How to Make Government Agile to Cope with Organizational Change

In Denmark, the largest organizational change project with information technology ever is being shaped. By January 2007, all counties and municipalities will be reorganized. More than 1 million employees will be affected, and all public IT systems will have to change. To make this huge change project a success, agility is needed.

In 2003, a kind of pilot study for the coming change project was undertaken. Five municipalities on the Island of Bornholm merged. In this paper, we report on the merging process—especially the IT diffusion—through an indepth interview study.

Our analysis of the interview data leads us to suggest five means in order to make the Danish government agile enough to cope with the upcoming major reorganization. First, the organizational change should be integrated and aligned with the IT change. Second we recommend an early start. Third, an IT vision is needed. Fourth, we recommend a rethinking of the existing public service provision. Finally, we see a need for new tools and techniques. Together we believe these five means, if implemented throughout the Danish government, will create the agility that is needed to cope with the major organizational change by 2007.