3. Digitalisation and datafication of the welfare state  

Minna van Gerven (University of Helsinki) 

Jacqueline O’Reilly (University of Sussex) 

Rune Halvorsen (Oslo Metropolitan University)

This session explores the transformative impacts of digitalization and datafication on welfare states. It aims to critically examine how big data and data-driven technologies are reshaping social policies, welfare services and the broader dynamics of social protection and labour market policies. In an era of rapid technological advancement, welfare states increasingly rely on digital infrastructures and automated decision-support using advanced analytics such as artificial intelligence (AI). This shift towards digitalization and automation raises a wide range of critical questions, including those related to equity, transparency, accountability, and the broader implications for the future of welfare systems.   

This session aims to:

- foster multidisciplinary dialogue around the political, administrative, economic, professional, and technical dimensions of digital transformations in welfare states

- consider the multilevel and -actor dynamics of these transformations.  

We invite theoretical and empirical contributions that address a range of issues, including but not limited to: 

- Digital tools in policy and service design: how are digital technologies integrated into the infrastructures of welfare policy and service provision?

- Big data in welfare systems:  how is big data used in welfare systems and what are the ethical and practical implication thereof?

- Public-Private interactions in Digital ecosystems: How do partnerships between public and private actors shape welfare delivery?

- Comparative perspectives on Digital welfare: what varieties of digital welfare states can be found?

- Street-level bureaucracy and welfare claimants: what challenges do digitalization and automation pose for front line workers and service users?

- Digital gaps: what are the most important digital gaps and which role do welfare states play in closing digital gaps?  

- This panel thus aims to advance the understanding of the complex interplay between digital technologies and welfare systems and offer new insights into the emerging digital welfare state (van Gerven 2022).