Swiss Executive Authorities on Open Government Data - Policy Making beyond Transparency and Participation

When it comes to e-government topics and the implementation of Open Government Data (OGD), Switzerland has been much more a follower than a first-mover. OGD pioneers stress the encouragement of transparency, collaboration and participation. The Swiss political and administrative entities live up to these principles quite well offline. In this setting, the paper examines value expectations of executive authorities towards OGD initiatives. It consolidates perceived prerequisites and risks as well as expected long-term impacts. The paper presents theoretical considerations and international surveys in order to discuss the results based on a quantitative survey of the Cantonal State Chancelleries and on a qualitative case study, eZurich. Showing that Swiss executive authorities value improvements of their core business and the potential for economic development, the paper finally addresses open issues to be solved in the future.