Significance of open government data in the GCC countries

Metadata quality matters in open government data (OGD) evaluation! An empirical investigation of OGD portals of the GCC constituents

Purpose

The study seeks to investigate the quality of metadata associated with the open government data (OGD) portals of the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) constituents – Bahrain (BH), Kuwait (KW), Oman (OM), Qatar (QA), Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) and United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Design/methodology/approach

A quantitative framework, supported by extant literature, is adopted to assess the metadata quality of the six OGD portals of the GCC constituents.

Findings

Among the six GCC countries, QA has the most advanced OGD metadata quality followed by KSA, UAE, OM, BH and KW. Furthermore, the OGD metadata quality (MQ) of UAE and OM stand at the same pedestal whereas BH and KW OGD portals are lagging behind.

Originality/value

While the OGD quality has been investigated in extant literature, the MQ of the OGD portals for the GCC countries has not been investigated so far – the present study seeks to plug this gap.

Understanding the role of transparency, participation, and collaboration for achieving open digital government goals in Oman

Purpose

This study aims to understand the roles of transparency, participation and collaboration in pursuit of achieving open digital government (OPG) goals in Oman. The study explores the extent to which these interactive digital apps and other initiatives can enhance digital transparency, collaboration and public participation to achieve ODG goals.

Design/methodology/approach

This study has used triangulation of qualitative method by selecting semi-structured interviews, focus group interviews and public user reviews of ODG apps.

Findings

This research found that collaboration among institutions and transparency of actions and operations besides citizens’ participation in ODG enhance the trust to use ODG services. Therefore, a research framework is devised for synthesizing the significance of public participation and transparency where the aim is to facilitate collaboration among institutions with the purpose to achieve ODG goals. Such collaboration is highly useful for enhancing the ODG public value chain as well as achieving the ODG goals.

Research limitations/implications

This study has recommended practical implications for public institutions and Information technology developers to work collaboratively with the purpose to address the issues of interactivity and compatibility in ODG apps that can enhance public participation and improve the public value chain.

Originality/value

This study has used the institutional theoretical support to build a research framework that can extend the understanding that what factors can play role to achieve ODG goals.

Open government data initiatives in the Maghreb countries: An empirical analysis

This article explores the practices followed in preserving and sharing data in open data portals in the Maghreb countries, and assesses whether their structure and organization are consistent with the objectives of these portals. A set of characteristics that must be available in open data portals was developed and then used as a framework for analysing the structure and organization of open data portals in the Maghreb countries. The study adopted a content analysis approach to analyse the content of five open data portals (in Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco and Mauritania). The findings indicate that open data portals in the Maghreb countries provide data from different ministries, local communities and organizations. The findings also indicate that the open government data portals in Algeria and Morocco lack translation of content into English, which affects non-Arabic-language speakers. Moreover, the adoption of open data policies is still in its early stages. The study’s originality lies in the fact that it is the first study that focuses on the countries of the Arab Maghreb and the extent of their progress in adopting and making open data available.

Invoking embeddedness and cybernetic theories for evaluating the national open government data portal of India

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to present an evaluation of the national Open Government Data (OGD) portal of India (www.data.gov.in) and underline the significance of maintaining the quality of the data sets published online.

Design/methodology/approach

The research approach bases itself on the adapted version of embeddedness theory and cybernetic model apart from the data sets–usability framework proposed in recent literature (Machova et al., 2018).

Findings

Findings from this study indicate that OGD initiative needs to be embedded in the social fabric of the country to ensure that the data sets are being reused by a myriad set of stakeholders for deriving social and economic value. Likewise, the linkages between the stakeholders (for instance, government, citizens, non-governmental bodies, private sector, etc.) should be fortified to enable the reuse of the data sets in an appropriate manner.

Originality/value

Maintenance of quality of the data sets holds paramount importance. Implicitly, efforts should be made on the part of all the stakeholders concerned that the data sets be qualitatively and quantitatively adequate. This paper concludes with limitations and further research pointers.

Re-defining open government data standards for smart cities’ websites: a case study of selected cities

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to study the select Smart Cities of Czech and Indian counterparts and assess the extent to which open government data (OGD) standards are being adhered to using select indicators.

Design/methodology/approach

This study integrates the benchmarking frameworks provided in literature on OGD and apply them to evaluate the OGD standards of the Smart Cities’ websites.

Findings

Whereas the Czech Smart Cities are relatively more advanced in their OGD initiatives, the Indian counterpart is far lagging behind in their endeavors.

Originality/value

While there are many studies on OGD and Smart Cities, there has been no study which seeks to appreciate if the OGD initiatives are being adhered to by the Smart Cities.

Saudi scholars’ perceptions and use of open government data portals at Shaqra University, Saudi Arabia

This article reports the findings of a study on open data usage among Saudi scholars. It investigates the sample’s perceptions of open data and open data portals. The study reported the factors affecting the participants’ decision to use open data and aimed to understand Saudi researchers’ practices and perceptions related to the use and sharing of open data. It adopted a quantitative approach and a questionnaire was distributed to and collected from 190 Saudi academic staff to measure their perceptions, their open data usage, the benefits of open data, and the factors that significantly impacted their open data utilization. The findings reveal that 42.1% of Saudi researchers used government open data portals and regularly visited open data portals provided by the university and the government mainly for research purposes. The results also indicate that open data portals enabled Saudi researchers to obtain useful data for their research while giving them the tools to visualize and understand the data.

Uncovering the Enablers, Benefits, Opportunities and Risks for Digital Open Government (DOG)

The systematic review approach has been used to collect, examine, interpret, and synthesize research regarding enablers, challenges, opportunities, risks, and the usefulness of open government. The current review adopted the meta-synthesis approach to conduct the systematic review on 61 selected research papers. The study has covered the enablers for such initiatives and how governments of various countries can achieve open government benefits like lower level of corruption, higher level of public awareness and education, high level of transparency, more democratic control, improve efficiency and effectiveness of public services, and improve public services. The author has extracted various risks and challenges that obstruct open government efforts from getting their full potential. The study is helpful for policymakers of those countries who are planning to implement an open government system in their countries. However, a cooperation bias is one of the most considerable limitations in research studies that are included in this systematic literature review.

The importance of open government data for the private sector and NGOs in Indonesia

Purpose

Open government data (OGD) is making data available free to all by the government with the aim of ensuring accountability and transparency in government besides generating public value by its usage. OGD is an emerging government initiative in Indonesia and there is potential for harnessing OGD for spearheading innovation and improvising services in different economic sectors. This paper aims to investigate the usage of OGD in the private sector and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Indonesia.

Design/methodology/approach

Documentary analysis was conducted to review the national OGD portal of Indonesia. Structured interviews were conducted with 49 senior management representatives from the private sector and NGOs to solicit their perspectives regarding the usage of OGD for professional purposes. Also, questions were posed regarding the challenges in harnessing OGD for professional purposes.

Findings

OGD has immense potential for private sector and NGOs; however, more initiatives are required on the part of the government to open their data sets. Further, involvement of stakeholders from the private sector and NGOs and other interested partners is required for an optimum usage of OGD in different economic sectors of Indonesia.

Research limitations/implications

As the research focuses on the private sector and NGOs in Indonesia, the study requires a more broad-based approach to consider the perspectives of different users. Further research is required to appreciate the role of contextual factors in determining the usage of OGD in Indonesia.

Originality/value

The study is one of the first to be conducted in Indonesia about the OGD initiatives of the country. Soliciting views from the key management representatives in the private sector and NGOs, the paper contributes to the extant OGD literature, which is more supply-focused and not demand-driven. While conceding that there are ample usages of OGD for the different economic sectors, the paper underlines the need for refining the OGD initiatives of Indonesia.

Open government data (OGD) in six Middle East countries: an evaluation of the national open data portals

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to do provide an overview of open government data (OGD) frameworks in six Middle East countries (Cyprus, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, Lebanon and Jordan) and to underscore the barriers in using the open data sets.

Design/methodology/approach

OGD framework offered by Sieber and Johnson (2015) is deployed for the present purpose. Primarily, documentary analysis is being used for substantiating the study and the national portals of the six countries are investigated.

Findings

In line with the frameworks chosen for this study, OGD initiatives across the six Middle East countries are at an emerging phase. All the six countries qualify for the “data over the wall” model as advanced by Sieber and Johnson (2015), wherein there are basic provisions of “data aggregation.” Furthermore, the data are incomplete and outdated, which serve as barriers in using these data sets for analysis and interpretation. Therefore, there are a number of barriers in using the open data sets. However, there are many prospects for using these data sets which would improve public accountability and transparency in the long run.

Practical implications

Besides helping in improved decision-making, the governments may be in a better position to appreciate the relevance of adopting a robust OGD initiative in facilitating the economic growth of their country.

Social implications

This study is relevant for ensuring that citizen engagement is promoted and there is co-creation of public value.

Originality/value

Hitherto, OGD has been investigated in the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries (Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) but the other countries in Middle East have not been investigated. This study selects six countries outside the GCC ambit and investigates the nature and scope of OGD initiatives in each of them apart from underlining the barriers in using the open data sets.

Barriers to use open government data in private sector and NGOs in Pakistan

Purpose

Open government data (OGD) is making available data freely to all by the government with the aim to ensure accountability and transparency in government besides generating public value by its usage. OGD is an emerging government initiative in Pakistan, and there is a lot of potential for harnessing OGD for spearheading innovation and improvising services in different economic sectors. This paper aims to seek to investigate the usage of OGD in private sector and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Pakistan.

Design/methodology/approach

Documentary analysis is conducted to review the national OGD portal of Pakistan. Besides, structured interviews were conducted with 49 senior management representatives from private sector and NGOs to solicit their perspectives regarding the usage of OGD for professional purposes. Also, questions were posed regarding the challenges in harnessing OGD for professional purposes.

Findings

OGD has immense usage for private sector and NGOs; however, more initiatives are required on the part of the government to open their data sets. Further, involvement of stakeholders from the private sector and NGOs and other interested partners is required for an optimum usage of OGD in different economic sectors of Pakistan.

Research limitations/implications

As the research focuses on private sector and NGOs in Pakistan, the study requires a more broad-based approach to take into account the perspectives of different users. Further research is required to appreciate the role of contextual factors in determining the usage of OGD in Pakistan.

Practical implications

Government should be more forthcoming in its OGD initiatives and encourage collaboration from citizens, businesses, voluntary organizations and the like.

Social implications

Working professionals from different economic sectors should tap OGD for generating value by improvising their services.

Originality/value

The study is the first one to be conducted in Pakistan about the OGD initiatives of the country. Soliciting views from the key management representatives in the private sector and NGOs, the paper contributed to the extant OGD literature which is more supply-focused and not demand-driven. While conceding that there are ample usages of OGD for the different economic sectors, the paper underlines the need for refining the OGD initiatives of Pakistan.

“Usage by stakeholders” as the objective of “transparency-by-design” in open government data

Purpose

While “transparency-by-design” serves as the antecedent of any Open Government Data (OGD) initiative (Janssen et al., 2017), its logical objective would be the extent to which data “usage” is facilitated. This paper aims to underscore the significance, drivers and barriers to ensure “usage” of data sets conceding that re-use of data sets is one of the key objectives of any OGD initiative.

Design/methodology/approach

With a documentary analysis approach, the OGD initiative of Sri Lanka is investigated for the present purpose. Furthermore, the theoretical model of citizen engagement in OGD suggested by Sieber and Johnson (2015) is being referred to appreciate the extent to which the usage of data sets is facilitated via the OGD platform.

Findings

There are drivers as well as barriers as far as facilitating the usage of the data sets in the Sri Lankan OGD initiative is concerned. For instance, some of the drivers are the provision of suggesting data sets or the possibility of referring to data sets which are historical in nature. However, there are countless barriers to usage than the drivers. For instance, there is absence of metadata in the data sets; the data sets are not updated regularly; there are historical data; the formats of the data sets are limited in nature and are not user-friendly; there is no facility of conducting data visualization or analytics, and there is no collaborative approach towards building further the OGD initiative.

Research limitations/implications

As only one case study is probed in the paper, further research is warranted to undertake a comparative approach by taking two or more case studies into consideration.

Practical implications

This study holds relevance for Sri Lankan Government and other stakeholders (policy makers, citizens, developers and the like) so far as furthering of user engagement in OGD initiative is concerned.

Social implications

Facilitating more usage by citizens would increase their engagement, and they might derive value out of the data sets. At the same time, the government’s objective of ensuring increased usage of the data sets would be better realized.

Originality/value

“Transparency-by-design” approach had its focus on the publishing phase of OGD, and this paper seeks to provide its logical conclusion by emphasizing upon “usage by stakeholders” because by opening data sets, the government has the target to ensure that these open data sets are being used and re-used. Therefore, it is the outcome which is being discussed with the support of a case study set in the background of Sri Lanka’s Open Data initiative. Besides, this is the first study which probes the OGD initiatives of Sri Lanka – therein lies the major contribution of the study.