Espen Sjøvoll
Doctoral research fellow at the University of Oslo - Digdir
I am a PhD student at the institute of Informatics at UiO doing a public sector PhD in collaboration with the Norwegian Digitalisation Agency (Digdir). With a background in economics from the University of Bergen I have more than 20 years of leadership experience from both public and private sector and have long been engaged in questions of how digitalisation can strengthen public value creation.
My PhD at the University of Oslo focuses on how financing models influence the success of digitalisation initiatives, and whether more adaptive funding mechanisms can improve governance and efficiency. I am particularly motivated by how the public sector can meet the twin challenges of the green transition and digital transformation.
Tell us about your project!
The Norwegian public sector largely depends on long-term budget allocations for digitalisation investments. This model often clashes with the incremental, learning-driven nature of agile development, creating incentives for agencies to oversell benefits and downplay risks to secure funding—leading to inefficient decisions and poor resource use.
My PhD project investigates how financing mechanisms shape the implementation and outcomes of public digitalisation projects. I will analyze the current budget process and test whether more adaptive models can strengthen governance and efficiency. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, alongside experimental testing through Digdir’s funding schemes, the project aims to pinpoint frictions in today’s system and explore how adaptive financing can improve management and delivery.
“My PhD project investigates how financing mechanisms shape the implementation and outcomes of public digitalisation projects”
— Espen Sjøvoll on his research project “Improving government digital innovation through adaptive funding mechanisms”