Digital competencies of municipal employees: Current state assessment

Introduction: the article discusses the place and role of changing employee competencies as a component of the digital transformation of public administration, summarizes Russian and foreign approaches to formatting similar digital competencies. The municipal employees of St. Petersburg interpretation of digital skills and their development factors is investigated. Objectives: to study the current state of municipal employees’ digital competences, as well as the factors influencing it. Methods: a survey of municipal employees (n = 111) in St. Petersburg held in April 2024. Results: approaches to the content and development of municipal employees’ digital competence in the academic community of Russian and foreign scientists were identified. The results understanding of these processes by municipal employees of St. Petersburg is shown in the context of three areas: characteristics of the current level of digital literacy and digital infrastructure in municipalities; composition of municipal employee’s digital competencies; factors contributing to the development of municipal employees’ digital competencies. Conclusions: the current state, challenges, and gaps in the Russian municipal employees’ digital competence were outlined. Key digital hard and soft skills, as perceived by municipal employees, were identified. Among the factors motivating them to acquire digital skills, respondents cite a desire to improve work quality, reduce paperwork, and self-improvement. Low digital literacy (influencing factors include demographics, a lack of educational programs for adults in small towns, and technical infrastructure) and a lack of trust in digital platforms (influencing factors include fear of social engineering attacks, a non-customer-centric interface, and a fear of wasting time and not achieving results) significantly limit the effectiveness of online interactions between the public and municipal authorities.