Multi-channel provisioning of public services - Department of ...

Glossary
Policy chain – a multi agency service process having a sequential dependency between the
actors (Thompson, 1967).
Policy network – a multi agency service process with a dependency between the actors of a
reciprocal nature (Thompson, 1967).
Public agency – A government organisation with a policy domain not limited by geographical
boundaries.
Public-private network – A multi-agency service process of actors from both the public and
private sector.
Software as a Service (SaaS) – A software distribution model in which applications are hosted
by a vendor or service provider and made available to customers over a network, typically the
Internet (van der Aalst, 2010).
Transformational government – a government that is able to holistically provide services that
evolve with the changing needs of their stakeholders.
Virtual organisation – a temporary or semi-permanent arrangement of resources selected
independently of the normal organisational boundaries in order to solve a given task or tasks.
Wicked problem – A problem having a level of dynamic complexity in solution criteria that
cause a situation were there is no definite formulation of the problem.
Workflow – The automation of a business process, in whole or part during which documents,
information or tasks are passed from one participant to another for actions, according to a set of
procedural rules. Lawrence (1997)
Workflow management system – A system that defines, creates and manages the execution of
workflows through the use of software, running on one or more workflow engines, which is able
to interpret the process definition, interact with workflow participants and, where required,
invoke the use of IT tools and applications. Lawrence (1997)
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