Past long-range research investments and several existing applied research programs offer models for a robust program of applied Digital Government research.

From about 1975-1990, NSF and private funders supported the Urban Research in Information Systems program (URBIS) at the University of California at Irvine. URBIS looked at IT use in a wide array of municipal government functions, from law enforcement to public works to general fiscal administration, through two major waves of data collection across a whole level of government. Its findings and conclusions constitute a significant portion of our knowledge about the effects of IT on government. One of the largest and longest-running studies of computerization in any sector, URBIS illustrates that studies of this magnitude are both worthwhile and feasible.

Today, the Center for Technology in Government (CTG) at the University at Albany/SUNY conducts applied research projects with New York state and local agencies. The Center leads teams of agency staff, corporate partners, and university faculty in a process of problem definition, stakeholder analysis, prototype development, and cost-performance evaluation. The results help agencies decide whether and how to pursue their IT projects. The same results are generalized to the extent possible and widely disseminated to practitioners in handbooks, presentations, and Web-based tools. Scholarly articles present new knowledge or extend existing models in the literature of public management and information science.

In Quebec, Canada, a not-for-profit organization created by the Provincial Government conducts a similar program of applied research projects. Le Centre Francophone d'Informatisation des Organisations (CEFRIO) is funded by a combination of government support and corporate membership fees. The projects, which focus on both public and private sector concerns, are commissioned by the CEFRIO board of directors and conducted by universities throughout Quebec. Practitioner-oriented results include handbooks, diagnostic tools, and education programs offered by CEFRIO. The university researchers incorporate results into their ongoing research and scholarly publications.

The Program on Strategic Computing and Telecommunications in the Public Sector at Harvard University's John F. Kennedy School of Government conducts leadership workshops and action research involving emerging and existing government programs that focus on such topics as IT innovation in government, performance measurement, and the role of political leadership. The program produces case studies for executive and university education, as well as reports and scholarly articles.