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

Fri Aug 26 07:22:01 UTC 2011

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