What Does Access to Digital Public Services Require from Citizens?

For over a century, the public sector has used information technology to enable and streamline administrative tasks. Today, welfare benefit administration in Scandinavia predominantly occurs through a combination of automation and digital self-service, both of which rely heavily on national data registries. This has led to increased government efficiency in many areas, and improved service quality for most citizens. However, automation and digital self-service also impose several demands on citizens regarding IT access, skills and competencies, as well as their personal characteristics and life history. In this paper, we explore and illustrate these demands through a series of vignettes based on in-depth qualitative studies of citizens and frontline employees in Scandinavia. We conclude by classifying the various types of demands and discussing them in relation to existing research and current practices for public service provision.