Jane E. Fountain is an American political scientist and technology theorist. She is Distinguished University Professor of political science and public policy, the founder and director of the

National Center for Digital Government National Center for Digital Government is a research center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The center is directed by Jane Fountain, professor of political science and public policyCharles Schweik associate professor of natural resources ...

at the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

, and formerly faculty at the

John F. Kennedy School of Government The John F. Kennedy School of Government, commonly referred to as Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), is the school of public policy of Harvard University, a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Harvard Kennedy School offers master's de ...

at Harvard University. She is known for her work on institutional change and on the use of technology in governance.

Career

Fountain earned a bachelor's degree in music from the

Boston Conservatory of Music Boston Conservatory at Berklee (formerly The Boston Conservatory) is a private performing arts conservatory in Boston, Massachusetts. It grants undergraduate and graduate degrees in dance, music, and theater. Boston Conservatory was founded o ...

in 1977, serving as concertmaster from 1975 to 1977."Biography"
, Jane E. Fountain personal website. She then earned a master's degree in education (administration, planning and social policy) from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1982, and several degrees from

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, culminating in a Ph.D. in political science and organizational behavior in 1990. She began teaching at the

at Harvard in 1989. In 1998 she established the Women in the Information Age Project and in 2001, with support from the National Science Foundation, established the National Center for Digital Government with David Lazer. In 2005 Fountain moved to the

and NCDG was re-established there. Fountain also directs the Science, Technology and Society Initiative at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Fountain has worked with numerous governmental and NGO organizations. She has been involved with the

World Economic Forum The World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...

for a number of years, serving on the Global Agenda Council on the Future of Government and as Council Chair and Vice Chair. In 2012 she was appointed to the Massachusetts-based Governor's Council on Innovation. She has also worked with the

World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...

, the

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

, the

National Science Foundation The U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF) is an Independent agencies of the United States government#Examples of independent agencies, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that su ...

, and numerous national governments. In 2001, Fountain published ''Building the Virtual State: Information Technology and Institutional Change'', which has been published in multiple languages, and is regarded as a key text in

digital government E-government (known for electronic government) involves utilizing technology devices, such as computers and the Internet, for faster means of delivering public services to citizens and other persons in a country or region. E-government offer ...

scholarship.See, e.g., Kenneth Kernaghan, "Moving Towards the Virtual State: Integrating Services and Service Channels for Citizen-Centred Delivery", ''International Review of Administrative Sciences'', v.71, n.1, pp.119-131 (March 2005); Donald F. Norris, "Building the Virtual State... or Not? A Critical Appraisal", ''Social Science Computer Review'', v.21, n.4, pp.417-424 (Nov. 2003); Glenn Hoetker, Book Review, ''Academy of Management Review'', v.27, n.4, pp.619-622 (Oct. 2002).

Selected works

* ''Building the Virtual State: Information Technology and Institutional Change'' (2001) (awarded "Outstanding Academic Title" by ''

Choice A choice is the range of different things from which a being can choose. The arrival at a choice may incorporate Motivation, motivators and Choice modelling, models. Freedom of choice is generally cherished, whereas a severely limited or arti ...

'') * "Social Capital: A Key Enabler of Innovation" Investing in Innovation: Toward A Consensus Strategy for Federal Technology Policy. Ed. Lewis Branscomb and James Keller. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998. * "Paradoxes of Public Sector Customer Service", ''Governance'', v.14, n.1, pp. 55–73 (Jan. 2001) * "Constructing the Information Society: Women, Information Technology and Design." ''Technology in Society'' 22: 45-62. 2000.

Awards and honors

* 2014 - Federal 100 Award, Federal Computer Week * 2013 - Distinguished University Professor, University of Massachusetts Amherst * 2012 - Elected Fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration * 2012 - Chancellor's Medal for Academic Excellence and Extraordinary Service to the Campus, University of Massachusetts Amherst. * 2011 - Inaugural ITP Section Senior Fellow, Information Technology and Politics Section, American Political Science Association. * 2010 - Chancellor's Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in Research and Creative Activity, University of Massachusetts Amherst. * 2000 - Fellow, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study.

Notes

External links

"Jane Fountain" (faculty profile)
University of Massachusetts Dept. of Political Science.
Jane Fountain personal website

Jane Fountain Selected Works
(institutional repository page).
Digital-Government.net
.
National Center for Digital Government

Science, Technology, and Society Initiative
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fountain, Jane University of Massachusetts Amherst faculty Harvard Kennedy School faculty Yale Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Living people 1955 births American women political scientists American political scientists E-government in the United States Politics and technology Harvard Graduate School of Education alumni Boston Conservatory at Berklee alumni American women academics 21st-century American women