From Digital Government to Sustainable State: Public Sector Innovation in the Twin Transition

Governments worldwide are being called upon to respond simultaneously to two major transformations: the digital transition and the sustainability transition. Digital government has advanced the use of data, platforms, artificial intelligence, automation, and user-centred services, while the climate and sustainability agenda requires public institutions to rethink policy design, service delivery, regulation, procurement, infrastructure, and citizen engagement.The convergence of these two transitions creates both opportunities and tensions. Digital technologies can support greener, more inclusive, and more resilient public sectors, yet they may also generate new risks related to energy consumption, digital exclusion, surveillance, institutional fragmentation, and uneven administrative capacity.This Research Topic invites contributions that examine how public sector innovation can move beyond the modernization of government services toward the broader transformation of the state as a sustainable, adaptive, and accountable institution. We are particularly interested in work that explores how digital tools, organizational change, governance models, and public value frameworks can contribute to sustainability goals while preserving democratic legitimacy, equity, transparency, and trust.Too often, digital government and sustainable development are treated as separate policy agendas, managed by different institutions, evaluated through different indicators, and implemented through disconnected strategies. This separation limits the capacity of governments to address complex societal challenges such as climate change, social inequality, demographic shifts, energy transition, and territorial resilience.This Research Topic aims to advance knowledge on how public sector innovation can align digital transformation with environmental, social, and institutional sustainability. It seeks to identify conceptual frameworks, empirical evidence, policy instruments, and governance practices that enable public institutions to become more anticipatory, collaborative, data-informed, inclusive, and sustainable.We welcome theoretical, empirical, comparative, methodological, and practice-oriented manuscripts addressing themes such as digital government and sustainability integration; AI, data governance, and public value; green digital public services; smart cities and territorial resilience; sustainable public procurement and GovTech; digital inclusion and just transition; platform governance; anticipatory regulation; climate-responsive public administration; public sector capacity for the twin transition; citizen participation and co-creation; ethics, accountability, and trust in sustainable digital governance.Contributions may include original research articles, conceptual papers, systematic literature reviews, comparative case studies, policy analyses, methodological contributions, and evidence-based practitioner perspectives. Interdisciplinary approaches are strongly encouraged, particularly those connecting public administration, information systems, sustainability studies, innovation studies, political science, law, management, and urban governance. Topic editors: Vassilios Peristeras, NICOLAS DEMERTZIS, Lydia Avrami, Athanasios Deligiannis Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/83003/from-digital-government-to-sustainable-state-public-sector-innovation-in-the-twin-transition