A comparison of national open data policies: lessons learned

Rethinking Open Government Data for Citizen Participation. An Introduction to a Special Issue

Citizen participation has always been considered one of the key pillars of open government: providing citizens with government information should enable them to participate effectively in decision-making or other government procedures. Despite this obvious connection between open government data (OGD) and citizen participation in theory, their relationship turns out to be much more complicated in practice, as OGD is hardly used in practice to hold the government accountable or change government policy. This introduction argues for a reconceptualization of the idea of citizen participation in relation to OGD, moving away from the ‘more is better’ approach towards a more refined understanding of different levels of citizen participation.

Open Government Data in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries: An Analysis of Progress

Open government data (OGD) has been introduced relatively recently in Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (GCC Countries). However, progress has been significantly less than either hoped for or expected. The purpose of this research is to explore the reasons for this lack of progress. To do so, the attitudes and views of a range of senior government department (OGD-related) personnel were sought, using semi-structured interviews, and the results examined using thematic analysis. Unlike existing studies, which focus on external barriers to progress, this study focuses on internal factors which can result in a lack of progress to implementation, such as leadership attitudes, organisational culture and fear of failure. The findings show that considerable changes are required at both an ideological and practical level, if the gap between expectation and reality is to be closed. The paper concludes with recommendations of specific actions that can be taken to close this gap and the identification of areas where further study would be useful.

Benefits of Open Government Data Initiatives in Saudi Arabia and Barriers to Their Implementation

Open Government Data (OGD) initiatives can deliver many cultural and institutional benefits. This is why many governments are trying to establish an OGD ecosystem. However, although many countries have made good progress in doing so, some face significant challenges. In such cases, country-specific studies can prove valuable in understanding not only the current situation, but also in defining the obstacles to progress. As far as the authors of this paper can determine, this study is the first to examine the benefits of, and barriers to, implementation of the OGD initiative Saudi Arabia. The study conducts and analyses interviews with Saudi Arabian government officials in both leadership and technical positions, in order to obtain an informed view of the OGD initiative in Saudi. The study contributes to the existing knowledge base by identifying the main benefits of the Saudi Arabian Open Government Initiative and the barriers to its implementation.

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.

Incentive mechanisms for government officials' implementing open government data in China

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the factors influencing the behaviors of government officials during the implementation of open government data (OGD). By identifying and understanding the key factors that determine government officials' adoption of OGD in China, this study can create a valuable reference for other countries and their decision-making regarding government implementation of OGD.

Design/methodology/approach

This research collected data by in-depth interviews with government officials in Chinese OGD departments. Through these interviews, the authors consulted 15 administrators from departments that are responsible for the information tasks in Beijing and other cities on their opinions about OGD. The authors also interviewed senior executives from information technology (IT) companies, as well as open data policy scholars from big data alliance and research institutions.

Findings

This paper provides insights about how to promote government officials in OGD implementation, including (1) strengthen social supervision for the environment, through developing and publishing OGD technology roadmaps, then attracting the public to actively participate in the implementing of OGD; (2) establish an OGD assessment mechanism for government officials, with bonus motivations, position promotion incentives, as well as spiritual incentives via regional or sector rankings; (3) alleviate the risks of officials' OGD decisions in actual practice, using the institution construction of OGD to guide its direction and strengthen security protection.

Originality/value

This paper fulfils an identified need to study how government officials' behavior can be motivated on OGD implementation.

National-scale mapping of building height using Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 time series

Urban areas and their vertical characteristics have a manifold and far-reaching impact on our environment. However, openly accessible information at high spatial resolution is still missing at large for complete countries or regions. In this study, we combined Sentinel-1A/B and Sentinel-2A/B time series to map building heights for entire Germany on a 10 m grid resolving built-up structures in rural and urban contexts. We utilized information from the spectral/polarization, temporal and spatial dimensions by combining band-wise temporal aggregation statistics with morphological metrics. We trained machine learning regression models with highly accurate building height information from several 3D building models. The novelty of this method lies in the very fine resolution yet large spatial extent to which it can be applied, as well as in the use of building shadows in optical imagery. Results indicate that both radar-only and optical-only models can be used to predict building height, but the synergistic combination of both data sources leads to superior results. When testing the model against independent datasets, very consistent performance was achieved (frequency-weighted RMSE of 2.9 m to 3.5 m), which suggests that the prediction of the most frequently occurring buildings was robust. The average building height varies considerably across Germany with lower buildings in Eastern and South-Eastern Germany and taller ones along the highly urbanized areas in Western Germany. We emphasize the straightforward applicability of this approach on the national scale. It mostly relies on freely available satellite imagery and open source software, which potentially permit frequent update cycles and cost-effective mapping that may be relevant for a plethora of different applications, e.g. physical analysis of structural features or mapping society's resource usage.

When a city must be a tree: rethinking the spatial approach to fighting epidemics based on the notion of ‘intermediate confinement’

Principles of sustainability defend compactness, density and diversity as main characteristics of the optimal development of cities. These factors support public transport efficiency, economic activity, accessibility to equipments and services, proximity and walkability of streets and social exchanges in open public spaces. The Covid-19 pandemic crisis has called into question these factors perceived as booster of infections. However, dense and compact cities can also be the synonym of a more efficient provision of services, along with solidarity networks and creative solutions to fight the sanitary and economic crisis. Based on Alexander's (1965) concepts of 'tree' and 'semi-lattice', this study aims to identify areas in the urban tissue that could be self-sufficient, that is functionally autonomous to manage epidemics from the neighbourhood scale. Encouraging healthier lifestyles during lockdown is fundamental for social resilience. What alternative spatial approach to fighting epidemics could perform better? How could an "intermediate confinement" based on self-sufficiency and the promotion of healthier environments become a major priority for action? The analysis of Madrid (Spain) offers a suitable case study due to its density, diversity and high contagiousness during the Covid-19 crisis, revealing also some issues to apply such 'intermediate confinement' strategy, due to major spatial imbalances.

Effective and efficient usage of big data analytics in public sector

Purpose

This study aims to achieve three goals: present a holistic, flexible and dynamic model; define the model’s factors and explain how these factors lead to effective and efficient usage of big data; and generate indexes based on experts’ input to rank them based on their importance.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper uses the analytic hierarchy process, a quantitative method of decision-making, to evaluate the importance of the factors presented in the model. The fundamental principle of the overall model is that of a dynamo which is borrowed from electromagnetic physics. The model is also based on three IS theories.

Findings

Technological advancements and data security are among the most important factors that may impact the effectiveness and efficiency of big data usage. Authentication, governments’ focus on it and transparency and accountability are the most important factors in techno-centric, governmental-centric and user-centric factors, respectively.

Research limitations/implications

The findings of this paper confirmed earlier findings in the literature and quantitatively assessed some of the factors that were conceptually presented. This paper also presented a framework that can be used in future studies.

Practical implications

Policy and decision-makers may need to upgrade pertinent technologies such as internet security, frame policies toward information technology (IT) and train the users.

Originality/value

This paper fills a gap in the literature by presenting a comprehensive study of how different factors dynamically contribute to the effective usage of big data in the public sector. It also quantitatively presents the importance of the factors based on the data collected from 12 IT experts.

Multilateralism and international governmental organizations: principles and instruments

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to build a conceptual framework helping to understand the relationship between the principle of multilateralism in global policy relations and the role of international governmental organizations (IGOs). The paper develops conceptual building blocks to design adequate for international organizations for result-oriented effective multilateralism.

Design/methodology/approach

Literature review and in-depth theoretical analysis served to construct a framework that helps to see the variety of IGOs against global policy problems they serve to solve.

Findings

The analysis highlighted several lessons that can be learned, including the need for an efficient match between the nature of the global policy problem and the mandate and the size of IGO. The paper indicated the importance of efficient mechanisms to make international organizations accountable to member states while allowing for effective leadership.

Research limitations/implications

The heterogeneity of IGOs makes a generalization difficult, hence, the proposed framework necessarily remains relatively generic. Still, this paper provides a first analytical basis for the comparison of IGO with regard to global policy problems they have been set to solve.

Practical implications

The author pointed to the way how to improve the fit between global policy problems and IGOs to make multilateralism more effective. The framework can be used to learn what can be expected from a given IGO and to see IGOs in their proper roles.

Social implications

The paper might of interest to decision-makers and international public opinion eager to either criticize or praise international organizations based on a simplistic, if not ideological approaches. The paper develops arguments that help influence the evolution of international organizations.

Originality/value

IGO are increasing in number and forms leading to confusion to their role and impact. This framework can be used to realistically assess the role of IGOs in global public policies.

Data sharing, management, use, and reuse: Practices and perceptions of scientists worldwide

BACKGROUND

With data becoming a centerpiece of modern scientific discovery, data sharing by scientists is now a crucial element of scientific progress. This article aims to provide an in-depth examination of the practices and perceptions of data management, including data storage, data sharing, and data use and reuse by scientists around the world.

METHODS

The Usability and Assessment Working Group of DataONE, an NSF-funded environmental cyberinfrastructure project, distributed a survey to a multinational and multidisciplinary sample of scientific researchers in a two-waves approach in 2017-2018. We focused our analysis on examining the differences across age groups, sub-disciplines of science, and sectors of employment.

FINDINGS

Most respondents displayed what we describe as high and mediocre risk data practices by storing their data on their personal computer, departmental servers or USB drives. Respondents appeared to be satisfied with short-term storage solutions; however, only half of them are satisfied with available mechanisms for storing data beyond the life of the process. Data sharing and data reuse were viewed positively: over 85% of respondents admitted they would be willing to share their data with others and said they would use data collected by others if it could be easily accessed. A vast majority of respondents felt that the lack of access to data generated by other researchers or institutions was a major impediment to progress in science at large, yet only about a half thought that it restricted their own ability to answer scientific questions. Although attitudes towards data sharing and data use and reuse are mostly positive, practice does not always support data storage, sharing, and future reuse. Assistance through data managers or data librarians, readily available data repositories for both long-term and short-term storage, and educational programs for both awareness and to help engender good data practices are clearly needed.

How “accessible” is open data?

Purpose

This paper aims to examine the nature and sufficiency of descriptive information included in open datasets and the nature of comments and questions users write in relation to specific datasets. Open datasets are provided to facilitate civic engagement and government transparency. However, making the data available does not guarantee usage. This paper examined the nature of context-related information provided together with the datasets and identified the challenges users encounter while using the resources.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors extracted descriptive text provided together with (often at the top of) datasets (N = 216) and the nature of questions and comments users post in relation to the dataset. They then segmented text descriptions and user comments into “idea units” and applied open-coding with constant comparison method. This allowed them to come up with thematic issues that descriptions focus on and the challenges users encounter.

Findings

Results of the analysis revealed that context-related descriptions are limited and normative. Users are expected to figure out how to use the data. Analysis of user comments/questions revealed four areas of challenge they encounter: organization and accessibility of the data, clarity and completeness, usefulness and accuracy and language (spelling and grammar). Data providers can do more to address these issues.

Research limitations/implications

The purpose of the study is to understand the nature of open data provision and suggest ways of making open data more accessible to “non expert users”. As such, it is not focused on generalizing about open data provision in various countries as such provision may be different based on jurisdiction.

Practical implications

The study provides insight about ways of organizing open dataset that the resource can be accessible by the general public. It also provides suggestions about how open data providers could consider users' perspectives including providing continuous support.

Originality/value

Research on open data often focuses on technological, policy and political perspectives. Arguably, this is the first study on analysis of context-related information in open-datasets. Datasets do not “speak for themselves” because they require context for analysis and interpretation. Understanding the nature of context-related information in open dataset is original idea.

Citizen engagement with open government data

Purpose

Citizen engagement is key to the success of many Open Government Data (OGD) initiatives. However, not much is known regarding how this type of engagement emerges. This study aims to investigate the necessary conditions for the emergence of citizen-led engagement with OGD and to identify which factors stimulate this type of engagement.

Design/methodology/approach

First, the authors created a systematic overview of the literature to develop a conceptual model of conditions and factors of OGD citizen engagement at the societal, organizational and individual level. Second, the authors used the conceptual model to systematically study citizens’ engagement in the case of a particular OGD initiative, namely, the digitization of presidential election results data in Indonesia in 2014. The authors used multiple information sources, including interviews and documents, to explore the conditions and factors of OGD citizen-led engagement in this case.

Findings

From the literature the authors identified five conditions for the emergence of OGD citizen-led engagement as follows: the availability of a legal and political framework that grants a mandate to open up government data, sufficient budgetary resources allocated for OGD provision, the availability of OGD feedback mechanisms, citizens’ perceived ease of engagement and motivated citizens. In the literature, the authors found six factors contributing to OGD engagement as follows: democratic culture, the availability of supporting institutional arrangements, the technical factors of OGD provision, the availability of citizens’ resources, the influence of social relationships and citizens’ perceived data quality. Some of these conditions and factors were found to be less important in the studied case, namely, citizens’ perceived ease of engagement and citizens’ perceived data quality. Moreover, the authors found several new conditions that were not mentioned in the studied literature, namely, citizens’ sense of urgency, competition among citizen-led OGD engagement initiatives, the diversity of citizens’ skills and capabilities and the intensive use of social media. The difference between the conditions and factors that played an important role in the case and those derived from the literature review might be because of the type of OGD engagement that the authors studied, namely, citizen-led engagement, without any government involvement.

Research limitations/implications

The findings are derived using a single case study approach. Future research can investigate multiple cases and compare the conditions and factors for citizen-led engagement with OGD in different contexts.

Practical implications

The conditions and factors for citizen-led engagement with OGD have been evaluated in practice and discussed with public managers and practitioners through interviews. Governmental organizations should prioritize and stimulate those conditions and factors that enhance OGD citizen engagement to create more value with OGD.

Originality/value

While some research on government-led engagement with OGD exists, there is hardly any research on citizen-led engagement with OGD. This study is the first to develop a conceptual model of necessary conditions and factors for citizen engagement with OGD. Furthermore, the authors applied the developed multilevel conceptual model to a case study and gathered empirical evidence of OGD engagement and its contributions to solving societal problems, rather than staying at the conceptual level. This research can be used to investigate citizen engagement with OGD in other cases and offers possibilities for systematic cross-case lesson-drawing.

The associativity evaluation between open data and country characteristics

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to review the levels of open government data (OGD) among various countries that are not consistent with the development levels of those countries. This study evaluates the associativity between OGD Index (OGD) and the characteristics of those countries as well as to compare the degree of OGD among countries. Accordingly, an advanced discussion to explore how a country’s characteristics affect how that country’s government opens data was presented.

Design/methodology/approach

The stakeholder relationships of OGD is analysed with the characteristics of a country. The usage data are compared with the data availability according to nine indicators. These data collected from the statistics and OGDI websites are grouped for comparative statistical analyses based on basic descriptive statistics, one-way analysis of variance and a regression model with variance inflation faction.

Findings

The results 1) revealed the reasons some countries have high-ranking indexes and 2) verified the high index values of countries in terms of their degrees of development. This study, thus, attempted to derive a balanced appraisal of national development and OGD.

Research limitations/implications

The study sample is limited only to countries 1) which open the statistical data; and 2) are of uneven population density and development degree. The OGDI is limited to expert evaluation. The score might be vary to experts and users with diverse countries at different evaluation period. The limitations can be attributed to the differences between OGDI and real open levels. These differences might influence the reliability and validity.

Practical implications

Government departments with OGD policies provide raw data in various formats and with application interfaces for user access. This study, thus, attempts to derive a balanced appraisal of national development and OGD. The factors that evaluate which types of countries open the level of data are explored.

Originality/value

This study establishes stakeholder relationships of OGD and extends to analyse the characteristics of a country and OGD that affect the government data open level. The relationships are evaluated through the OGDI with design score scheme. The measurement results indicated that a country possesses high relation to open data with high DI and nature resource.

Asymmetric Open Government Data (OGD) framework in India

Purpose

With the ongoing drives towards Open Government Data (OGD) initiatives across the globe, governments have been keen on pursuing their OGD policies to ensure transparency, collaboration and efficiency in administration. As a developing country, India has recently adopted the OGD policy (www.data.gov.in); however, the percolation of this policy in the States has remained slow. This paper aims to underpin the “asymmetry” in OGD framework as far as the Indian States are concerned. Besides, the study also assesses the contribution of “Open Citizens” in furthering the OGD initiatives of the country.

Design/methodology/approach

An exploratory qualitative following a case study approach informs the present study using documentary analysis where evidentiary support from five Indian States (Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, Sikkim and Gujarat) is being drawn to assess the nature and scope of the OGD framework. Further, conceptualization for “Open Citizen” framework is provided to emphasize upon the need to have aware, informed and pro-active citizens to spearhead the OGD initiatives in the country.

Findings

While the National OGD portal has a substantial number of data sets across different sectors, the States are lagging behind in the adoption and implementation of OGD policies, and while Telangana and Sikkim have been the frontrunners in adoption of OGD policies in a rudimentary manner, others are yet to catch up with them. Further, there is “asymmetry” in terms of the individual contribution of the government bodies to the open data sets where some government bodies are more reluctant to share their datasets than the others.

Practical implications

It is the conclusion of the study that governments need to institutionalize the OGD framework in the country, and all the States should appreciate the requirement of adopting a robust OGD policy for furthering transparency, collaboration and efficiency in administration.

Social implications

As an “Open Citizen”, it behooves upon the citizens to be pro-active and contribute towards the open data sets which would go a long way in deriving social and economic value out of these data sets.

Originality/value

While there are many studies on OGD in the West, studies focused upon the developing countries are starkly lacking. This study plugs this gap by attempting a comparative analysis of the OGD frameworks across Indian States. Besides, the study has provided a conceptualization of “Open Citizen” (OGD) which may be tapped for further research in developing and developed countries to ascertain the linkage between OGD and OC.

Barriers and strategies of open government data adoption using fuzzy AHP-TOPSIS

Purpose

This study aims to propose strategies to address the identified major barriers for giving the public open access to government data. The study adopts fuzzy analytical hierarchy process and technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution (AHP-TOPSIS) to weigh the barriers and strategies, and it subsequently involves experts to identify and weigh the barriers and strategies. A case of Indonesia is used to contextualize the study.

Design/methodology/approach

The data were collected using fuzzy AHP-TOPSIS-based questionnaires given to several government representatives who had been working with data and information. The respondents were given sets of pairwise comparisons of which they were asked to compare the level of importance using one to nine fuzzy numbers between barriers and strategies. The data were then calculated using the fuzzy AHP-TOPSIS formula to obtain each weight of the barriers and strategies. The weight is used to prioritize the barrier and strategies.

Findings

In total, five barrier categories in the order of importance, namely, legal and privacy; government culture; social; technical; and economic, were identified from 27 barriers. In total, ten strategies of open government data (OGD) adoption were identified and ranked in the order of importance, and they can be grouped into five priorities. Priority 1 is to involve stakeholders in OGD planning and establish an OGD competence center. Priority 2 is to develop a legal compliance framework. Priority 3 is to adopt OGD gradually. Priority 4 is to create a collaboration feature on the portal for stakeholder communication and raise public awareness of OGD. Priority 5, finally, is to conduct training for government officials, develop standard operating practice for OGD management, use standard data formats and provide metadata.

Research limitations/implications

This study provides a perspective from the government’s view. One suggestion for future research is to conduct a study from the public’s perspective to formulate strategies based on the identified citizens’ barriers in using OGD. In addition, cross-country (of different characteristics) studies were required to generalize the findings.

Practical implications

The first strategy of the first priority implies that government institutions should be able to develop a preliminary plan to involve relevant stakeholders in OGD planning, which includes identifying relevant stakeholders and continuously engaging them to participate in the planning phase of OGD. The second strategy in the first priority entails that government institutions should realize an OGD competence center by creating a virtual team whose members are from various backgrounds and who are very knowledgeable about OGD and how to manage OGD in government institutions.

Originality/value

This research provides key strategies to address the main barriers to giving the public open access to government data.

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.

Open Government Data (OGD) in Iran, Lebanon and Jordan: a comparative approach

Purpose

The main aim of this study is to do a comparison of Open Government Data (OGD) frameworks in Iran, Lebanon and Jordan and underscore the prospects and challenges in OGD implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

Basing itself on two OGD models offered by Kalampokis and his colleagues (Kalampokis et al., 2011) and Sieber and Johnson (2015) and the typology of “good” and “bad” data based on factors such as “usability”, “findability” and “understandability”, the study uses a documentary analysis for generating evidences by scanning the websites linked with OGD across the three countries. Following a qualitative methodology, countries shall be classified in terms of these models and the typology depending upon their OGD nature and scope.

Findings

OGD adoption in Iran, Lebanon and Jordan is at a nascent stage, and the OGD nature is of the “bad” type. These countries have merely “aggregated data” over their Web interfaces which are incomplete, outdated and do not permit analytics. Besides, there are a number of challenges which need to be overcome for proper OGD adherence. Nevertheless, there are a lot of prospects for harnessing OGD for improved citizen–government interaction by creating a culture of transparency, collaboration and accountability.

Practical implications

The study holds immense significance for government bodies to appreciate the potential of OGD which would go a long way to add social and economic value to propel the country’s growth.

Originality/value

No study has been conducted so far which compares Iran, Lebanon and Jordan in terms of their OGD policies; this is the main contribution of the study. Also, conceding the significance of the three countries in terms of their socio-economic indices, academic research is warranted in relation to these countries.

Knowledge behavior model of e-government social media users

Purpose

A social media user behavior model is presented as a function of different user types, i.e. light and heavy users. The users’ behaviors are analyzed in terms of knowledge creation, framing and targeting.

Design/methodological approach

Data consisting of 160,000 tweets by nearly 40,000 twitter users in the city of Newark (NJ, USA) were collected during the year 2014. An analysis was conducted to examine the hypothesis that different user types exhibit distinct behaviors driven from different motivations.

Findings

There are three important findings of this study. First, light users reuse existing content more often, while heavy and automated users create original content more often. Light users also use more sentiments than the heavy and automated users. Second, automated users frame more than heavy users, who frame more than light users. Third, light users tend to target a specific audience, while heavy and automated users broadcast to a general audience.

Research implications

Decision-makers can use this study to improve communication with their customers (the public) and allocate resources more effectively for better public services. For example, they can better identify subsets of users and then share and track specialized content to these subsets more effectively.

Originality/value

Despite the broad interest, there is insufficient research on many aspects of social media use, and very limited empirical research examining the relevance and impact of social media within the public sector. The social media user behavior model was established as a framework that can provide explanations for different social media knowledge behaviors exhibited by various subsets of users, in an e-government context.

Open Data in Israel, Georgia and Uzbekistan: nature and scope

Purpose

The main purpose of this study is to investigate the nature and scope of Open Data in Israel, Georgia and Uzbekistan.

Design/methodology/approach

Drawing upon the two Open Data models proposed by Kalampokis et al. (2011) and Sieber and Johnson (2015), this paper seeks to underline the nature and scope of Open Data in Israel, Georgia and Uzbekistan.

Findings

Open Data across the three countries (Israel, Georgia and Uzbekistan) is at an early stage of maturity. There is more of data aggregation and this poses a number of challenges as far as access to and usage of these data sets are concerned. Furthermore, in terms of the model proposed by Sieber and Johnson (2015), there is “data over the wall” in these countries.

Practical implications

The study holds practical relevance in the sense that policymakers are encouraged to further the Open Data initiatives in their respective countries. Furthermore, government departments are encouraged to release data sets for use by the public and to generate public value.

Originality/value

Whereas extant literature on Open Data veers around economies in the West, academic research in other countries is visibly lacking. Also, no study has been undertaken so far wherein Open Data initiatives in Israel, Georgia and Uzbekistan have been undertaken till date. The present study seeks to plug this gap in a major way.

Prospects of open government data (OGD) in facilitating the economic diversification of GCC region

Purpose

As the ongoing oil prices’ crisis is emerging as a major cause of concern for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, the constituent governments are attempting at undertaking measures of economic diversification to attain long-term sustainability. The author posits that open government data (OGD) has a significant role to play in facilitating the economic turnaround of the GCC region, given that OGD promotes innovation and economic growth besides providing avenues for collaboration and participation among different stakeholders.

Design/methodology/approach

Following a structured literature review, the paper scans literature on OGD followed by providing a typology of countries on the basis of their OGD-adherence (“laggard”, “caged”, “forerunner” and “champ”). This is followed by a discussion on the ongoing oil prices’ crisis, and evidentiary support is lent by examples from the OGD portals of each of the six GCC countries (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates) to provide indicators as to how a robust OGD implementation may support their economic diversification objectives.

Findings

Although the present OGD framework of the GCC is relatively weak, it is asserted that OGD has immense potential in facilitating the economic diversification initiatives of the GCC countries. Therefore, the GCC needs to strategize upon institutionalization of their OGD initiatives for realizing their “vision” and goals of economic diversification to result in an economic turnaround effectively.

Originality/value

Besides providing a typology of countries as OGD-adherents and categorizing GCC as “forerunner(s)” on the basis of the typology, the originality of the study lies in its attempt to answer the research question: “what is the role of the OGD in facilitating the economic diversification of the GCC?” Conceding that the research on OGD in the GCC context is few and far between, the present study is a significant contribution to the extant literature pertaining to the roll-out of OGD in developing countries.