How is Digital Social Data Changing in Public Policy? Emerging Technologies and New Governance Models for Informational Needs

The adoption of advanced technologies is redefining the ways in which social data is produced, mobilized and governed in European public services. This article analyses 1,883 cases collected in the Public Sector Tech Watch database to explore the transformations underway in the data governance of public services in highly technological contexts. After a theoretical and epistemological reconstruction of the role of digital social data, the research proposes a double analysis: a descriptive mapping of High-Tech Public Services (HTPS) and an investigation of latent structures through a Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA). The results show how technological innovation in public services does not follow a linear path: on the one hand, standardized solutions, oriented towards automation and prediction, prevail; on the other, fragmented experiments emerge, often in the pilot phase, which employ cutting-edge technologies but remain marginal. Data governance therefore appears segmented: configurations oriented towards administrative efficiency coexist with others aimed at strengthening the link with users, with a significant impact of sub-state levels. The work contributes to a critical reflection on the political nature of contemporary data governance, highlighting how technological choices are not only never neutral, but also make a very significant contribution to the reorganization of public data governance.