Research Projects

Public Attitudes to the Sharing of Personal Information in the Course of Electronic Public Service Provision

Introduction

Governments are exploring ways to transform public service provision including the development of online forms of integrated services. This new public service model would require an increased sharing of citizens’ personal information across agencies in the back-office of online public service provision. However, the sharing of information required to achieve this new e-service model touch upon a fundamental right of citizens: the right of privacy. Privacy is a multifaceted, ambiguous notion which means many things to many people. Furthermore, the meaning of privacy seems to be changing as a result of the use of new Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), with younger generations, as digital ‘natives’, developing different perceptions of privacy compared to older generations (Pew Research Centre 2009).

So far however, there is not much empirical, in-depth knowledge available about what peoples’ attitudes are towards the collection, management, and sharing of personal information in these new electronic public service relationships, and the implications for their privacy. What we know is based on quantitative research and through anecdotes presented in the media for instance. This research activity uses a qualitative research approach to more deeply explore attitudes of New Zealanders towards the collection, management, and sharing of personal information in the course of electronic public service provision.

Project downloads:

Project Summary (51Kb)

Although we would like to encourage people to download the full report, including an overview of all research findings, the Executive Summary can be down loaded here:

Executive Summary (115KB)

Public Attitudes to the Sharing of Personal Information in the Course of Online Public Service Provision Final Report, including Executive Summary, can be downloaded here:

Final Report (853KB)