Purpose/Problem: Providing a digital platform for citizens to collaborate with governments to address environmental issues is vital for achieving sustainability goals. However, the e-government literature lacks studies that provide pragmatic solutions to sustainability problems through the design of artifacts, especially in developing countries. To fill the gap, the dissertation aims to design and evaluate a digital government collaborative platform (DGCP) and produce design knowledge to facilitate the collaboration between the government and citizens to address environmental sustainability issues in Sri Lanka.

Research methods: The design science research methodology (DSRM) was chosen for this research. Value-sensitive design (VSD) was also adopted throughout the design process to identify and embed human values in the DGCP. The prototype and the final workable DGCP were evaluated by stakeholders following the framework for evaluation in design science research (FEDS). Multiple methods were used in data collection and analysis.

Results: The result of the research was a designed and evaluated e-government artifact, the DGCP. By adopting the VSD approach, we first derived fifteen human values that were critical to DGCP design. The values were translated into thirty-one design requirements that were integrated into the prototype of the DGCP. The evaluation of the DGCP prototype indicated that the design requirements were fulfilled. Then, the evaluation of the final, workable DGCP showed that the stakeholders were satisfied with the system. Further, the evaluation also pointed out that the human values derived from the VSD approach were reflected in the DGCP.

Contributions: The dissertation advances e-government design knowledge for sustainability. DGCP is an instantiation of an e-government tool for facilitating collaboration on environmental sustainability issues in Sri Lanka. The design knowledge is produced by incorporating human values and translating them into design requirements through the VSD approach. Moreover, four design principles were generalized. Integrating the VSD into the DSRM activities offers a powerful choice of method that provides a well-grounded design in context. The knowledge can be applied in other e-government designs and generate positive societal consequences concerning sustainable development.