Digital Transformation with Blockchain in the Public Sector

Public administration has to cope with a steadily growing workload and limited resources. The promises of blockchain and related technologies to alleviate this situation are manifold, but a dearth of academic literature exists that documents existing use cases and the lessons learned from them. In this case study we present the findings from a public administration use case conducted by the state government of South Tyrol in Northern Italy in cooperation with SAP. The project goal is to analyze the applicability of blockchain in the public sector. We find that exploiting the full potential of blockchain necessitates a complete rethinking of public management and bears the potential for a leaner and more service-oriented administration that reestablishes citizen trust in public institutions.