On June 15, Biao He successfully defended his doctoral dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Political Science: “When e-government meets bureaucracy: incentive structures shaping accessible service delivery in Chinese municipalities” at the Johan Skytte Institute of Political Studies, University of Tartu.
Dr Biao He is an associate fellow at CEDIC. One of the journal articles included in his dissertation has been co-authored with co-director of CEDIC, Rune Halvorsen.
His doctoral work focused on how local governments implement accessible e-government services and why municipalities respond differently to national accessibility initiatives. Using the case of China’s 2021 accessibility reform, he examined how factors such as policy enforcement, organizational resources, leadership support, societal pressure, peer learning, and local engagement shape implementation outcomes. His findings show that successful implementation depends on the interaction of multiple incentives rather than any single factor. The dissertation highlights that accessible digital public services are not merely a technical issue, but a complex policy implementation challenge.
You can find his doctoral dissertation here: https://skytte.ut.ee/en/event/doctoral-defence-biao-he-when-e-government-meets-bureaucracy-incentive-structures-shaping
Biao He is now employed at OsloMet and working on the project Sustainable wellbeing through investment in social services (SWINS) – OsloMet, with a focus on digitalisation of social services.
Congratulations on your achievement, Biao!