Linked Open Government Data: Still a Viable Option for Sharing and Integrating Public Data?

Abstract

Linked Data (LD) principles, when applied to Open Government Data (OGD), aim to make government data accessible and interconnected, unlocking its full potential and facilitating widespread reuse. As a modular and scalable solution to fragmented government data, Linked Open Government Data (LOGD) improve citizens’ understanding of government functions while promoting greater data interoperability, ultimately leading to more efficient government processes. However, despite promising developments in the early 2010s, including the release of LOGD datasets by some government agencies, and studies and methodological proposals by numerous scholars, a cursory examination of government websites and portals suggests that interest in this technology has gradually waned. Given the initial expectations surrounding LOGD, this paper goes beyond a superficial analysis and provides a deeper insight into the evolution of interest in LOGD by raising questions about the extent to which the dream of LD has influenced the reality of OGD and whether it remains sustainable.