open government data ecosystems: linking transparency for innovation with transparency for...
TRANSCRIPT
Open Government Data Ecosystems: Linking Transparency for Innovation with Transparency
for Participation and Accountability
Luigi Reggi, Sharon DawesRockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy
IFIP EGOV 2016 ConferenceSeptember 5, 2016
Roadmap
• Background• Research questions• Theory• Methods• Results• Implications for policy and practice• Limitations and future research
Background
• Widespread diffusion of Open Government Data (OGD) initiatives
• The rhetoric of OGD– product and service innovation– public participation in policy-making – accountability
• But not much evidence that these benefits are being produced– publication by itself is not enough to stimulate
meaningful use of the data
Background
• Both research and practice have taken a bifurcated path:
1. Transparency for innovation • Apps development• New business models
2. Transparency for accountability and participation• Better decision making• Increased democratic participation• Greater accountability can lead to government
responsiveness and trust in government
Research questions
• What are the conceptual and empirical connections between Transparency for innovation and Transparency for accountability and participation?
• How can OGD policies and strategies be designed to improve both? What are the main barriers and enablers to doing so?
TheorySociotechnical theory and ecosystems
• Sociotechnical systems– Dynamic interplay of organizational, human,
material, and technological aspects– Multi-actor physical and institutional environment
• Ecosystem models– Trace the components of OGD Programs, their
dynamic relationships and their influence on program performance
(Adapted from Dawes et al., 2016)
Advocacy & interaction(for improved OGD)
OGD Policies &Strategies
Data publication
Data use & apps
Socio-economicbenefits
TheoryOpen Government Data Ecosystem
(Adapted from Dawes et al., 2016)
Advocacy & interaction(for improved OGD)
OGD Policies &Strategies
Data publication
Data use & apps
Socio-economicbenefits
TheoryOpen Government Data Ecosystem
Research methodsExploratory case study:
OGD on European Funding in Italy
Review of 3 complementary open government data initiatives Data sources:• Semi-structured interviews (Jan - Mar 2016)
– 4 interviews with practitioners with different roles at the OpenCoesione initiative (1 PM, 3 analysts)
– 2 interviews with 2 members of the Monithon national staff– 1 representative of a local community in Southern Italy– 2 researchers at two different Italian research institutions
• Participant observations (June-August 2015)• 3 published program reviews
Data analysis:Qualitative data were coded to highlight the relations among the actors in the ecosystem and their main roles. This evidence was used to augment existing conceptual models.
European Structural and Investment Funds– EU co-financing: €454 billion for the 2014-2020
period (43% of EU budget) – Problems of efficiency, effectiveness and
accountability– As a way to address this problem, regulations
require EU States to publish OGD on projects funded and recipients
Case studyContext
Case studyOpenCoesione: Italy’s OGD Portal
• Launched by the Ministry of Economic Development in 2012• Publishes data on 950k projects
(€51.2 billion investment)• Launched proactive initiatives to
stimulate data use– maps and interactive visualizations– articles with data analysis– data journalism schools– participation in hackathons organized
by civic technology communities
• Developed by civil society in 2013• Promotes public engagement by
organizing citizen monitoring activities of the projects found on OpenCoesione– field investigations– Involves local communities and
national NGOs• 98 “citizen monitoring reports”
uploaded after 2 years of activity• Problems of economic sustainability
Case studyMonithon - Monitoring Marathon
Case studyOpenCoesione School
• Launched by the OpenCoesione staff in 2013 as a public participation program, based on open data availability
• 2,800 high-school students involved (2015-16 edition)
• Develops new skills for data analysis and field investigation
• Uses Monithon tools and methodology for civic monitoring of public spending
• Students organize accountability forums with political leaders and administrators
• In some limited cases, the feedback is used to improve policy making
ResultsIntegrated OGD Ecosystem
Advocacy & interaction(for improved OGD)
OGD Policies &Strategies
Data publication
Data use & apps
Socio-economicbenefits
Collection of citizen
feedback on policy results
Policy making
Policy benefits
Use of citizen feedback by
intermediaries
ResultsIntegrated OGD Ecosystem
Advocacy & interaction(for improved OGD)
OGD Policies &Strategies
Data publication
Data use & apps
Socio-economicbenefits
Collection of citizen
feedback on policy results
Policy making
Policy benefits
Use of citizen feedback by
intermediaries
Implications for policy and practice
• Enablers– Proactive strategies for stimulating data use improves
both data quality and public engagement– Engagement is more feasible when data content and
characteristics match the interests of the user community• Barriers– Tenuous sustainability of civic technology initiatives and
OGD intermediaries – Absence of real public accountability mechanisms
between government and citizens
Limitations
• Single exploratory case study• Interviews cover only the national staff of the
3 initiatives• Other kinds of data (e.g., social media) may
show different patterns
Next steps
• Collect additional data about the Italian case‒ from administrators, political leaders, NGOs, high-
school students and teachers, local communities‒ Consider different types of data
• Test the integrated model in other cases– Other EU countries sharing the same ESIF
regulations, but with different institutional and socio-economic settings. e.g. Poland, Netherlands
Contact information
• Luigi Reggi ([email protected]) Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy, University at Albany-SUNY
• Sharon Dawes ([email protected])Rockefeller College of Public Affairs & Policy, University at Albany-SUNYCenter for Technology in Government, University at Albany-SUNY