[open-government] Opendata: Digital-Era Governance Thoroughbred or New Public Management Trojan Horse?

Fri Aug 26 20:23:05 BST 2011

I think it is a great topic for Warsaw...

d

On 11-08-26 11:20 AM, Javier Ruiz wrote:
> Hi Chris and David
>
> I agree that presenting the issue as a dichotomy of clear cut policy 
> philosophies may present a conflict that is not expressed as such, 
> although from a quick skimming of Emer Coleman's dissertation she also 
> appears to put it in similar oppositional terms.
>
> However, I don't agree the article says we should we wary of open 
> data, it says we should be wary of the different agendas behind the 
> drive for open data. Emer also highlights the danger of NPM sneaking 
> back to derail more transformative open governance models.
>
> In many ways this article was completely prescient of UK policy:
>
> "From this perspective, support for more open data aims at building 
> coalitions of citizen consumers who are encouraged to use open data to 
> expose public service decisions, highlight perceived performance 
> issues, increase competition within the public sector, and strengthen 
> the hand of the citizen as customer."
>
> could be written as introduction to the current Cabinet Office Open 
> Data consultation::
>
> "4.4 The proposals in this consultation are designed to support the 
> agenda outlined in the recently published Open Public Services White 
> Paper. More accessible, higher quality data can support better quality 
> services that are more responsive to individual and community needs, 
> giving more freedom and professional discretion to those who deliver 
> them, and providing better value for taxpayers? money. Open Data is 
> central to putting power in the hands of individuals and local 
> communities to enable people to choose what sort of service they want 
> and find the best provider to meet their needs."
>
> I agree this could mean many good things in practice, and I believe 
> there is still an opportunity for shaping the policy because it 
> depends on so much external input from hackers and civil society, but 
> we ignore the fault lines at our peril.
>
> We should not underestimate the lack of awareness of open data outside 
> certain policy and tech networks, and how problematic some framings 
> could be, particularly if coupled with a privacy scandal.
>
> We are doing a workshop in around a month's time in London to discuss 
> the UK consultation, and this particular debate was already planned as 
> one of the sessions. Maybe it should also take place at the camp in 
> Poland, or is it still too UK specific?
>
> Javier
>
>
>
> 2011/8/26 David Eaves <david at eaves.ca <mailto:david at eaves.ca>>
>
>     Great thoughts guys.
>
>     Chris, I just posted your entire thread into my blog, I thought it
>     was so good. Suddenly realized I should have asked first. Really
>     sorry about that...
>
>     http://eaves.ca/2011/08/26/open-data-and-new-public-management/
>
>
>
>
>     On 11-08-26 4:16 AM, Chris Taggart wrote:
>>     I think the title -- making it out to be a choice between a
>>     thoroughbred or Trojan Horse -- says it all. It's a false
>>     dichotomy, as neither of those are what the open data advocates
>>     are suggesting it is, nor do most of us believe that open data is
>>     solution to all our problems (far from it -- see some of my
>>     presentations[1]).
>>
>>     It also seems to offer a choice between New Public Management
>>     (which I think Emer Coleman does a fairly good job of
>>     illuminating in her paper[2]) and the brave new world of Digital
>>     Era Governance, which is also to misunderstand the changes being
>>     brought about in society, with or without open government data.
>>
>>     The point is not that open data is the answer to our problem but
>>     society's chance to stay in the game (and even then, the odds are
>>     arguably against it). We already have ever increasing numbers of
>>     huge closed databases, many made up of largely government data,
>>     available to small number of people and companies.
>>
>>     This leads to an asymmetry of power and friction that completely
>>     undermines democracy; open data is not a sufficiency to
>>     counteract that, but I think it is a requirement.
>>
>>     Chris Taggart
>>
>>     -- 
>>     -------------------------------------------------------
>>     OpenCorporates :: The Open Database of the Corporate World
>>     http://opencorporates.com <http://opencorporates.com/>
>>     OpenlyLocal :: Making Local Government More Transparent
>>     http://openlylocal.com <http://openlylocal.com/>
>>     Blog: http://countculture.wordpress.com
>>     <http://countculture.wordpress.com/>
>>     Twitter: http://twitter.com/CountCulture
>>
>>     [1] http://www.slideshare.net/countculture
>>     [2]
>>     http://davepress.net/2011/05/18/from-new-public-management-to-open-governance-the-back-story/
>>
>>
>>     On 26 August 2011 08:22, Daniel Dietrich
>>     <daniel.dietrich at okfn.org <mailto:daniel.dietrich at okfn.org>> wrote:
>>
>>         Dear all
>>
>>         Christiane (in CC) pointed me to this and I wanted to share
>>         and perhaps discuss with you:
>>
>>         #Opendata: Digital-Era Governance Thoroughbred or New Public
>>         Management Trojan Horse?
>>         by Justin Longo, University of Victoria published in Public
>>         Policy & Governance Review, Vol. 2, No. 2, p. 38, Spring 2011
>>         http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1856120
>>
>>         Abstract:
>>         "The open data movement - in which advocates have called for
>>         governments to provide open, easy-to-use and largely
>>         free-of-charge access to public data - has generated
>>         significant momentum in a short period of time. I review the
>>         benefits - to both governments and the public - that many
>>         open data advocates agree are achievable from making
>>         digitized government data more open. Following this, I focus
>>         on one of these purported benefits and propose an alternative
>>         interpretation that identifies a potential downside to open
>>         data as currently framed: that an alternative reading of some
>>         elements of the open data advocacy coalition originate in the
>>         New Public Management reform agenda and seek to revive it."
>>
>>         My Comment:
>>         This is not new. Some of the Open Government /Open Data
>>         concepts have been in close neighbourhood to concepts of
>>         increasing government efficiency, small government,
>>         outsourcing and the like from the very beginning.
>>
>>         Also most Transparency advocates would reject the ideas of
>>         outsourcing and privatisation we now have to realise that
>>         some people argue for exactly this under the name of open
>>         government.
>>
>>         Tim O'Reilys idea "Government as a Platform" also includes
>>         elements of both concepts: "Transparency / Participation" and
>>         "efficient / small Government". Don't get me wrong: I don't
>>         say that an efficient Government is a bad thing. But I think
>>         Justin Longo is making a good point here.
>>
>>         I think the Open Government / Transparency / Open Data
>>         Movements should be clear that our demand for an open
>>         Government, for Open Data and more Transparency and
>>         Participation is not the same than others' advocacy for
>>         outsourcing and privatisation in the name of Government
>>         efficiency under a neoliberal agenda.
>>
>>         Regards
>>         Daniel
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>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
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