Preconditions for Covid-19 mobile apps: A feature-level investigation of user acceptance based on insights from South Korea and Canada, applied in the Netherlands

RESEARCH QUESTION: How does the Dutch public perceive the privacy and efficacy of potential technologies used for managing Covid-19? How can culturally embedded views on privacy and transparency from other countries be leveraged to enable a secure and efficient app in the Netherlands? How do experts consider the results of the survey in regards to implementation in the app? URGENCY: The Dutch government has installed a task force working on understanding technical requirements and citizen attitudes regarding Covid-19 apps. Tracking is important to prevent or manage a second wave of infections. This project aims to contribute detailed insights in just over 4 months. HYPOTHESIS: Our study will reveal preferences and opinions about the adoption of apps in the Netherlands. Evidence suggests that citizens in South Korea are more accepting of actions taken to promote public health and more open to surveillance, which has allowed for the rapid implementation of mobile apps. We expect their existing technologies, as well as experiences from Canada, to be useful in providing the basis for our survey and for discussing how to explain and market a Covid-19 app in the Netherlands. ACTION PLAN: The project has three work packages (WPs): 1) Design a feature-specific survey and administer it with a representative sample of the Dutch public. 2) Gather expert feedback on survey results and implications for implementation by means of an expert Delphi discussion. Experts will include policymakers, software developers, privacy and legal experts and healthcare workers. 3) Host interactive expert session to discuss results of WPs 1&2. Summarize results and provide recommendations based on the first two work packages into final report. Share images and clips of data on social media with a link to the final report.