Open government maturity models: A global comparison

During the last decade, a new approach to bureaucratic reform in the field of public administration, open government, has aimed to increase government transparency and accountability and improve participation of citizens and other stakeholders of government. In the current era of digital governance transformations, evaluating governmental efforts to become open is a central concern of politicians, policymakers, and researchers. Various global maturity models have been developed, but the majority of them focus on the technological capacities of government rather than the historic affinity of openness and democratic governance. In this study, we attempt to address this problem by conceptualizing how governments harness technology innovations and by prescribing developmental phases for open government. Using the qualitative meta-synthesis method, we compare 10 open government maturity models to find the similarities and differences between them. Finally, we present a comprehensive model which evaluates the open government initiatives holistically and includes the following six major stages: (1) an initial stage; (2) a transparency and accountability stage; (3) an open collaboration stage; (4) a platform stage; (5) a democratic open government stage; and, finally, (6) an open governance stage

Comparing open data benchmarks: Which metrics and methodologies determine countries' positions in the ranking lists?

An understanding of the similar and divergent metrics and methodologies underlying open government data benchmarks can reduce the risks of the potential misinterpretation and misuse of benchmarking outcomes by policymakers, politicians, and researchers. Hence, this study aims to compare the metrics and methodologies used to measure, benchmark, and rank governments' progress in open government data initiatives. Using a critical meta-analysis approach, we compare nine benchmarks with reference to meta-data, meta-methods, and meta-theories. This study finds that both existing open government data benchmarks and academic open data progress models use a great variety of metrics and methodologies, although open data impact is not usually measured. While several benchmarks’ methods have changed over time, and variables measured have been adjusted, we did not identify a similar pattern for academic open data progress models. This study contributes to open data research in three ways: 1) it reveals the strengths and weaknesses of existing open government data benchmarks and academic open data progress models; 2) it reveals that the selected open data benchmarks employ relatively similar measures as the theoretical open data progress models; and 3) it provides an updated overview of the different approaches used to measure open government data initiatives’ progress. Finally, this study offers two practical contributions: 1) it provides the basis for combining the strengths of benchmarks to create more comprehensive approaches for measuring governments’ progress in open data initiatives; and 2) it explains why particular countries are ranked in a certain way. This information is essential for governments and researchers to identify and propose effective measures to improve their open data initiatives

Internet and political empowerment: Towards a taxonomy for online political empowerment

In the age of the information revolution, the Internet can be used to involve citizens in political processes and leads to the emergence of the new version of political empowerment. This article analyses the possible effects of the Internet on the political empowerment of citizens. We interviewed 29 citizens of Tehran to learn how the Internet affects their political involvement, and to determine whether it results in their political empowerment. We analysed the interview transcripts using Strauss and Corbin’s open-coding scheme, revealing 44 constructs. These were refined and categorised into two aspects: ‘political awareness’ and ‘political participation’. This taxonomy can be employed to evaluate the use of the Internet for political empowerment and to develop the ways to empower citizens. Six main findings on the effect of factors which contribute to the political empowerment of citizens were developed. The question of which factors are essential for citizen empowerment is likely to be context-specific and is recommended as the topic of future research.Information and Communication Technolog

Open government data from a legal perspective: An AI-driven systematic literature review

While the applicable legal framework is often identified as one of the key factors in the success or failure of open government data (OGD), the concrete impact of ‘OGD law’ on actual practices of OGD is often overlooked or hardly addressed in-depth. This contribution therefore aims to disentangle this legal impact based on an AI-driven systematic literature review combining legal and public administration (PA) publications. First, the review shows that OGD law has many faces and cannot be reduced to one single piece of ‘OGD legislation’. Instead, OGD law covers a wide range of topics, dealing with access to information, re-use of information, and conflicting interests (e.g. privacy or copyright). Secondly, the article identifies three main dimensions that structure the assessment of the impact of OGD law on OGD practices: topics of OGD law, sources of OGD law, and levels of OGD law. Finally, the review shows that there is no clear and univocal evidence to answer the question of what regulatory constellation is successful in fostering OGD practices and what is not, partly due to a lack of available empirical research. At the same time, the literature reveals some promising avenues for future research on OGD law in action

Cyber security policies in crisis response: Exploring the predicament of creating safe but workable systems

As societies become more connected, the nature and response to crises are becoming increasingly complex as well. Crises can affect our societies in unpredictable ways and thus require different actors to bring information together to take appropriate actions. However, as the number and diversity of actors increases, so does the quality and variety of information systems. Especially considering the increased availability and accessibility of technologies available together, process and exchange information.While these developments provide a high potential to improved information sharing, these options also present certain risks. Individual organizations may have measures, training, and policies in place for daily routines to mitigate these risks. During a crisis however, these measures can become a constraint, especially when sharing information in an inter-organizational and cross-boundary context. People in the crisis response team may not appreciate the risks, need to improvise, or even circumvent measures.In this paper, we examine the increased cybersecurity risks associated with the increased use of information technologies used in and facilitating information management during a crisis response. Using a serious gaming research method we examine how, in the context of crisis response, these factors are exacerbated under the pressure of time, uncertainty and coordination challenges. From this we identify the need for increased awareness about the risks of information technologies and sharing in heterogenous stakeholder environments. Specifically, a cultural change and need for additional capacities to understand, assess, and mitigate risks involved as the number of actors, systems, and technological options keep increasing

Exploring the Effect of ICTs Penetration on Social Development

Development in the social aspects of each society is a very important academic and practical field. In the information revolutionage, information and communication technologies are penetrating all levels of societies and have catalyzed the process of development in every country and encourage many scholars to study how these technologies affect the social, political and economic aspects of each society. This study examines the effect of ICTs penetration on social development, as an important component of the process of development. In this paper, in order to explore the effect comprehensively, the interview method and qualitative approaches such as grounded theory are used. Eighteen scholars in the fields of social science, public policy and information and technology were interviewed to investigate how ICT affects the social development. The results of the analyses of the interviews were categorized into three mechanisms: making competency, increasing public demands, and making changes in social institutions. The explanation of each factor regarding the effects of ICT on social development is discussed. In the end, some ideas for further research are presented

Towards a balanced E-Participation Index: Integrating government and society perspectives

Since 2003, the United Nations has introduced the E-Participation Index (EPI), the first index to evaluate e-participation initiatives worldwide. This index has been subject to criticism for not representing the society side of e-participation initiatives. The EPI assesses e-participation initiatives on the government side only and neglects the society side, which includes all kinds of civil e-participation initiatives. In this work, the society side is included by incrementally extending the EPI with the Human Development Index and the Democracy Index. To identify the weights of the index, the best–worst method (BWM) is used while surveying 23 experts. The results show that political rights and civil liberties are viewed as the most important criteria with which to evaluate e-participation initiatives. Using this ranking, the Balanced EPI (BEPI) is created, giving weight to both the government and society sides. The new index concerns the willingness and empowerment levels of citizens so that the public can influence policy and political decision-making. Dedicated e-participation measures should be developed in further research.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository ‘You share, we take care!’ – Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Information and Communication TechnologyTransport and Logistic

Comparing open data benchmarks: Which metrics and methodologies determine countries’ positions in the ranking lists?

An understanding of the similar and divergent metrics and methodologies underlying open government data benchmarks can reduce the risks of the potential misinterpretation and misuse of benchmarking outcomes by policymakers, politicians, and researchers. Hence, this study aims to compare the metrics and methodologies used to measure, benchmark, and rank governments' progress in open government data initiatives. Using a critical meta-analysis approach, we compare nine benchmarks with reference to meta-data, meta-methods, and meta-theories. This study finds that both existing open government data benchmarks and academic open data progress models use a great variety of metrics and methodologies, although open data impact is not usually measured. While several benchmarks’ methods have changed over time, and variables measured have been adjusted, we did not identify a similar pattern for academic open data progress models. This study contributes to open data research in three ways: 1) it reveals the strengths and weaknesses of existing open government data benchmarks and academic open data progress models; 2) it reveals that the selected open data benchmarks employ relatively similar measures as the theoretical open data progress models; and 3) it provides an updated overview of the different approaches used to measure open government data initiatives’ progress. Finally, this study offers two practical contributions: 1) it provides the basis for combining the strengths of benchmarks to create more comprehensive approaches for measuring governments’ progress in open data initiatives; and 2) it explains why particular countries are ranked in a certain way. This information is essential for governments and researchers to identify and propose effective measures to improve their open data initiatives.Information and Communication Technolog

Can the internet promote democracy? A cross-country study based on dynamic panel data models

In the age of information revolution, information and communication technologies are penetrating all levels of societies and are also influencing the political aspect of each country by providing some facilities such as the Internet and web technologies. Democracy, as a universal value and a political system, is also well known and has an important role in the sublimation of the human societies. This study attempts to examine the effect of Internet extension on democracy promotion by using a panel consisting of 122 countries covering the period from the year 2000 to 2014. In order to estimate the effect, and also to deal with the endogeneity and autocorrelation problems, the dynamic panel data models are employed in the study. The results of estimation models indicate that Internet extension has a significantly positive effect on democracy promotion during the period. In the end, some ideas for further research are presented.Information and Communication Technolog