Pursuing Radical Transformation in Information Age Government: Case Studies Using the SPRINT Methodology

Abstract

This article is concerned with the pursuit of radical organizational transformation in information age government. It focuses on three cases, each of which used the SPRINT (Salford Process Reengineering Involving New Technology) process reengineering method. This method was designed specifically for e-government projects with the objective of inculcating radical change. Although each reported case can be described as successful in some measure, this chapter questions why none of the cases seeds a process of ongoing innovation, and why all settle on a set of changes that is less radical than the vision set out within the originating project. Each case sees the remaking of processes within an accepted set of goals, and not the remaking of these goals themselves. This restriction is reported, using the concept of organizational alignment with a declared set of goals. It is shown how in each case the organization favors the less radical amongst a set of alternative proposals. It is argued that in the end, SPRINT, which places great value on its participative ethos, is also constrained by that ethos. This paper reflects the implications for e-government projects more widely.