Key Public Sector Individuals as ICT Change Agents: An Analysis of Australian and German Experience

The increasing demand for technology-enabled public sector services drives state agencies to launch information and communication technology (ICT) projects. The Australian and German state agencies are taking a proactive role towards technological change by employing so-called ICT change agents. These ICT change agents introduce, diffuse, manage and implement ICT within projects. Despite the mobilisation of change agents, there is scant research on the formal and informal roles of these key individuals within public sector projects. This article bridges that gap by providing valuable insights into the activities of public sector ICT change agents. It is based on empirical research from six case studies in Australian and German state agencies. Findings from these studies indicate that public sector ICT change agents position organisations to take advantage of cutting edge technologies by performing a great variety of formal and informal roles. Formal roles are performed in order to accomplish set formal project tasks, while informal roles help to speed up rapid ICT adoption and innovation through the change agents’ informal networks. The findings are delineated in a framework for future research which shows that formal and informal roles impact on the outcomes of public sector ICT projects.