Syllabus resource database

Home to all the relevant links for each unit of the TPSDA Syllabus

Unit 1

Resource Title Year Published Author(s) Reading Type
Technology and Public Management Information Systems: Where we have been and where we are going 2011 Ines Mergel, Helen Dickinson, Stuart Brentschneider Key arguments
Unacceptable IT is pervasive 2012 Chris Chant Key arguments
Digital government units: what are they, and what do they mean for digital era public management renewal? 2019 Amanda Clarke Key arguments
Transcript of an online lecture in King's College, London 2018 Tom Steinberg Materials to inspire class design
Video: Applying Digital Ways of Thinking 2019 Janet Hughes Materials to inspire class design
Ad Hoc Government Digital Services Playbook Kaitlin Devine, Paul Smith Materials to inspire class design
Video: Jennifer Pahlka on Government in the Digital Age 2024 Jennifer Pahlka Materials to inspire class design
Same same but different: How policies frame societal-level digital transformation 2024 Tobias Mettier, Gianluca Miscione, Claus Jacobs, Ali Guenduez Suggested pre-reading
New Public Management Is Dead—Long Live Digital-Era Governance 2005 Patrick Dunleavy, Helen Margetts, Simon Bastow, Jane Tinkler Suggested pre-reading
Digital Government Units: Origins, Orthodoxy and Critical Considerations for Public Management Theory and Practice 2017 Amanda Clarke Suggested pre-reading
Defining digital transformation: Results from expert interviews 2019 Ines Mergel, Noella Edelmann, Nathalie Haug Suggested pre-reading
Government Design Principles 2012 Government Digital Service Suggested pre-reading
Digital transformation toward AI-augmented public administration: The perception of government employees and the willingness to use AI in government 2022 Michael Ahn, Yu-che Chen Suggested pre-reading
Implementing AI in the Public Sector 2024 Ines Mergel, Helen Dickinson, Jari Stenvall, Mila Gasco Suggested pre-reading
The Government Machine: A Revolutionary History of the Computer 2003 Jon Agar Deeper background reading
The Theory of Modern Bureaucracy and the Neglected Role of IT 2006 Patrick Dunleavy, Helen Margetts, Simon Bastow, Jane Tinkler Deeper background reading
Building the Virtual State 2000 Jane Fountain Deeper background reading
On being and doing government 2019 Adrian Brown Deeper background reading
Public value creation in digital government 2019 Panos Panagiotopoulos, Bram Klievink, Antonio Cordella Deeper background reading
The rise and fall of UK digital government - learning from the past 2019 Antonio Weiss Deeper background reading
Introduction: Information Technology and Public Policymaking 2006 Patrick Dunleavy, Helen Margetts, Simon Bastow, Jane Tinkler Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
The Gutenberg Galaxy 1962 Marshall McLuhan Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Case Study: TraceTogether 2020 Mitchell B. Weiss, Sarah Mehta Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Case Study: The Failed Launch of Healthcare.gov 2016 Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Case Study: Phoenix Pay Disaster in Canada 2017 Auditor-General of Canada Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Case Study: NHS Records Implementation in the UK 2017 Centre for Public Impact Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Public Report of the Committee of Inquiry into the Cyber Attack on Singapore Health Services Pte. Ltd.'s Patient Database 2019 Report of Singapore's Committee of Inquiry Bonus materials used by TPSDA board

Unit 2

Resource Title Year Published Author(s) Reading Type
Digital Public Infrastructure and Public Value: What is public about DPI? 2024 David Eaves, Mariana Mazzucato, Beatriz Vazconcellos Materials to inspire class design
Video: Situation Normal, Everything Must Change 2015 Simon Wardley Materials to inspire class design
Choose Boring Technology 2018 Dan McKinley Materials to inspire class design
Which sensors do I have in my smartphone? How do they work? 2018 Manisha Priyadarshini Materials to inspire class design
From theory to practice: Government as a Platform 2018 Ashley Stephens Materials to inspire class design
Explaining the API Revolution to your CEO 2011 Dan Woods Materials to inspire class design
Government resilience in the digital age 2024 Keegan McBride, Andres Raieste Materials to inspire class design
Wardley Mapping, Chapter 2: Finding a Path 2016 Simon Wardley Suggested pre-reading
Do we still need systems integrators? 2020 Steve Kelman, David Eaves Suggested pre-reading
Digital Government, Open Architecture, and Innovation: Why Public Sector IT Will Never Be the Same Again 2013 Jerry Fisherden, Mark Thompson Deeper background reading
A Survey of COVID-19 Contact Tracing Apps 2020 Nadeem Ahmed, Regio Michelin, Wanil Xue, Susmita Ruj, Salil Kanhere, Aruna Seneviratne, Wen Hu, Helge Janicke, Sanjay Jha Deeper background reading
Government as a Platform Playbook 2019 Richard Pope Deeper background reading
What can Estonia show the world? 2017 Helen Margetts, Andre Naumann Deeper background reading
Government as a platform, orchestration, and public value creation: The Italian case 2019 Antonio Cordella, Andrea Paletti Deeper background reading
Government as a Platform: The Value Proposition 2017 New Zealand's Lab + Experiment Deeper background reading
What we're working on in Government as a Platform 2017 Peter O'Sullivan Deeper background reading
A Comparative Study of Security Features of National Identity Cards in Five Different Countries 2024 Mukti Chavda, Manisha Mann Deeper background reading
Making public policy in the digital age 2018 Andrew Greenway, Richard Pope Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Google platform rant 2011 Steve Yegge Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
On being and doing government 2019 Adrian Brown Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
UK Verify UK Government Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Aadhar Government of India Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Notify UK Government Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
18F guides US Government Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Estonia's X-Road Government of Estonia Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Bangladesh's A2I Government of Bangladesh Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
India Stack Government of India Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Technological revolutions and techno-economic paradigms 2009 Carlota Perez Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Glitches Dent German Enthusiasm for Covid Contact Tracing App 2020 Philip Olterman Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Automated contact tracing is not a coronavirus panacea 2020 Jason Bay Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Ethics of instantaneous contact tracing using mobile phone apps in the control of the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 Michael J Parker, Christophe Fraser, Lucie Abeler-Dörner, David Bonsall Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
The UK’s contact tracing app fiasco is a master class in mismanagement 2020 James Ball Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Automated and partly automated contact tracing: a systematic review to inform the control of COVID-19 2020 Isobel Braithwaite, Thomas Callender, Miriam Bullock, Robert W Aldridge Bonus materials used by TPSDA board

Unit 3

Resource Title Year Published Author(s) Reading Type
Social Affordances of Agile 2023 Ines Mergel Suggested pre-reading
Does agile include value creation in government? 2024 Oliver Neumann, Pascale-Catherine Kirklies, Susanne Hadorn Suggested pre-reading
DIB Guide: Detecting Agile BS 2018 US Department of Defense Suggested pre-reading
Agile Government and Adaptive Governance in the Public Sector 2018 Ines Mergel, John Carlo Bertot, Yiwei Gong Suggested pre-reading
The Winter Getaway That Turned the Software World Upside Down 2017 Caroline Mimbs Nyce Suggested pre-reading
The Agile Manifesto 2001 Kent Beck, Mike Beedle, Arie van Bennekum, et al. Suggested pre-reading
Building product management capacity in government part 1 – Our coaching philosophy 2019 Nikki Lee, Kara Reinsel Suggested pre-reading
Agile Methods: Fact or Fiction? 2010 Matt Ganis Key arguments
The CHAOS Report 2015 2015 The Standish Group Key arguments
Project vs Product Funding 2024 Jennifer Pahlka Materials to inspire class design
Video: Foundations of Agile, Part 1 2019 Alan Atlas, Alan Brouilette Materials to inspire class design
Video: Digital Government - Not Complicated, Just Hard 2014 Tom Loosemore Materials to inspire class design
Is your project using "agilefall"? 2015 Chris Goranson, Alan Brouilette, Alan Atlas Materials to inspire class design
Towards improving agility in public administration 2024 Hannah Looks, Jannik Fangmann, Jorg Thomaschewski, Maria-Jose Escalona, Eva-Maria Schon Deeper background reading
Boiling Frogs 2016 Anonymous Authors Deeper background reading
The TechFAR Handbook 2014 US Government Deeper background reading
Managing the Development of Large Software Systems 1970 Winston Royce Deeper background reading
Production of Large Computer Programs 1983 Herbert. D Benington Deeper background reading
DoD-Std-2167A and methodologies 1990 Scott Paul Overmeyer Deeper background reading
The Science of "Muddling Through" 1959 Charles E Lindblom Deeper background reading
Chaos Chronicles 2016 Jim Johnson, Hans Mulder Deeper background reading
The New Practice of Public Problem Solving 2019 Tara McGuinness, Anne-Marie Slaughter Deeper background reading
Agile: A new way of governing 2020 Ines Mergel, Sukumar Ganapati, Andrew B. Whitford Deeper background reading
Agile vs Waterfall Jonathan Rasmusson Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
United States Digital Services Playbook US Digital Service Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
GOV.UK's Agile Delivery Service Manual UK Government Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
The New Practice of Public Problem Solving 2019 Anne-Marie Slaughter, Tara McGuinness Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Escaping the myth of digital government 2017 Jerry Fishenden, Cassian Young Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Healthcare.gov and the Gulf Between Planning and Reality 2013 Clay Shirky Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Measuring the Benefits of your Service 2001 Martin Fowler, Jim Highsmith Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Agile Practices Timeline The Agile Alliance Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Some Thoughts on Design Research, Agile, and Traps 2020 Charles Lamdin Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Agile and adaptive governance in crisis response: Lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic 2020 Marijn Janssen, Haiko van der Voort Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Case Study: Hypothesis-Driven Entrepreneurship: The Lean Startup 2011 Thomas Eisenmann, Eric Ries, Sarah Dillard Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Value Proposition Design (pages 10-25) 1999 Alex Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Video: PDIA: A Journey of Discovery 2018 Harvard's Building State Capability (BSC) Center Bonus materials used by TPSDA board
Organizational routines as a source of continuous change 2000 Martha Feldman Bonus materials used by TPSDA board

Unit 4

Resource Title Year Published Author(s) Reading Type
Co-Production of Digital Public Services in Austrian Public Administrations 2021 Noella Edelmann, Ines Mergel Suggested pre-reading
Co-production phases in the development and implementation of digital public services 2025 Ines Mergel, Noella Edelmann, Nathalie Haug Suggested pre-reading
Designing good government services: an introduction 2018 Government Digital Service Suggested pre-reading
Value Proposition Design (pages 28-61) 1999 Alex Osterwalder, Yves Pigneur, Greg Bernarda, Alan Smith Suggested pre-reading
The Field Guide to Human-Centered Design (pages 9-25) 2015 IDEO.org Suggested pre-reading
Design Tweak Yields 18 Percent Rise in Snap Enrollment 2019 Zack Quaintance Suggested pre-reading
Veterans Appeal Process 2016 US Department of Veterans Affairs Suggested pre-reading
Administrative Burden: Policy-making by Other Means 2018 Pamela Herd, Don Moynihan Materials to inspire class design
Teaching Note for Digital Government, Public-Private Partnerships and Administrative Burden: The Free File Program 2022 Don Moynihan Materials to inspire class design
Redesigning Government for the 21st Century 2018 Lou Downe Materials to inspire class design
Mostly Service Design: The Health and Care Edition 2019 Matt Edgar Materials to inspire class design
Bad service design is not a strategy 2015 Andrew Greenway Materials to inspire class design
Change by Design 2009 Tim Brown Deeper background reading
This is Service Design Methods 2018 Marc Stickdorn, Markus Edgar Horness, Adam Lawrence, Jakob Schneider Deeper background reading
Human-Centred Government Service Delivery 2020 Dana Chisnell Deeper background reading
Leading Public Sector Innovation: Co-creating for a Better Society (Chapter 7) 2010 Christian Bason Deeper background reading
Bringing design to the public policy cycle 2020 Alberto Rodriguez Alvarez, Dana Chisnell Deeper background reading
Hacking Bureaucracy: Reimagining California's Food Stamp Program In The Digital Age 2016 Laura Winig, David Eaves Bonus materials used by TPSDA board

Unit 5

Resource Title Year Published Author(s) Reading Type
Ten Great Ways Data Can Make Government Better 2017 Jane Wiseman, Stephen Goldsmith Suggested pre-reading
Seeing Like a State (Part 1, Chapter 2, pp. 53-84) 1999 James Scott Suggested pre-reading
Using data to improve your service: an introduction 2016 Government Digital Service Suggested pre-reading
The Parable of Google Flu: Traps in Big Data Analysis 2014 David Lazer, Ryan Kennedy, Gary King, Alessandro Vespignani Suggested pre-reading
Video: What is machine learning? 2021 Apolitical Suggested pre-reading
Why we need inclusive data governance in the age of AI 2024 Jeni Tennison Suggested pre-reading
Digital public infrastructure: orientation matters 2024 Soujanya Sridharan, Vinay Narayan and Jack Hardinges Suggested pre-reading
Artificial Intelligence Playbook for the UK Government (HTML) 2025 UK government Materials to inspire class design
The world’s most valuable resource is no longer oil, but data 2017 The Economist Materials to inspire class design
Mapping disease: John Snow and Cholera 2016 Fahima Begum Materials to inspire class design
Video: Lead Safe: Predictive Analytics to Prevent Lead Poisoning in Children 2018 Allison Arwardy, Raed Mansour, Tom Schenk Jr, Avishek Kumar, Nita Mohanty Materials to inspire class design
The Data Life Cycle 2019 Jeanette Wing Materials to inspire class design
Video: What really is data science? 2019 Jonathan Ma Materials to inspire class design
Responsible AI Pattern Catalogue: A Collection of Best Practices for AI Governance and Engineering 2024 Qinghua Lu, Liming Zhu, Xiwei Xu, John Whittle, Didar Zowghi, Aurelie Jacquet Materials to inspire class design
Strategically constructed narratives on artificial intelligence: What stories are told in governmental artificial intelligence policies? 2024 Ali A Guendez, Tobias Mettier Deeper background reading
Real Time: Leveraging the Data Explosion for Better Policy 2024 Danielle Goldfarb Deeper background reading
The Value of Data 2019 Diane Coyle Deeper background reading
New York City is saving lives by predicting where fires will break out 2017 Apolitical Deeper background reading
The Path to Becoming a Data-Driven Public Sector 2019 OECD Deeper background reading
Matching data to support troubled families 2018 Local Government Association Deeper background reading
Parking open dataset used to find a signage failure 2016 Max Galka Deeper background reading
Clear My Record 2015 Code for America Deeper background reading
Managing a Data Science Team 2018 Angela Bassa Deeper background reading
The Analytics Playbook for Cities: A Navigational Tool for Understanding Data Analytics in Local Government, Confronting Trade-Offs, and Implementing Effectively 2020 Amen Ra Mashariki, Nicolas Diaz Deeper background reading
Ideological Inheritances in the Data Revolution 2016 Hamish Robertson, Joanne Travaglia Deeper background reading
How Data Does Political Things 2015 Jeffrey Alan Johnson Deeper background reading
Full MOOC: Data Science Specialization John Hopkins University Deeper background reading
Big Data and Social Science 2016 Ian Foster, Rayid Ghani, Ron S. Jarmin, Frauke Kreuter, Julia Lane Deeper background reading
Full syllabus: Data Science Project Scoping - a guide for social good organizations University of Chicago and GobLab UAI Deeper background reading

Unit 6

Resource Title Year Published Author(s) Reading Type
Video: Threat modelling exercises 2014 Nickolai Zeldovich Key arguments
Bias detectives: the researchers striving to make algorithms fair 2018 Rachel Courtland Key arguments
Video: What is multi-factor authentication 2017 HID Key arguments
Dangerous Data: the role of data collection in genocides 2016 Responsible Data Key arguments
Health Insurers Are Vacuuming Up Details About You — And It Could Raise Your Rates 2018 Marshall Allen Key arguments
Four Ethical Issues of the Information Age 1986 Richard O'Mason Suggested pre-reading
The Dark Side of Numbers: The Role of Population Data Systems in Human Rights Abuses 2001 William Seltzer, Margo Anderson Suggested pre-reading
Surveillance self-defence: Your Security Plan 2019 Electronic Frontier Foundation Suggested pre-reading
Threat Modeling: Designing for Security (Chapter 1, pages 3-28) 2014 Adam Shostack Suggested pre-reading
Fitness tracking app Strava gives away location of secret US army bases 2018 Alex Hern Suggested pre-reading
More than a digital system: how AI is changing the role of bureaucrats in different organizational contexts 2022 Sarah Giest, Bram Klievink Materials to inspire class design
GenAI for Local Government: Privacy and Cybersecurity Concerns 2024 Kate Burns Materials to inspire class design
The OPM hack explained 2020 Josh Fruhlinger Materials to inspire class design
Poverty Lawgorithms 2020 Michele Gilman Materials to inspire class design
Hospital workers convicted for snooping into Rob Ford's personal health files 2016 May Warren Materials to inspire class design
Game: The Security Cards 2013 Tamara Denning, Batya Friedman, Tadayoshi Kohno Materials to inspire class design
Digital Attack Map Google Ideas, Arbor Networks Materials to inspire class design
Video: Understanding Distributed Denial of Service Attacks 2014 Jigsaw Materials to inspire class design
Without a critical approach to big data it risks becoming an increasingly sophisticated paradigm for coercion 2017 Hamish Robertson, Joanne Travaglia Materials to inspire class design
Hacking, Glitches, Disinformation: Why Experts are Worried about the 2020 Census 2019 Chris Hamby Materials to inspire class design
Understanding artificial intelligence ethics and safety 2019 David Leslie Deeper background reading
Data Governance: The Next Frontier of Digital Government Research and Practice 2020 Amanda Clarke Deeper background reading
Beijing’s Big Brother Tech Needs African Faces 2018 Amy Hawkins Deeper background reading
Data of 14,200 people with HIV leaked online by American fraudster 2020 Andrew Wong Deeper background reading

Unit 7

Resource Title Year Published Author(s) Reading Type
User testing documentation 2021 Government Digital Service Key arguments
Machine readable Open Knowledge Foundation Key arguments
The bell curve 2004 Atul Gawande Key arguments
Conversations between governments and citizens in a digital society. Exploring people’s willingness for digital exchange of information with public institutions and democratic representatives. 2024 Helen Margetts Suggested pre-reading
Why we code in the open 2017 Dave Rogers, Steve Marshall Suggested pre-reading
The New Ambiguity of 'Open Government 2014 Harlan Yu, David G. Robinson Suggested pre-reading
Open government research over a decade: A systematic review 2021 Kuang-Ting Tai Suggested pre-reading
Open data outcomes: US cities between product and process innovation 2018 Ines Mergel, Alexander Kleibrink, Jens Sorvik Suggested pre-reading
Taiwan: Public Participation Methods on the Cyberpunk Frontier of Democracy 2016 Liz Barry Suggested pre-reading
GenAI for Local Governments: Community Engagement Guidance 2024 Kate Burns Materials to inspire class design
How to work in the open in government 2019 Ben Holliday Materials to inspire class design
Lies, Damned Lies, and Open Data 2012 David Eaves Materials to inspire class design
How People Are Using Our Chicago Parking Ticket Data in Their Research 2019 Haru Coryne Materials to inspire class design
Introducing Notify 2019 Bryan Willey Materials to inspire class design
Opening the Government of Canada 2019 Amanda Clarke Deeper background reading
History of freedom of information in the UK Campaign for Freedom of Information Deeper background reading
About Participedia Participedia Deeper background reading

Unit 8

Resource Title Year Published Author(s) Reading Type
The Theory of Modern Bureaucracy and the Neglected Role of IT, Chapter 1 2006 Patrick Dunleavy, Helen Margetts, Simon Bastow, Jane Tinkler Suggested pre-reading
A Civic Technologist's Practice Guide (Chapters 6 and 12) 2020 Cyd Harrell Suggested pre-reading
Digital Service Teams: Challenges and Recommendations for Government (pages 8-11) 2017 Ines Mergel Suggested pre-reading
Unfreezing change as three steps: Rethinking Kurt Lewin’s legacy for change management 2015 Todd Bridgman, Kenneth G Brown Suggested pre-reading
AI Meets the Cascade of Rigidity 2024 Jennifer Pahlka Materials to inspire class design
Breaking All the Rules: Information Technology Procurement in the Government of Canada 2024 Amanda Clarke, Sean Boots Materials to inspire class design
How to make friends and winfluence people 2017 Alex Blandford Materials to inspire class design
Video: How to Re-Shape Projects (without antagonising people) 2019 Kate Tarling Materials to inspire class design
Challenges of adopting agile methods in a public organisation 2016 Jouko Nuottila, Kirsi Aaltonen, Jaakko Kujala Materials to inspire class design
Digital government units: what are they, and what do they mean for digital era public management renewal? 2019 Amanda Clarke Materials to inspire class design
Part 2: Proposing A Maturity Model for Digital Services 2018 David Eaves Materials to inspire class design
Digital transformation decoupling: the impact of willful ignorance on public service digital transformation 2024 Jonathan Crusoe, Johan Magnusson, Johan Eklund Deeper background reading
The Double Darkness of Digitalization: Shaping Digital-ready Legislation to Reshape the Conditions for Public-sector Digitalization 2024 Ursula Piesner, Lise Justesen Deeper background reading
Managing successful organizational change in the public sector. Public administration review, 66(2), 168-176 2006 Sergio Fernandez, Hal Rainey Deeper background reading
The Management of Change in Public Organisations: A Literature Review 2013 Ben Kuipers, Malcolm Higgs, Walter Kickert, Lars Tummers, Jolien Grandia, Joris Van der Voet Deeper background reading
The End of the Beginning for Digital Service Units 2018 David Eaves Deeper background reading
Case study: America's Bitter Pill: Money, Politics, Backroom Deals, and the Fight to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System Specific pages (217-219), (272-276), (289-300), (313-315), (322-334), (336) 2015 Steven Brill Deeper background reading
Case Study: The £10 Billion IT Disaster at the NHS 2019 Henrico Dolfing Deeper background reading
Case Study: Lessons Learned from the Transformation of Pay Administration Initiative, Government of Canada Government of Canada Deeper background reading
Case Study: From City to Nation: Digital government in Argentina, 2015–2018 2019 Tanya Filer, Antonio Weiss, Juan Cacace Deeper background reading