Mid Sweden University

Digitalization is associated with structural changes in society, and a variety of policies on the topic have emerged on different levels of government (EU, national, regional, local) in recent years. Research suggests that government policies on digitalization are often overly optimistic about the transformational effects of technology. Hence, there is a need to scrutinise such policies. The purpose of this paper is to examine how objectives are expressed in digitalization policies in the welfare sector. To do so, an objectives-oriented approach is utilised to analyse four Swedish welfare policies. A directed content analysis was conducted using a theoretical framework based on five types of objectives from decision theory. The results reveal that common objectives in the policies studied were to change the status quo or use the people involved (citizens and healthcare staff) as a point of departure. At times, the policies combine goals of increased efficiency and better care, with a discourse that makes digitalization resemble a strategic goal (in itself). Moreover, few alternatives to digitalization presented in the material studied. Hence, although a range of actors is presumed to be part of changing the status quo, the results suggest that these actors have little choice due to a lack of alternatives to the prescribed path towards a digital welfare society. The results of this research have implications for both theory and practice. The absence of alternatives ought to be considered in future policy making. An interesting area for further research is to investigate how these policies are enacted in practice.