Mid Sweden University

The 11th Scandinavian Conference on Information Systems (SCIS2020) in August 2020 was held on-line due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The conference was organized by the research group Forum for Digitalization at Mid Sweden University.

For long digitalization has been coupled with hopes and expectations on potential societal development with positive connotations. Stories of digitalization were stories of bridging and sometimes even dissolving geographical distances, or stories of enhanced efficiency creating opportunities for other and more liberating activities, or stories of how digitalization could replace lack of manpower in times of demographic challenges. At the same time, digitalization requires continuous access to physical artifacts, limiting our individual freedom as well as societies facing mechanisms of fragmentation, segregation and disruption.

These views set the theme for SCIS2020: Center and periphery, Inclusion and exclusion, and Risks and robustness are all important topics for contemporary and future IS research. We need to discuss how digitalization best could bridge the gap between urban and rural areas and facilitate local development. Furthermore, we need to further investigate the conceptof  ‘Digitalization of all’, How can we ensure a design of IS that truly supports inclusion, with an open discussion on the development processes? Finally, the fast ongoing digitalization also involves several risk issues that need to be addressed, two examples are cloud storage of sensitive information, and how to ensure power supply and robust Internet connections.

A total of 23 papers were submitted to the conference. After a double-blind review process, 8 high quality papers were accepted for presentation at the conference, and published in these proceedings.

SCIS2020 proudly presented two keynote speakers: the vice chancellor of Mid Sweden University Anders Fällström and the Director-General of the Swedish Agency for Digital Government, Anna Eriksson. Due to the pandemic, no workshops were arranged. Still, the SCIS conference was organized in conjunction with the Information Systems Research Seminar in Scandinavia (IRIS), with its 43rd annual meeting.