[open-government] Opendata: Digital-Era Governance Thoroughbred or New Public Management Trojan Horse?
David Eaves
david at eaves.ca
Fri Aug 26 19:23:05 UTC 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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