Digital Contact Tracing in Switzerland: A Computer-Assisted Qualitative Analysis
Journal
Swiss Yearbook of Administrative Sciences
ISSN
2632-9255
Type
journal article
Date Issued
2023
Author(s)
Abstract
Public administrations often face significant challenges when adopting new digital technologies. The introduction of contact tracing during the pandemic provided an opportunity to assess the challenges encountered by public authorities when implementing digital technologies. We conducted semi-structured qualitative expert interviews with representatives of federal and cantonal agencies, as well as the Swiss National COVID-19 Science Task Force, to explore their opinions and viewpoints on the implementation of SwissCovid, a contact tracing application deployed by the Swiss government. The interview data were analyzed using a combination of topic modeling algorithms and manual thematic coding. The results of this analysis show that government agencies face gaps in technological literacy, unsatisfactory institutional structures, and legal barriers that impede interagency collaboration. We frame these insights from a theoretical perspective on the implementation of digital technology in public administration and provide empirically grounded insights into how these challenges play out in practice. We conclude with a discussion of potential reforms that may be useful to policy and decision-makers in public institutions.
Language
English (United States)
Volume
14
Number
1