The United Nations University – Operating Unit on Policy-driven Electronic Governance (UNU-EGOV) will host the seminar "From Hype to Evidence: A Process Tokenisation Framework for the Public-Sector" with Fernando Escobar (University of Minho), on 23 June 2026, from 10:00 to 11:00 (Lisbon time).
Seminar Overview
The session will address how public-sector organisations can assess the applicability and feasibility of tokenisation within their business processes, in response to the lack of structured approaches to evaluating blockchain adoption.
Fernando Escobar will present the "Process Tokenisation Framework for the Public Sector", developed through a Design Science Research methodology and grounded in socio-technical theory and Process Virtualisation Theory.
The framework is organised around four dimensions—process requirements, blockchain capabilities, sustainable incentives, and tokenisation outcomes—and has been tested across real-world cases, including educational credentials, carbon markets, and judicial systems.
Findings highlight how specific process characteristics influence the suitability of tokenisation and demonstrate the framework’s ability to distinguish strong blockchain use cases from less suitable applications.
Overall, the work offers a practical decision-support tool to help public managers prioritise initiatives and support more informed and responsible digital transformation.
Speaker Bio
Fernando holds a PhD in Information Systems and Technologies from the University of Minho (Portugal), with research focused on the application of blockchain in the public sector.
He also holds a Master’s degree in Applied Computing from the University of Brasília (UnB), specialising in Risk Management, along with postgraduate qualifications in Public Management (ENAP), Electronic Government (MBA, UNA-MG), and Project Management (FGV). He earned a degree in Data Processing from the Paula Souza Technological Education Centre (FATEC-SP).
With over 30 years of professional experience, he specialises in information and communication technology (ICT) governance and management, as well as project, process, and risk management, having worked across the banking, e-commerce, telecommunications, and public sectors (executive and judicial).
He is a Visiting Professor at the Department of Information Systems at the University of Minho, teaching at both bachelor's and master’s levels in Information Systems Engineering and Management. He serves as a Judicial Analyst at the Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region (Brazil), where he previously held the position of Head of the Information Systems Management Unit between 2018 and 2021.
His professional certifications include PMP (Project Management Professional) since 2008, Certified Canvas Expert and Facilitator since 2019, and Six Sigma White Belt since 2020. He is also a member of the PMI-DF (Project Management Institute – Federal District Chapter), where he served as Deputy Director for Special Projects from 2018 to 2020.
He also completed the Docência+ 2023 programme, jointly organised by the University of Minho and the University of Aveiro, enhancing his pedagogical competencies with the use of digital technologies.