Training Programme
Digital Ethics Officer
for European
Public Administration
Acquire the necessary skills to understand, address and mitigate ethical, social, and legal implications associated with digitalization and digital technologies in public administration
Pilot programme free of charge – Virtual classes
Registration until 14 October
Start date: 31 october, 2024
An ERASMUS+ Initiative co-founded by the European Union
In partnership with:
*Please note: Only 60 spots are available across Europe. Applications will be reviewed for eligibility.
About this course
This course is an Erasmus+ initiative co-funded by the European Union to help public administrators become Digital Ethics Officers (DEOs).
The project was initiated in 2023. The Ministry of Finance of Italy (MEF) is coordinator of the DEO4PA Consortium formed by first-class players in their fields in France (EDHEC Augmented Law Institute), the Netherlands (ALLAI, EIPA), Greece (DIMITRA) and Italy (Uninettuno).
The designed course (“pilot”) addresses the growing need for ethical guidance in the digital transformation of public services. Its contents were inspired by the needs and gaps expressed by 60 public administrators based in The Netherlands, Italy, France and Greece.
The underlying rationale is to empower DEOs:
To advise and participate in decision-making processes regarding digitalization in public administration
To operationalize ethical, social and legal requirements for technology use in public administration
To foster open communication and capacity building around digitalization
Who should APPLY?
Civil servants and managers in public administrations
Pre-requisites
In order to complete this course successfully:
Bachelor’s degree or, alternatively, 5 years of work experience
Active role in a Public Administration at European, National or Local level
Proficiency in English
These criteria are cumulative.
When
Start date: From 31 October 2024
Lectures every 1 to 3 weeks
TEACHING LANGUAGE
English
PEDAGOGICAL CONTENT
22 hours of live teaching over 4 months (11 modules of 2 hours each): 3 practical modules and 8 theoretical modules
Curated readings and multiple-choice self-assessment tests (approximately 120 hours of self-study over 5 months
Final assessment test
WHY REGISTER
Scheduled online lectures conducted by an expert in the field, in English
Planning is known in advance
Self-paced learning (readings and self-evaluations)
Free of charge (Erasmus+ initiative co-funded by the European Union)
Recording accessible throughout the course
5 ECTS, EQF level 5
Key competencies
Expert Analysis
To advise in decision-making and assessment processes related to public administration digitalization through using expertise and raising critical questions
Knowledge Operationalization
To operationalize technical, ethical, social, and legal theories and requirements to evaluate the use of technology in public administration throughout the technology’s lifecycle
Accountability
To foster an environment of open and critical communication about digitalization of public administration, and engages in organizational capacity building
Detailed Programme
Description
A DEO must possess a strong foundational knowledge of the digital technologies landscape and be able to refer to distinct technological processes and requirements when communicating observed ethical, social, and legal concerns. Likewise, technical knowledge is needed to comprehensively assess and judge a system’s (de-)merits. This module provides DEO candidates with an extensive digital vocabulary and a foundational understanding of the capabilities and limitations of digital technology. It prepares the ground for the next modules where we explore how these capabilities and limitations relate to ethical, legal, and societal impact.
Covered Content
- Taxonomy of Key Technical Terms
- Overview of the Digital Technology Landscape
- Foundations of Assessing Digital Technology
Description
A DEO must possess a strong command of digital ethics to navigate this complex landscape and be able to provide necessary guidance. Findings from the needs and gaps analysis indicated an overall lack of understanding of the ethical issues related to digitalization, the role ethics plays when assessing a digital tool’s impact, and a corresponding desire for these issues to be better addressed by a qualified official. This module provides participants with a strong foundational understanding of relevant ethical theories and (EU) ethics frameworks, provides guidance on identifying and evaluating a case’s ethical merits, and offers tools for bridging the gap between theory and practice. The module incorporates core theoretical debates related to issues in digital ethics and illustrates how these issues manifest in a PA setting.
Covered Content
- Overview of EU Digital Ethics Frameworks
- Common Themes and Theories in Digital Ethics
- Critical Digital Ethics
Description
Digital Technology does not operate in a lawless vacuum. Indeed, there is an extensive legal landscape regulating technology in accordance with fundamental human rights that comprise the foundation of the EU. A DEO must possess sound knowledge of this legal landscape to ensure compliance with existing regulations. The needs and gaps analysis indicated a lack of knowledge of the multitude of laws and unclarities as to the scope and applicability of the law. This module provides students with a strong foundational understanding of the EU digital law landscape, the boundaries set by relevant regulations, and how various frameworks intersect with each other. Particular attention is paid to regulations regarding the digitalization of public administration. Moreover, candidates are familiarized with notions of accountability and responsibility of PAs in relation to the law and the delicate power imbalances they must navigate as intermediates between governments and the citizenry.
Covered Content
- Role of legal knowledge for the DEO position
- Imbalanced power relations between governments and private individuals
- EU declarations and legal frameworks regarding the Digitalisation of Public Administration in the European Union
- Overview of relevant EU Digital Law
Description
Integrating digital systems in public administration has far-reaching consequences for human deployers and users interacting with the new digital technology. Findings from the needs and gaps analysis suggest that PAs struggle to determine how much autonomy and discretion humans (should) have when using digital systems and how to value a system’s output. The issue becomes particularly pertinent when the use of a digital system results in adverse or harmful outcomes. In this module, DEO participants learn strategies to cultivate a healthy working culture that allows for human error while emphasizing the importance of human autonomy, discretion, and accountability in interactions with digital systems.
Covered Content
- Foundations of error theory
- Human error and digitalization
- Human discretion and autonomy in digital processes
Description
A Digital Ethics Officer (DEO) must understand public administrators’ needs, communicate concerns to senior management, and develop institutional digital literacy. To fulfill these tasks, the DEO requires strong negotiation and argumentation skills to resist potentially unethical or illegal decisions from upper management. At the same time, the DEO must effectively communicate with lower-level staff in a respectful manner to maintain an open, communicative working environment. Therefore, essential interpersonal skills include active listening, verbal communication, empathy, respect, problem-solving, and constructive conflict resolution. This module will provide participants with practical strategies to enhance and refine these interpersonal skills, enabling effective navigation of diverse interactions. Moreover, the module introduces students to state-of-the-art negotiation and stakeholder engagement methodologies and provides guidance on implementing this knowledge practically.
Covered Content
- Better identify the processes of interpersonal communication with a view to creating a climate of trust and credibility.
- Analyse your own attitudes, reactions and preferences in relation to others.
- Draw up a list of behavioural parameters to be considered in bilateral negotiations.
- Be aware of the main golden rules of interpersonal communication.
- Maximise your impact when speaking and conducting formal as well as informal negotiations.
Description
« I’m able to control only that of which I’m aware. Awareness empowers me » Sir John Whitmore1
In an era where digital governance intersects with diverse cultural perspectives, mastering cross-cultural negotiations is crucial for ethical decision-making and policy implementation. In order to influence a negotiation process with integrity, we need to reflect first on our own behaviour in interpersonal and intercultural relations. This workshop should help participants to better understand the impact of (theirs and other people’s) behaviour, attitude, personality, manner of communication in a cross-cultural environment, so as to reach their objectives in negotiation processes.
The session aims at enhancing the capacity of our participants/DEOs to handle interpersonal and intercultural challenges through using a series of methodological, awareness building and highly practical tools.
It is not always easy to get a message across and convince people of our ideas when they come from the same background. Yet, the challenge is even greater when they have differing values and beliefs, organise their world in alternative ways, communicate and listen differently.
Covered Content
- Better identify the mechanisms of interpersonal and intercultural communication that influence the way people listen to and understand things during negotiations, with a view to creating a climate of trust and credibility
- Draw up a list of behavioural parameters to be considered in multicultural negotiations
Be conscious of the golden rules regarding intercultural communication
Description
The DEO will be tasked with cultivating an environment where ethics is integral for the working culture and decision-making processes. To effectively complete this task, the DEO will acquire proficiency in facilitating Moral Case Deliberation (MCD). MCD is a method that enables participants to jointly discuss ethical issues from their work in a structured manner and with the help of a moderator (the DEO). During a Moral Case Deliberation, based on a concrete example from daily practice, an answer is sought together to determine what constitutes good practice in that specific situation. This module provides DEO students with a theoretical foundation of MCD and explore practical case studies to help students apply their knowledge. Moreover, students will participate in an MCD, facilitated by the instructor, to get an idea of how the method works in practice.
Covered Content
- Foundational MCD theory
- Foundations of the dilemma method
- MCD case studies
Description
Participants will actively apply and lead an MCD session in this module. Through this hands-on approach, participants can embody various stakeholder roles, employing the knowledge acquired from core and facilitating Modules. By engaging in practical exercises, participants will observe the intricate interplay between diverse DEO4PA course elements and deepen their understanding of the subject matter. Furthermore, they will be encouraged to pose insightful inquiries, delving into both the content previously covered and the techniques intrinsic to moral case deliberation, fostering a comprehensive grasp of the material. The participants should be able to unilaterally lead an MCD and use it as one of the most vital tools in the DEO’s arsenal.
Covered Content
- See module 8
Description
A DEO must possess a strong command of the impact of digital technologies on human rights, democracy and the rule of law. This module provides participants with a strong foundational understanding of the implications of different digital applications for human rights, various relevant human rights frameworks and how these intersect with each other. Moreover, the DEO will gain critical understanding of the democratic and rule of law implications of the use of digital technologies in PA.
Covered Content
- Fundamental Rights in the Digital Age
- The effect of technology on fundamental rights
- The effects of technology on democracy and democratic structures
Description
The 7-steps towards Trustworthy AI approach has been crafted by a team of seasoned experts encompassing legal, technical, and ethical disciplines. It is based on the “Seven-step guide to ethical decision-making » by Michael Davis ((1999) Ethics and the university, New York: Routledge, p. 166-167). Using this guide, the experts formulated a comprehensive technology deliberation and assessment methodology that merges the Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI and critical considerations such as potential harm, societal impact, reputational damage, and public acceptance, to aid in the final decision-making process. Within this module, participants will receive theoretical instruction elucidating the underpinnings of this approach. Building on the theoretical foundations provided during the previous modules, participants will be equipped with a practical tool to apply theoretical knowledge to real life situations.
Covered Content
- In-depth explanation of each of the 7-step methodology
- Applying ALTAI and EGTAI within the 7-step methodology
Description
This module serves as the practical application of the 7 Step Approach. Participants will transition from theoretical understanding to hands-on implementation. Through engaging case studies, participants will navigate each step of the process, applying the knowledge gained throughout the course and assess their knowledge. When exercising the DEO role, the participants will be able to use the 7-Step Approach as an instrument for the analysis of technology implementation in public administration.
Covered Content
- See module 10
Please note: Only 60 spots are available across Europe. Applications will be reviewed for eligibility.
