Death of “Open Data”? - How Open Data has been realising and/or not realising Open Government

Abstract

Open government is a concept of governance, which holds that citizens have the right to access the documents and proceedings of the government to allow for effective public oversight. Some definitions specify the distinction between Open Data and Open Government: Open Government is defined in terms of service delivery and public accountability; and technology can be used to facilitate disclosure of information, but that the use of open data technologies does not necessarily equate accountability.

The paper analyses the relationship between Open Data and Open Government through a case study and tries to understand how the former affected the latter and the role of digital technology. The case is the open data policies and strategies of UK government, especially its application in sports and health related policies in recent years. The preliminary results show positive effect of open data policies on public service delivery, while limited improvement in accountability and mixed result in civic engagement.