Johan Ivar Sæbø

• Mahundi, Masoud; Senyoni, Wilfred; Luambano, Merina Marcelino; Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Müller, Sune Dueholm & Ngwila, Mustapha [Show all 10 contributors for this article] (2026). The extent and factors influencing the quality of routine healthcare data in Bahi and Dodoma councils in Tanzania. SSM - Health Systems. 7, p. 1–9. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmhs.2026.100304.
• Utvik, Vetle Alvenes; Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Amarakoon, Pamod Madusanka & Nielsen, Petter (2025). Digital public goods: understanding the role of generativity in fostering digital innovation for development. Information Technology for Development. ISSN 0268-1102. 31(4), p. 1791–1809. doi: 10.1080/02681102.2025.2531494. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This paper examines how digital public goods foster digital innovation. DPGs are understood as open digital technologies designed to contribute to sustainable development goals, which indicates a potential for enabling resource-scarce countries to innovate without the constraints of proprietary technologies. However, little is known about how DPGs foster innovation. We draw on a case study of digital innovation during the COVID-19 pandemic with the software platform, District Health Information Software 2 (DHIS2), considered a DPG. We use the concept of generativity to examine how DHIS2’s architecture, governance, and community shaped the case. We found that DHIS2 fostered innovation in a distributed and recursive way. This insight implies that DPGs with generative capacities realize their value through recurring sharing of benefits from their distributed utilization. This research contributes to the ICT4D literature on DPGs by conceptualizing the generativity of DPGs and positioning the study in a digital-for-development paradigm.

• Munyambabazi, Eric; Nielsen, Petter; Amuha, Monica Grace; Kusiima, Daisy; Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Behumbiize, Prosper (2025). Scaling of Health Information Systems in Education: A Case of Cross-Sectoral Collaboration, IST-Africa 2025 Conference Proceedings. IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers). ISSN 9781905824755. doi: 10.23919/IST-Africa67297.2025.11060529. Full text in Research Archive
• Sanner, Terje Aksel; Kempton, Alexander Moltubakk; Russpatrick, Scott McKee & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2024). Governing digital platform ecosystems for social options. Information Systems Journal. ISSN 1350-1917. doi: 10.1111/isj.12546. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  To date, there is little insight into how digital platforms might be governed towards the creation of social value. We argue that digital platforms can contribute to the creation of social value by enabling social options. Thus, we are concerned about how digital platform ecosystems may be governed towards the enablement of social options. We report on the results from our longitudinal qualitative case study of a digital platform employed by ministries of health in more than 70 low- and middle-income countries. We trace the formation and subsequent shaping of governance mechanisms employed to enable social options across national borders and domains. We develop a model of platform governance that shows how such mechanisms are shaped over time through resourcing, capacitating and purposing processes. These three processes play distinct yet complementary roles in governing for social options.

• Meijerink, Hinta; Shelil, Mohamed; Jani-Bølstad, Jagrati; Dvergsdal, Evy Therese; Madslien, Elisabeth Henie & Wilberg, Madeleine [Show all 10 contributors for this article] (2024). Does integration with national registers improve the data completeness of local COVID-19 contact tracing tools? A register-based study in Norway, May 2020 - September 2021. BMC Health Services Research. 24(1). doi: 10.1186/s12913-023-10540-5. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Background During the COVID-19 response in Norway, many municipalities used the Fiks contact tracing tool (FiksCT) to register positive individuals and follow-up contacts. This tool is based on DHIS2, an open source, web-based platform. In this study we examined if data completeness in FiksCT improved after integration with national registers between May 2020 and September 2021. Methods Data from municipalities using FiksCT was extracted from the Norwegian Emergency Preparedness Register for COVID-19 (Beredt C19). We linked FiksCT data to the Norwegian Surveillance System for Communicable Diseases (MSIS), the National Population Register (FREG), and the Norwegian Vaccine Registry (SYSVAK) using unique identification numbers (ID). Completeness for each variable linked with a national register was calculated before and after integration with these registers. Results Of the 125 municipalities using FiksCT, 87 (69.6%) agreed to share and upload their data to Beredt C19. Data completeness for positive individuals improved after integration with national registers. After integration with FREG, the proportion of missing values decreased from 12.5 to 1.6% for ID, from 4.5 to 0.9% for sex, and from 1.2 to 0.4% for date of birth. Missing values for vaccine type decreased from 63.0 to 15.2% and 39.3–36.7% for first and second dose, respectively. In addition, direct reporting from FiksCT to MSIS increased the proportion of complete records in MSIS (on the selected variables) from 68.6% before to 77.0% after integration. Conclusion The completeness of local contact tracing data can be improved by enabling integration with established national registers. In addition, providing the option to submit local data to the national registers could ease workload and reduce the need to collect duplicate data.

• Munyambabazi, Eric; Gizaw, Abyot Asalefew; Nielsen, Petter & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2024). Digitalizing Monitoring of National Development Plans: A Case Study from Uganda. In Chigona, Wallace; Kabanda, Salah & Seymour, Lisa F. (Ed.), Implications of Information and Digital Technologies for Development - ICT4D 2024. Springer Nature. ISSN 9783031669811. p. 33–47. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-66982-8_3. Full text in Research Archive
• Gundersen, Ragnhild Bassøe; Nicholson, Brian; Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Nielsen, Petter (2023). The Interplay Between Communitas and Anti-structure in Liminal Innovation, Proceedings of the European Conference on Information Systems ECIS 2023. Association for Information Systems (AIS). ISSN 9781958200087. Full text in Research Archive
• Müller, Sune Dueholm & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2023). The ‘hijacking’ of the Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems: Implications for the information systems community. Information Systems Journal. ISSN 1350-1917. doi: 10.1111/isj.12481. Full text in Research Archive
• Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Büttner, Andre; Gruschka, Nils; Jolliffe, Bob & McGee, Austin (2022). Where There is No CISO. In Zheng, Y.; Abbott, P. & Robles-Flores, J. A. (Ed.), Freedom and Social Inclusion in a Connected World : 17th IFIP WG 9.4 International Conference on Implications of Information and Digital Technologies for Development. Springer. ISSN 9783031194290. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-19429-0_12. Full text in Research Archive
• Chrysantina, Aprisa; Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Kaasbøll, Jens Johan (2022). Introducing online training for health staff: An institutional perspective. Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries. doi: 10.1002/isd2.12233. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Online training has been gaining popularity for its flexibility and cost-efficiency. Its introduction challenges existing practices of in-service training which are mostly in the form of onsite training. Based on a participative, interpretive case study, we conceptualized in-service training as an institution, examining how the introduction of online training affected changes to the in-service training practices. Our research investigates three modes of in-service training; onsite training, self-paced online course, and synchronized online training. Two conflicting institutional logics that are associated with the first two modes of training emerge; onsite training logic and online training logic. The in-service training institution in Indonesia remained stable despite changes in technology used and the covid pandemic. The logic of onsite training continued to be dominant throughout the period, and most training practices in onsite training were carried over to the online training without reflections.

• Nicholson, Brian; Nielsen, Petter; Sahay, Sundeep & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2022). Digital public goods platforms for development: The challenge of scaling. The Information Society. ISSN 0197-2243. 38(5), p. 364–376. doi: 10.1080/01972243.2022.2105999. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In this article we consider the notion of digital global public good and articulate our understanding of it. Against this conceptual foil, we examine the development of DHIS2, a global health platform inspired by public goods, focusing on the paradoxes that arise in the scaling process. We find that the scaling dynamics played out differently at the macro and micro levels, giving rise to the following paradoxes: addition of new functionalities to cater to the universe of users across the world (macro level) works counter to the needs of users in particular locations (micro level); responsiveness to the requests of the donors with a global view (macro level) distorts the production process, as the voices of users, situated in remote locations in developing countries, are not adequately heard; the system needs to be simultaneously relevant across the global (macro level) and the local (micro level), when the former calls for decontextualization and the later (re)contextualization. We then discuss challenges these paradoxes create with regard to attaining non-rivalry and non-exclusion, the defining characteristics of a public good.

• Nicholson, Brian; Nielsen, Petter; Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Tavares, Ana Paula (2022). Digital Public Goods for Development: A Conspectus and Research Agenda. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology. ISSN 1868-4238. doi: 10.1007/978-3-031-19429-0_27. Full text in Research Archive
• Byrne, Elaine & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2022). Routine use of DHIS2 data: a scoping review. BMC Health Services Research. 22(1). doi: 10.1186/s12913-022-08598-8. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Background In regard to health service planning and delivery, the use of information at different levels in the health system is vital, ranging from the influencing of policy to the programming of action to the ensuring of evidence-informed practices. However, neither ownership of, nor access to, good quality data guarantees actual use of these data. For information to be used, relevant data need to be collected, processed and analysed in an accessible format. This problem of underused data, and indeed the absence of data use entirely, is widespread and has been evident for decades. The DHIS2 software platform supports routine health management for an estimated 2.4 billion people, in over 70 countries worldwide. It is by far the largest and most widespread software for this purpose and adopts a holistic, socio-technical approach to development and implementation. Given this approach, and the rapid and extensive scaling of DHIS2, we questioned whether or not there has been a parallel increase in the scaling of improved information use. To date, there has been no rigorous review of the documentation on how exactly DHIS2 data is routinely being used for decision-making and subsequent programming of action. This scoping review addresses this review gap. Methods The five-stage approach of Arksey and O’Malley progressed by Levac et al. and Peters was followed. Three databases (PubMed, Web of Science and Embase) were searched, along with relevant conference proceedings and postgraduate theses. In total, over 500 documents were reviewed and data from 19 documents were extracted. Results Overall, DHIS2 data are being used but there are few detailed descriptions of this usage in peer reviewed or grey literature. We find that, commonly, there exists a centralised versus decentralised pattern of use in terms of access to data and the reporting of data ‘up’ in the system. We also find that the different conceptualisations of data use and how data use is conceptualised are not made explicit. Conclusions We conclude with some suggestions for a way forward, namely: i) the need to document in more detail and share how data are being used, ii) the need to investigate how data were created and who uses such data, iii) the need to design systems based on work practices, and in tandem develop and promote forums in which ‘conversations’ around data can take place.

• Kinkade, Carl; Russpatrick, Scott McKee; Potter, Rebecca; Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Sloan, Michelle & Odongo, George [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2022). Extending and Strengthening Routine DHIS2 Surveillance Systems for COVID-19 Responses in Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, and Uganda. Emerging Infectious Diseases. ISSN 1080-6040. 28(13), p. S42–S48. doi: 10.3201/EID2813.220711. Full text in Research Archive
• Shamba, Donat; Day, Louise T; Zaman, Sojib Bin; Sunny, Avinash; Tarimo, Menna & Peven, Kimberly [Show all 22 contributors for this article] (2021). Barriers and enablers to routine register data collection for newborns and mothers: EN-BIRTH multi-country validation study. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 21. doi: 10.1186/s12884-020-03517-3. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Background Policymakers need regular high-quality coverage data on care around the time of birth to accelerate progress for ending preventable maternal and newborn deaths and stillbirths. With increasing facility births, routine Health Management Information System (HMIS) data have potential to track coverage. Identifying barriers and enablers faced by frontline health workers recording HMIS source data in registers is important to improve data for use. Methods The EN-BIRTH study was a mixed-methods observational study in five hospitals in Bangladesh, Nepal and Tanzania to assess measurement validity for selected Every Newborn coverage indicators. We described data elements required in labour ward registers to track these indicators. To evaluate barriers and enablers for correct recording of data in registers, we designed three interview tools: a) semi-structured in-depth interview (IDI) guide b) semi-structured focus group discussion (FGD) guide, and c) checklist assessing care-to-documentation. We interviewed two groups of respondents (January 2018–March 2019): hospital nurse-midwives and doctors who fill ward registers after birth (n = 40 IDI and n = 5 FGD); and data collectors (n = 65). Qualitative data were analysed thematically by categorising pre-identified codes. Common emerging themes of barriers or enablers across all five hospitals were identified relating to three conceptual framework categories. Results Similar themes emerged as both barriers and enablers. First, register design was recognised as crucial, yet perceived as complex, and not always standardised for necessary data elements. Second, register filling was performed by over-stretched nurse-midwives with variable training, limited supervision, and availability of logistical resources. Documentation complexity across parallel documents was time-consuming and delayed because of low staff numbers. Complete data were valued more than correct data. Third, use of register data included clinical handover and monthly reporting, but little feedback was given from data users. Conclusion Health workers invest major time recording register data for maternal and newborn core health indicators. Improving data quality requires standardised register designs streamlined to capture only necessary data elements. Consistent implementation processes are also needed. Two-way feedback between HMIS levels is critical to improve performance and accurately track progress towards agreed health goals.

• Poppe, Olav; Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Braa, Jørn (2021). WHO digital health packages for disseminating data standards and data use practices. International Journal of Medical Informatics. ISSN 1386-5056. 149. doi: 10.1016/j.ijmedinf.2021.104422. Full text in Research Archive
• Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Nicholsan, Brian; Nielsen, Petter & Sahay, Sundeep (2021). Digital Public Goods Platforms for Development: The Challenge of Scaling. UiO web. Full text in Research Archive
• Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Nicholson, Brian; Nielsen, Petter & Sahay, Sundeep (2021). DIGITAL GLOBAL PUBLIC GOODS. In Masiero, Silvia & Nielsen, Petter (Ed.), IFIP 9.4 2021 – 1st Virtual Conference Conference Theme: Resilient ICT4D. Proceedings. Universitetet i Oslo. ISSN 9788273684622. p. 890–900. Full text in Research Archive
• Gundersen, Ragnhild Bassøe; Utvik, Vetle Alvenes; Thorseng, Anne Asmyr; Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Nielsen, Petter (2021). AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS OF DIGITAL TRANSFOR-MATION OF COVID-19 CONTACT TRACING DURING A PANDEMIC. IRIS Selected Papers of the Information Systems Research Seminar in Scandinavia. ISSN 1891-9863. 12(4). Full text in Research Archive
• Poppe, Olav; Saugene, Zeferino; Kossi, Edem Kwame; Braa, Jørn & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2020). Rapid Systems Response to COVID-19: Standards Disseminated as Digital Health Packages. In Bandi, Rajendra; Klein, Stefan; Madon, Shirin; Raghavendra, Ranjini & Monteiro, Eric (Ed.), IFIPJWC: IFIP Joint Working Conference on the Future of Digital Work: The Challenge of Inequality. Springer. ISSN 9783030646967. p. 237–250. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-64697-4_18. Full text in Research Archive
• Gundersen, Ragnhild Bassøe; Dynestøl, Emilie Bauck; Nielsen, Petter; Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Thorseng, Anne Asmyr & Ulshagen, Andrea [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2020). Digital Transformation under a pandemic: A case study of Covid-19 contact tracing in Norway. NOKOBIT: Norsk konferanse for organisasjoners bruk av informasjonsteknologi. ISSN 1892-0748. 28(1). Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In March 2020 the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Norway increased rapidly, and the efforts to trace contacts of positive cases were under severe pressure. Contact tracing in Norway is the responsibility of the municipalities, and no standardized or coordinated contact tracing practices were at the time in place on the national level. The afflicted municipalities did their best to cope with the chaotic situation and did contact tracing using excel spreadsheets or pen and paper. These approaches have their flaws, and in particular, failed to scale in several municipalities. In this paper, we report from a case study of collaborative efforts made to address this challenging situation by the University of Oslo (UiO), the Norwegian Association of Local and Regional Authorities (KS), the Norwegian Public Health Institute (NPHI), and several municipalities. The DHIS2 software platform and experiences implementing DHIS2 for contact tracing in other countries were the basis for these efforts. We describe the process of designing and implementing DHIS2 to date and the experiences so far. We pay particular attention to the potential long-term implications of this process, which we see as a digital transformation of contact tracing in particular and disease surveillance in general in Norway. Our contribution is a rich case description as well as the identification of themes relevant to the further development of DHIS2 for contact tracing as well as other systems in a similar context. These themes include cross-municipal collaboration and information sharing across judicial/legal boundaries, standardisation and centralization of support structures, and potentially transformation of contact tracing practices.

• Day, Louise Tina; Rahman, Qazi Sadeq-Ur; Rahman, Ahmed Ehsanur; Salim, Nahya; Ashish, KC & Ruysen, Harriet [Show all 37 contributors for this article] (2020). Assessment of the validity of the measurement of newborn and maternal health-care coverage in hospitals (EN-BIRTH): an observational study. The Lancet Global Health. ISSN 2572-116X. doi: 10.1016/S2214-109X(20)30504-0. Full text in Research Archive
• Chrysantina, Aprisa & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2019). Assessing user-designed dashboards: a case for developing data visualization competency. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology. ISSN 1868-4238. 551, p. 448–459. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-18400-1_37. Full text in Research Archive
• Day, Louise Tina; Ruysen, Harriet; Gordeev, Vladimir S; Gore-Langton, Georgia R; Boggs, Dorothy & Cousens, Simon [Show all 61 contributors for this article] (2019). "Every Newborn-BIRTH" protocol: Observational study validating indicators for coverage and quality of maternal and newborn health care in Bangladesh, Nepal and Tanzania. Journal of Global Health. ISSN 2047-2978. 9(1), p. 1–19. doi: 10.7189/jogh.09.010902. Full text in Research Archive
• Nguyen, Simon Pettersen; Nielsen, Petter & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2019). Global Standards and Local Development. Communications in Computer and Information Science (CCIS). ISSN 1865-0929. 933, p. 141–155. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-11235-6_10. Full text in Research Archive
• Poppe, Olav; Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Braa, Jørn (2019). Strategies for standardizing health information analysis: flexible standards revisited. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology. ISSN 1868-4238. 551, p. 260–271. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-18400-1_21. Full text in Research Archive
• Adu-Gyamfi, Eric; Nielsen, Petter & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2019). The dynamics of a global health information systems research and implementation project. Linköping Electronic Conference Proceedings. ISSN 1650-3686. p. 73–79. Full text in Research Archive
• Russpatrick, Scott McKee; Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Romedenne, Magali & Dubent, Leslie (2019). The state of community health information systems in West and Central Africa. Journal of Global Health Reports (JoGHR). 3. doi: 10.29392/joghr.3.e2019047. Full text in Research Archive
• Nicholson, Brian; Nielsen, Petter; Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Sahay, Sundeep (2019). Exploring Tensions of Global Public Good Platforms for Development: The Case of DHIS2. In Nielsen, Petter & Kimaro, Honest C. (Ed.), Information and Communication Technologies for Development: Strengthening Southern-Driven Cooperation as a Catalyst for ICT4D. 15th IFIP WG 9.4 International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries, ICT4D 2019, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, May 1–3, 2019, Proceedings, Part I. Springer Nature. ISSN 9783030183998. p. 207–217. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-18400-1_17. Full text in Research Archive
• Adu-Gyamfi, Eric; Nielsen, Petter; Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Saugene, Zeferino (2019). Scaling Across Functional Domains: A Case of Implementing an Electronic HIV Patient Information System in Sierra Leone. In Nielsen, Petter & Kimaro, Honest C. (Ed.), Information and Communication Technologies for Development: Strengthening Southern-Driven Cooperation as a Catalyst for ICT4D. 15th IFIP WG 9.4 International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries, ICT4D 2019, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, May 1–3, 2019, Proceedings, Part I. Springer Nature. ISSN 9783030183998. p. 331–342. doi: 10.1007/978-3-030-18400-1_27. Full text in Research Archive
• Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Moyo, Christon M. & Nielsen, Petter (2018). Promoting transparency and accountability with district league tables in Sierra Leone and Malawi. Health Policy and Technology. ISSN 2211-8837. 7(1), p. 35–43. doi: 10.1016/j.hlpt.2018.01.003. Full text in Research Archive
• Bergum, Bjørn-Ingar; Nielsen, Petter & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2017). Patchworks of Logistics Management Information Systems: Challenges or Solutions for Developing Countries? IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology. ISSN 1868-4238. 504, p. 47–58. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-59111-7_5. Full text in Research Archive
• Nguyen, Simon Pettersen; Nielsen, Petter & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2017). The Role of Global Standardization Communities in Shaping National Health Information Architectures. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology. ISSN 1868-4238. 504, p. 93–103. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-59111-7_9. Full text in Research Archive
• Asah, Flora Nah; Nielsen, Petter & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2017). Challenges for Health Indicators in Developing Countries: Misconceptions and Lack of Population Data. IFIP Advances in Information and Communication Technology. ISSN 1868-4238. 504, p. 593–604. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-59111-7_48. Full text in Research Archive
• Roland, Lars Kristian; Sanner, Terje Aksel; Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Monteiro, Eric (2017). P for platform: Architectures of large-scale participatory design. Scandinavian Journal of Information Systems (SJIS). ISSN 0905-0167. 29(2), p. 3–34. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Participatory Design (PD) has traditionally been committed to extensive interaction between developers and situated users to mitigate the disempowering consequences of computerization, such as the deskilling of labour workers. However, the widespread adoption of off-the-shelf software and the emergence of complex information system architectures with interdependencies across user groups and organizations challenge the applicability of traditional custom PD. Pressure is put on PD to scale with initiatives that span an increasing number and distribution of heterogeneous settings, developers, users and uses over time. In this article, we follow a PD project that started out in post-apartheid South Africa more than two decades ago. The project, which centres on the development of a software product for decentralised public health care management, has since grown into a venture with a significant footprint in the Global South. In order to problematise the scaling of key aspects of PD, such as the politics of design, the nature of participation and participatory design techniques, we first review extant literature and develop a classification of four different types of PD with respect to scale. We then apply the typology to our empirical case to discuss PD in relation to architectural traits at different stages of project scale. We contribute to PD literature by addressing the exploratory research question: What role does architecture play in large scale PD? Specifically, the study highlights how an emergent platform architecture and its surrounding ecosystem co-constitute a platform for participation in design.

• Poppe, Olav; Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Nielsen, Petter & Sanner, Terje Aksel (2017). Standardising Through Software. IRIS Selected Papers of the Information Systems Research Seminar in Scandinavia. ISSN 1891-9863. 8, p. 111–119. Full text in Research Archive
• Asah, Flora Nah & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2017). Analysing inhibitors of integrating and routinizing Health Information Systems for Universal Health Coverage: the case of Cameroon. Journal of Health Informatics in Africa. ISSN 2197-6902. Full text in Research Archive
• Namatovu, Esther; Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Kaasbøll, Jens Johan (2017). Mobilities of the Community Health Work Practice: Mobile Health System Mediated Work. Journal of Community Informatics. 13(3), p. 54–74. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  New technologies have been implicated in various forms of mobilities creating new realities and questioning normative categories and the order in contexts where they are applied. Our study argues that through understanding technology mobilities, we uniquely bring to light new forms of social phenomena that materialize with interactions between mHealth systems and the work of Community Health workers in Malawi. Through the analysis, we also elaborate the role of both human and non-human actants in work transformations. This is important in managing technological innovations and theorizing electronically supported work practices.

• Moyo, Christon M.; Kaasbøll, Jens Johan; Nielsen, Petter & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2016). The information transparency effects of introducing league tables in the health system in Malawi. Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries. 75:2, p. 1–16. doi: 10.1002/j.1681-4835.2016.tb00544.x. Full text in Research Archive
• Moyo, Christon M.; Frøyen, Marte Hesvik; Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Kaasbøll, Jens (2015). Using Performance League Tables to Promote Acccounability and Feedback in Health management in Malawi. In Nielsen, Petter (Eds.), Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries. Universitetet i Oslo. ISSN 9788273684653. p. 265–276. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  One of the challenges of health management in developing countries is the existence of weak accountability and feedback practices. This paper assesses the conditions for introducing performance league tables for promoting accountability and feedback in health management. A qualitative approach with an interpretive perspective has been adopted in this study. Data was collected using interviews, prototyping, observations and document analysis. The assessment revealed the importance of having a participatory process in the design and implementation of league tables used within the existing management practices. This ensures flexibility in the use of performance league tables. In addition, appropriate technology should facilitate availability and accessibility of data to stakeholders so that they manipulate it to suit their needs. Collaboration among stakeholders is a critical condition for ensuring access to additional resources for the implementation of performance league tables. A decentralized approach to league table definition allows districts to choose and weight indicators according to their own goals. Relevance, local choices through a participatory bottom up design process leads to broader acceptance and use of the performance league tables.

• Nielsen, Petter & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2015). Three Strategies for Functional Architecting: Cases from the Health Systems of Developing Countries. Information Technology for Development. ISSN 0268-1102. 22(1), p. 134–151. doi: 10.1080/02681102.2015.1026304. Full text in Research Archive
• Poppe, Olav; Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Nielsen, Petter (2014). Architecting in large and complex information infrastructures. Lecture Notes in Business Information Processing. ISSN 1865-1348. 186, p. 90–104. Full text in Research Archive
• Poppe, Olav; Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Nielsen, Petter (2014). Architecting in Large and Complex Information Infrastructures. In Commisso, Trine Hald; Nørbjerg, Jacob & Pries-Heje, Jan (Ed.), Nordic Contributions in IS Research : 5th Scandinavian Conference on Information Systems, SCIS 2014, Ringsted, Denmark, August 10-13, 2014 : Proceedings. Springer. ISSN 9783319095455. p. 90–104. doi: 10.1007/978-3-319-09546-2_7. Full text in Research Archive
• Sanner, Terje Aksel & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2014). Paying Per Diems for ICT4D Project Participation: A Sustainability Challenge. Information Technologies & International Development. ISSN 1544-7529. 10(2), p. 33–47. Full text in Research Archive
• Aanestad, Margunn; Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Grünfeld, Thomas Berthold (2014). TOWARDS A PROCESSUAL PERSPECTIVE ON ARCHITECTURE - Building an Information Infrastructure for Personalized Medicine. NOKOBIT: Norsk konferanse for organisasjoners bruk av informasjonsteknologi. ISSN 1892-0748. 22(1). Full text in Research Archive
• Sahay, Sundeep; Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Braa, Jørn (2013). Scaling of HIS in a global context: Same, same, but different. Information and organization. ISSN 1471-7727. 23(4), p. 294–323. doi: 10.1016/j.infoandorg.2013.08.002. Full text in Research Archive
• Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Kossi, Edem Kwame; Titlestad, Ola Hodne; Tohouri, Romain Rolland Francis & Braa, Jørn (2011). Comparing strategies to integrate health information systems following a data warehouse approach in four countries. Information Technology for Development. ISSN 0268-1102. 17(1), p. 42–60. doi: 10.1080/02681102.2010.511702. Full text in Research Archive
• Damtew, Zufan Abera; Miscione, Gianluca; Mekonnen, Selamawit; Østmo, Elise; Staring, Knut & Sæbø, Johan Ivar [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2010). Globetrotting health information systems. Journal of Health Informatics in Developing Countries. 4(1), p. 27–38. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Cases from an international network, active in health information systems development and implementation in “developing countries”, are presented in order to show a variety of interplays between the same IT agency and varying local settings. By using the same institutional lens, a theoretically informed view of empirical data is provided. Trajectories of implementation in Ethiopia, Botswana, and India present two different, and often diverging, levels of contextualization of the IT artefact: in the local context and in the (possibly emerging) organizational field of health information systems in “developing countries”. By discussing the emergence of an organizational field of health information systems across “developing countries”, but so far not showing many traces of isomorphism, this paper aims at enlarging the empirical basis of what is considered relevant in information systems research.

• Sahay, Sundeep; Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Mekonnen, Selamawit & Gizaw, Abyot Asalefew (2010). Interplay of Institutional Logics and Implications for Deinstitutionalization: Case Study of HMIS Implementation in Tajikistan. Information Technologies & International Development. ISSN 1544-7529. 6(3), p. 19–32. Full text in Research Archive
• Kossi, Edem Kwame; Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Titlestad, Ola Hodne; Tohouri, Romain Rolland Francis & Braa, Jørn (2009). Comparing Strategies to Integrate Health Information Systems Following a Data Warehouse Approach in Four Countries. In Byrne, Elaine; Nicholson, Brian & Salem, Fadi (Ed.), Assessing the Contribution of ICT to Development Goals. Dubai School of Government and International Federation for Information Processing. ISSN 9780903808057. Full text in Research Archive

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• Grisot, Miria; Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Kempton, Alexander Moltubakk (2025). Selected Papers of the 48th Information Systems Research Seminar in Scandinavia. Association for Information Systems (AIS). Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The Information Systems Research Seminar in Scandinavia (IRIS) is an annual seminar for Information Systems researchers established in 1978. The 48th IRIS was held in conjunction with the 16th Scandinavian Conference of Information Systems (SCIS). The theme of the seminar and conference was "Challenging Boundaries in Digitalization Research: Towards Inclusivity and Fairness". The event was hosted at Oscarsborg Fortress located in Drøbak, outside of Oslo, Norway, from August 10th to 13th 2025. The papers selected for this issue of the Selected Papers of the IRIS were nominated by the group chairs and have been subjected to a double-blinded peer-review process before the seminar. Before being included in this issue, the papers were revised based on the working group discussions and the review comments.

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• Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2024). Nytt masterprogram i digitalisering gjør studenter klare til å møte morgendagens utfordringer. [Journal]. Sykepleien. Full text in Research Archive
• Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Simonsen, Michael Chr. A. (2024). Utdanning i skjæringspunktet mellom IT og helse: – Dette kommer til å bli viktigere i fremtiden. [Journal]. Dagens Medisin. Full text in Research Archive
• Gundersen, Ragnhild Bassøe; Nicholson, Brian; Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Nielsen, Petter (2024). The Social Dynamics of Liminal Innovation. Full text in Research Archive
• Gundersen, Ragnhild Bassøe; Nielsen, Petter & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2023). The Interplay Between Communitas and Anti-structure in Liminal Innovation. Full text in Research Archive
• Gundersen, Ragnhild Bassøe; Shelil, Mohamed Elsayed Abdelgawad; Iversen, Bjørn Gunnar; Jani-Bølstad, Jagrati; Meijerink, Hinta & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2023). Et valg mellom Mazda og Porsche: Utvikling av digital COVID-19 smittesporing. Full text in Research Archive
• Nicholson, Brian; Nielsen, Petter & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2021). Digital platforms for development. Information Systems Journal. ISSN 1350-1917. doi: 10.1111/isj.12364. Full text in Research Archive
• Russpatrick, Scott McKee; Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Monteiro, Eric; Nicholson, Brian & Sanner, Terje Aksel (2021). Digital Resilience to Covid-19: A Model for National Digital Health Systems to Bounce Forward From the Shock of a Global Pandemic. Full text in Research Archive
• Gundersen, Ragnhild Bassøe; Utvik, Vetle Alvenes; Thorseng, Anne Asmyr; Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Nielsen, Petter (2021). AN INSTITUTIONAL ANALYSIS OF DIGITAL TRANSFOR-MATION OF COVID-19 CONTACT TRACING DURING A PANDEMIC. Full text in Research Archive
• Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Nielsen, Petter & Braa, Kristin (2020). Norsk teknologi kan overvåke og begrense korona-utbruddet. Full text in Research Archive
• Adu-Gyamfi, Eric; Nielsen, Petter & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2019). The Dynamics of a Global Health Information Systems Research and Implementation Project. Full text in Research Archive
• Saunders-Hastings, Patrick; Perrin, Maureen; Nielsen, Petter; Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Uggowitzer, Steven (2018). DHIS2 as a tool for health impact assessment in low-resource settings: examining opportunities for expanding use of routine health data. Full text in Research Archive
• Li, Magnus; Nielsen, Petter & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2018). Mediators to Advocate and Facilitate End-User Participation in Digital Innovation. Full text in Research Archive
• Nguyen, Simon Pettersen; Nielsen, Petter & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2018). Global Standards and Local Development. Full text in Research Archive
• Tronerud, Kristoffer; Vassbotten, Martin Theodor; Kaasbøll, Jens Johan & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2017). Usability for novices and experts: A layered design in a case study in Malawi. In Cunningham, Paul & Cunningham, Miriam (Ed.), IST-Africa 2017 Conference Proceedings. IIMC International Information Management Corporation. ISSN 9781905824564. p. 1–9. doi: 10.23919/ISTAFRICA.2017.8102298. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This paper presents initial findings from a project in Malawi to develop and implement a simple application for making league tables in the health sector. League tables, sometimes also called scorecards, are tables that compare various entities according to several indicators, and rank them from best to worst performers. Prior work in Malawi has suggested that these tables would be useful at both national and local levels, and should therefore be customizable so that different users can make their own tables, based on the health indicators of their choice. A main finding from this project is that usability and learnability for novice users must be balanced against the request for more advanced features from expert users. This was achieved through designing the app with a novice and an expert layer. The expert layer concerned configuration of the league tables. Configuration or customization is a general functionality in many applications and may thus be segregated in an expert layer.

• Broyles, David; Chricthon, Ryan; Jolliffe, Bob; Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Dixon, Brian (2016). Shared Longitudinal Health Records for Clinical and Population Health. In Dixon, Brian (Eds.), Health Information Exchange Navigating and Managing a Network of Health Information Systems. Elsevier. ISSN 9780128031353. Full text in Research Archive
• Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Nielsen, Petter (2015). Usynlige mennesker, usynlige sykdommer. p. 74–77. Full text in Research Archive
• Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Jolliffe, Bob & Muhire, Andrew (2015). INFORMATION SYSTEMS ARCHITECTURE AS PRODUCTION - BUILDING HEALTH INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN RWANDA. Full text in Research Archive
• Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Poppe, Olav (2015). FEDERATED ARCHITECTING IN WEST AFRICA. Full text in Research Archive
• Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2015). LMIS from the HMIS perspective. Full text in Research Archive
• Nielsen, Petter & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2014). Ebolas ofre. Full text in Research Archive
• Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Sanner, Terje Aksel & Muhire, Andrew (2014). Better Information, Better Decisions, Better Health. Full text in Research Archive
• Sanner, Terje Aksel; Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Moyo, Christon M. (2013). Interdependent Institutional Logics: The Case Of Health Information System Restructuring In Malawi. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The paper aims to identify, through an institutionalist analysis, the interplay between institutional logics pertaining to a prolonged and ongoing HMIS restructuring process in Malawi. In doing so the paper highlights important contestations between interpretations of the HMIS function, efforts aimed at its restructuring, and the meaning of the health data it evolves around. The paper contributes theoretically to the institutionalist perspective by conceptualizing a pair of mutually legitimizing institutional logics, of development (impact) and aid (opportunism), as interdependent institutional logics.

• Sæbø, Johan Ivar & Sahay, Sundeep (2013). DEVELOPMENT INSTITUTIONS AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE –AN INSTITUTIONAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP PERSPECTIVE THROUGH A CASE STUDY OF PUBLIC HEALTH INFORMATION SYSTEMS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This paper draws upon an institutional entrepreneurship perspective to analyse the relationship between development and technological change, specifically within the context of public health information systems in developing countries. Firstly the development context is analysed in terms of the changing landscape and also institutions reflecting both change and continuity. Drawing upon three empirical cases from the Health Information Systems Program initiative, the analysis seeks to understand who are the institutional entrepreneurs, what intervention strategies they use, what are the enabling and constraining institutions of development they are engaged in, and what are some of the outcomes achieved. The paper makes three key contributions, 1) the role of free and open source technology as a key strategy for change, 2) networking including networks of networks, both around technologies and also people behind them, helps create new organizational fields, and with it new discourses that challenges existing institutions. 3) Regional partnerships such as of the West African Health Organization, provide an interesting model to structure technical support as contrasted with the earlier top-down development models driven by institutions like the World Bank. WG 9.4: Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries 12th International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries, IFIP WG 9.4: Social Implications of Computers in Developing, Ochos Rios, 2013-05-19 - 2013-05-22.

• Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Kossi, Edem Kwame; Sahay, Sundeep & Braa, Jørn (2012). A regional approach to Health Information Systems strengthening: Policies and capacity building in West Africa. Full text in Research Archive
• Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Sahay, Sundeep; Braa, Jørn; Kossi, Edem Kwame & Settle, Dykki (2011). Networks of Networks - Collaborative Efforts to Develop Health Information Systems Across Developing Countries. Full text in Research Archive
• Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Kossi, Edem Kwame & Braa, Jørn (2011). Integrated HIS architecture of interoperable systems through networks of actions: Sierra Leone and West Africa. Full text in Research Archive
• Jolliffe, Bo; Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Kossi, Edem Kwame & Braa, Jørn (2011). Open and flexible Infrastructures: Scaling across diverse settings through open software, open standards, and open architecture. Full text in Research Archive
• Jolliffe, Bo; Braa, Jørn; Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Kossi, Edem Kwame; Kanter, Andrew & Lesh, Neal [Show all 8 contributors for this article] (2010). Comprehensive Yet Scalable Health Information Systems for Low Resource Settings: A Collaborative Effort in Sierra Leone. Full text in Research Archive
• Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2009). Integrating Health Information Systems in Sierra Leone. Using technology to take the first steps. Full text in Research Archive
• Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2009). The Health Metrics Network, and the case of Health Information Strengthening in Sierra Leone. Full text in Research Archive
• Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Sahay, Sundeep; Mekonnen, Selamawit & Gizaw, Abyot Asalefew (2009). Interplay of Institutional logics and Implications for Deinstitutionalization: Case Study of HMIS Implementation in Tajikistan. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This article describes the efforts to reform the Health Management Information System (HMIS) of Tajikistan. The authors were involved in proposing and piloting a computerized HMIS, based on a complete overhaul of the current data collection tools, as well as in planning for the scaling up of the system. One of the recommendations was to support local decision-making through a oexible, decentralized system to collect, process, and analyze essential primary health care data. The institutional logics underlying the current HMIS in Tajikistan were heavily inouenced by the tenets of central planning from a deeply embedded Soviet system that was alien to the ideas proposed. This article explores the different institutional logics arising from what already existed and from our proposals, as well as the interplay among them over the course of the project. Clearly, a complete deinstitutionalization—amounting to a paradigm shift—is necessary to overcome the differences in institutional logics. However, this is a remarkable challenge, given a centralized control context. This study makes interesting contributions to the domain of IS/HMIS research in two ways: (a) by reporting from a country that until now has been almost invisible to the IS community, and (b) by adding to the debate around IS and organizational change through the lens of institutional logics and deinstitutionalization.

• Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Kossi, Edem Kwame; Titlestad, Ola Hodne; Tohouri, Romain & Braa, Jørn (2009). Comparing strategies to integrate health information systems following a data warehouse approach in four countries. Full text in Research Archive
• Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Titlestad, Ola Hodne; Kossi, Edem Kwame; Tohouri, Romain & Braa, Jørn (2009). Integrating Health Information Systems in Sierra Leone. Full text in Research Archive
• Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Gill, Wayne & Ngatia, Beatrice (2008). Integrating Software to Monitor HIV/AIDS: The Case of eBHRIMS in Botswana. Full text in Research Archive
• Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Titlestad, Ola Hodne; Kossi, Edem Kwame; Braa, Jørn & Tohouri, Romain (2008). Developing the district Health Information System (HIS) in Sierra Leone. Full text in Research Archive
• Utvik, Vetle Alvenes; Nielsen, Petter & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2026). Digital Platform Ecosystems as Innovation Commons. Universitetet i Oslo. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  How can digital platform ecosystems be governed to facilitate cooperative digital innovation for public value? Digital platforms are often understood as technologies for business in how they can be used to orchestrate markets for production of apps. However, not all digital platforms are business oriented. Some digital platforms aim for public value creation through digital innovation. However, we currently have a limited understanding of their nature and how they are governed. This doctoral dissertation outlines an understanding of digital platform ecosystems as innovation commons. Specifically, I develop the concept of platform-based innovation commons and explain how digital innovation unfolds through iterations of use, contribution, and reuse of shared resources. I further explain how platform governance can sustain collective action by widening participation, enabling diverse forms of contributions, and aligning actors around common good goals. By reframing digital platform ecosystems beyond market-centric assumptions, I contribute with a novel theoretical perspective on how digital platforms can organize distributed and cooperative digital innovation for societal benefit across organizational and national contexts.

• Büttner, Andre; Gruschka, Nils & Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2024). Security of Evolving Authentication Technologies. Universitetet i Oslo. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In today’s digital age, people are burdened with a plethora of online profiles, e.g., for social media, banking, and governmental services. Traditionally, passwords have been the primary method to sign in to those accounts. They, however, are increasingly recognized as insecure. Thus, service providers implement new technologies to protect their users. This thesis explores the security of modern authentication technologies, focusing on multi-factor authentication, passwordless authentication, and self-sovereign identity (SSI). The research reveals that many users configure their accounts poorly, entailing the risk of account takeovers or account lockouts. The thesis also presents the first systematic study on risk-based account recovery, a hitherto overlooked concept that impacts the users' security and accessibility. Moreover, FIDO2, a recent innovation aimed at replacing passwords, is found to have vulnerabilities in certain conditions. A protocol is therefore suggested that can prevent such vulnerabilities effectively. Finally, a review of authentication in the context of data subject rights uncovers questionable practices, which inspired the proposal of an SSI-based concept to mitigate associated security and privacy risks.

• Sæbø, Johan Ivar (2013). Global Scaling of Health Information Infrastructures: Circulating Translations. Universitetet i Oslo. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  The aim of this thesis, and the research behind it, is to shed some light on the topic of scaling of IS, specifically scaling of Health Information Infrastructures (HII). There are both theoretical and practical motivations behind this. Theoretically, scaling has been treated as a linear process of expansion, though there remains little consensus about the directions, mechanisms, and content of scaling in the current literature. Practically, I have been motivated by the inability of many IS-projects that fail to scale, especially within the domain of health information systems. The motivation is thus to improve our understanding of phenomena of scaling, and how this can be utilized to improve the success of implementation.<br> Approaching the research theme, I have drawn upon IS literature that deals with scaling, and also the theoretical strand of technology transfer and associated topics. The work on technology translation have been particularly important, in that it deals with the mechanisms of appropriation of technology scaled from one context to another. Translation is the process where the local context shapes the technology and its use, and work in this field has been important for understanding mechanisms of scaling, and what process that then take place in a new context. Furthermore, I have drawn on theories on information infrastructures, and their evolution.<br> The thesis is based on a longitudinal and international action research project called the Health Information Systems Programme (HISP), engaged in HII strengthening in over 30 countries. With a focus on Botswana and Sierra Leone over the last 7 years, complemented with experiences globally including 2 years with the Health Metrics Network, Geneva, this thesis examines the mechanisms of scaling and translations based on empirical work I have myself been part of.<br> This thesis presents a theoretical model called “Circulating Translations” for analysing processes of global scaling of HII. Successful scaling of HII is seen as being embedded in a local context, while retaining the flexibility to scale to new contexts and be embedded therein. The focus is thus to explain how this embedding produce translations, through the mutual influence of infrastructure, software, practices, and ideas. These influences have different levels of materiality, and thus interpretive flexibility, with different impacts on scaling. These are termed as interaction effects, including processes of local appropriation, translation, and embedding. The local translations may in turn be disembedded, and scaled to new contexts, where they contribute to and also can be affected by local interaction effects. The mechanisms of this scaling to new contexts, called constellation effects, takes place through circulation of stories, material, people, documents, reports, etc, in short the circulation of any object carrying previous interaction effects. The level of materiality of these objects again determine how fast and at which cost they may circulate.<br> Together, interaction and constellation effects help to understand mechanisms of scaling, by showing how translations come about, and circulate. In these processes, there are elements of generification, and loss and gain. The software DHIS2, being used in over 30 countries by the HISP network, is becoming increasingly generic as it accumulates local translations and negotiates their generification. While the trend of development and progress of the software produces gains for the implementing actors, there are also losses involved, for example the reduction of inscriptions.<br> The articulated model has several implications towards the literature of scaling of information systems, technology transfer and translation. While technology transfer has treated scaling as linear and uni-directional, from one country to another, my model sees scaling instead as multidirectional, non-linear with potential to scale to other contexts. There are feed-back and feed-forward mechanisms, potentially allowing effects to initiate change in the original context. This thesis also provide some practical advice on HII strengthening, including how to manage increasing scale, and strategies for integration.

• Sæbø, Johan Ivar; Braa, Jørn & Chadna, O (2007). A Flexible Approach to Integrating Health Information Systems: The case of Data Warehouse as Integrator in Botswana. Proceedings of IFIP WG 9.4 9th international conference "Taking Stock of E-Development". Full text in Research Archive

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