Problems Caused by Digital Transformation in Local Governments Due to COVID-19 Pandemic and Solution Suggestions: The Case of Bartın Province

The project presents suggestions about the future of informatics in public institutions, as well as revealing the risks and opportunities that local governments face in the COVID-19 process, the delivery of public services and the way they do business. The security approach of local governments in digital transformation during the pandemic process, the fight against cyber risks, the adaptation to digital life and the elimination of space dependency were also examined within the scope of the project. As a result of the evaluation of the surveys and interviews, it was observed that under these extraordinary conditions, 89% of public institutions were able to successfully carry out their services with the remote working model at long intervals without interruption. According to the opinions of the participants working in public institutions in the province of Bartın, it was concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic reduced the work productivity of the employees of the institution (80.5%). It also reveals that the COVID-19 pandemic affects the working behaviors of the employees of the institution by 71.5% and significantly (85.4%) their behavior in working life. It has been shown that the COVID-19 pandemic has significant (81.3%) effects on the digital transformation of local governments. It has been observed that employees are satisfied with working from home (57.8%) due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 72.4% of the employees believe that they experience less work-related stress, 56.1% believe they can concentrate on their work better, and 75.6% believe that working remotely will reduce the possibility of burnout in the near future. When the IT infrastructures of the institutions are examined, it has been determined that firewalls and anti-virus programs are used on both computers and servers. On the contrary, it has been observed that there is no Cyber ​​Attack Response Team (SOME) in institutions. Providing trainings to the employees of the institution about the protection of personal information and information security will increase the performance of the employees as well as provide a safer working environment in the future. It is thought that the use of cloud computing technology will help institutions to facilitate remote working practices. In order to accelerate digital transformation, it is understood that old legislation and regulations that are still valid in traditional business processes need to be updated quickly. As a result, organizations need to be flexible, dynamic and adaptable in all situations, including the current situation facing COVID-19. With good practice and management principles, it is thought that working remotely can be as effective as working in the office.