Open Government Data - A Lesson to Be Learned

This paper deals with a new instrument which has a high prospect for improving the quality of the institutional environment - open government data. Open government data are part of a process of open government. Open government focuses on three themes: transparency, participation, and collaboration. Transparency means providing the public with information about their government's activities, Participation emphasizes citizens voices in public affairs, recognizing that public officials stand to benefit from the perspective of expert and non-expert knowledge that resides outside of government. Collaboration further erodes the us-versus-them divide between citizens and government by taking participation to another level Where government is collaborative, citizens become true partners with government, in both the identification and pursuit of public goals. Governments are increasingly making their data available online in standard formats and under licenses that permit the free re-use of data. The justifications advanced for this include claims regarding the potential for open government data to promote transparency and accountability of government, the role of open government data in supporting the reform and reshaping of public services and the economic potential of open government data. This article demonstrated that mainly targeted government policies and the strong and powerful role of government in the process of opening up public data are critical for real progress to be made.