Part 2: Open GovernmentInternational audienceThe rhetoric of open government data (OGD) promises that data transparency will lead to multiple public benefits: economic and social innovation, civic participation, public-private collaboration, and public accountability. In reality much less has been accomplished in practice than advocates have hoped. OGD research to address this gap tends to fall into two streams – one that focuses on data publication and re-use for purposes of innovation, and one that views publication as a stimulus for civic participation and government accountability - with little attention to whether or how these two views interact. In this paper we use an ecosystem perspective to explore this question. Through an exploratory case study we show how two related cycles of influences can flow from open data publication. The first addresses transparency for innovation goals, the second addresses larger issues of data use for public engagement and greater government accountability. Together they help explain the potential and also the barriers to reaching both kinds of goals
Governments around the world are investing a great amount of resources on the development of an information society. These investments are particularly important as an attempt to close digital divides among countries and regions within countries. However, there is no clear evidence that suggests that current Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policies are helping align investments with the actual needs of the local contexts. Based on data about the allocation of 2014-2020 EU Funds, this paper analyzes the relationship between local needs and investment decisions aiming at bridging territorial digital divides. The results identify four different regional strategies developed around four policy goals: broadband, digital inclusion, digital government services, and the use of ICTs in enterprises. The results also show that unlike the past 2007-13 period, the allocations to these goals appear to be consistent with the ICT local context, i.e. funding for a given goal is higher in the regions that need it the most. Therefore, our main recommendation for the European Commission and Member States is to keep existing requirements for developing evidence-informed "Digital Growth" strategies for the next 2021-27 period. We also suggest to strengthen existing support tools for regional governments.
Part 3: Governance, Openess and InstitutionsInternational audienceThis empirical study explores the information-based strategies that EU Regions and Member States are implementing when publishing public data on the web. Cohesion Policy and its Structural Funds, which involve all EU Regions and Member States, are the ideal context to verify the presence of different approaches to the publication of government data. Therefore, 434 datasets on beneficiaries of EU Structural Funds are analysed with multivariate statistical techniques and classified into three clusters according to their characteristics. Two pro-active information strategies are identified, which are consistent with the theoretical framework based on the complementary principles of ”stewardship” and ”usefulness”. The analysis of current practice also reveals that there is still much to be done in order to find the right balance between these two principles
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