participants to reflect on how benchmark evidence can support better governance, improved service delivery, and more coherent digital transformation planning. The discussion will consider how results can be interpreted across institutions, how performance gaps can be identified, and how findings may be connected to existing or forthcoming digital government strategies. The session is intended for public administration officials, policymakers, governance advisors, digital government practitioners, data analysts, and academics. No specific prior knowledge is required. By combining methodological understanding with applied interpretation and strategic reflection, the tutorial aims to support a more informed and constructive use of benchmarking in the field of digital government.

Tutorial Instructors

João Martins is a Senior Research Associate at the United Nations University Operating Unit on Policy-Driven Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV) and an Invited Professor at the Department of Economics at the University of Minho. He holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Minho, with a thesis titled Essays on the Socioeconomic Impacts of Digital Government. In addition to the socioeconomic impacts of digital government, he has focused on digital government assessment, benchmarking, monitoring, and digital transformation strategies. His work combines empirical research, policy-oriented analysis, and practical support to governments in the design, assessment, and improvement of digital government initiatives. He has experience in consultancy and capacity-building projects for international organisations and governments, including UNDP, the Agency for State Technological Reform of Portugal, and the Digital Government Authority of Saudi Arabia. His research has been published in international journals including Government Information Quarterly, Information Economics and Policy and Social Science Computer Review.
Mariana Lameiras is a researcher at the Communication and Society Research Centre (CECS), where she serves as co-coordinator of PolObs, the Observatory on Science, Communication, and Culture Policies, and at United Nations University Operating Unit on Policy-Driven Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV). She holds a PhD in Communication Sciences from the University of Minho, Braga, Portugal. Her research focuses on e-participation, community engagement for active citizenship, local e-government, digital media, media governance, regulation, and public policy. She co-leads the working group on “Policies, Regulation and Political Economy of Media” of the Portuguese Association of Communication Sciences (SOPCOM) and collaborates with the European Audiovisual Observatory and UNU-EGOV. Mariana has been actively involved in projects assessing e-government at national and local levels, including work on measurement frameworks, digital participation, and public-sector capacity development. Her experience combines academic research, applied assessment, and engagement with policymakers and public administration officials.
Luís Nuno Barbosa is a Research Assistant at the United Nations University Operating Unit on Policy-Driven Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV). He holds a bachelor’s degree and a post-graduation in Economics from the University of Minho, Portugal. Since joining UNU-EGOV, he has contributed to projects related to digital government, capacity building, and activity monitoring. His recent work includes consultancy projects on digital government benchmarks, including work with the Agency for State Technological Reform of Portugal, as well as research projects on accessibility standards in digital public services. Before joining UNU-EGOV, Nuno developed professional experience in project management, translation, digital marketing, and volunteer coordination. His profile combines applied project experience, an economics background, and practical engagement with digital government assessment and monitoring. He is also active in civic engagement, coordinating volunteer-based emergency food aid initiatives and contributing to advocacy efforts on women’s rights, climate justice, and LGBTQIAP+ rights.