Proceedings of the 2008 international conference on Digital government research

Welcome to dg.o 2008 --- The Ninth Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research! Since you are here, you already know that dg.o meetings offer a unique environment in which computer and social science researchers, government officials and industry representatives come together to share new research in the realm of digital government. We provide a diverse gathering of minds with a common interest in furthering the development of democratic digital government. The conference had its genesis in 1999 as an assembly of researchers receiving support from the U.S. National Science Foundation. Since that time the conference has expanded its attendance beyond NSF funded researchers, has grown in size, and has truly become international in scope. This year is the first time the conference has been held outside the U.S. Montreal's international character is perhaps the perfect site for such an international forum, with presenters traveling from twelve countries and representing dozens of academic institutions, government agencies, and nongovernmental organizations. This year the conference theme "Partnerships for Public Innovation" focuses on information-intensive innovations in the public sector that involve linkages among government, universities, NGOs, and businesses. This theme emphasizes the importance of sharing practical issues, policy perspectives, research insights, and expert advice, in order to reach higher levels of performance in diverse public enterprises. Our Keynote speakers include: Andy Stein, from the city of Newport News, Virginia, who will be discussing collaborative software ecosystems; Edwin Lau, from the OECD, who leads the OECD E-Government Project; and Dan Chenok, formally of the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, who will be discussing citizen engagement. Even here you can see the range of participation --- from local, through national, to international. In the sessions you will see many disciplines represented, from computer science to the social sciences. You will see theoretical work and applied work. For the first time we have identified case studies, which describe specific field work, as we work to demonstrate the impact of digital government in practice. We will leave it to you to peruse the program and select the sessions that align with your interests.