Towards an ontology for e-document management in public administration -the case of Schleswig-Holstein

An action research project in the state administration of Schleswig-Holstein (Germany) seeks to answer the following questions: How can we organize and present e-documents so that users will be able to retrieve the document needed, or at least the information indicating the document? And what is the most effective and adequate way to proceed in the given administrative environment? In search for an appropriate solution, existing approaches in other public administrations have been evaluated. Findings reveal that (1) employing an ambitious ontology-based approach requires the implementation of a set of interrelated elements to support this application, and (2) the necessary allocation of resources is associated with a number of risks which a state government cannot or may not want to bear. The appropriate strategy seems to take first steps in developing and using controlled vocabulary while this process should be accompanied by ongoing evaluation and by networking with other actors in this field to support a collective strategy. Drawing on these insights the state administration now develops a broader approach towards e-document management. In the conclusion, it is argued that research and practice should focus more on conditions of cross-organizational IT adoption in public administration, in particular on the power and ability to set up and control socio-technical infrastructures supporting the IT applications.