[open-government] IFIP 2015 call for papers

Sun Oct 12 17:48:49 UTC 2014

WG 9.4: Social Implications of Computers in Developing Countries

13th International Conference on Social Implications of Computers in
Developing Countries

Track 11: Open Government for Public Service Delivary: Critical Issues,
Emerging Possibilities

 Chairs: Ranjini C Raghavendra, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore
              Mila Gascó-Hernández, ESADE, Barcelona, Spain

In recent years, there has been an unprecedented emphasis by public
administrations to open up government data and make it
available to the citizens. Access to government held information is regarded
as an important aspect of open governance. Public
administrations have started embarking on new initiatives that are
redefining their relationship with citizens and government. The
main objective of these initiatives have been on improving transparency,
public participation and collaboration. Although this is the
broad objective, implementation of these initiatives, in different
departments, for varied citizen groups has taken different directions.
The process of implementation of these open government projects is yet to be
critically examined and the real impact of open
government is yet to be analysed.

One of the primary functions of the government is the provision of essential
public services to the people. It is imperative that  public
services are provided to those in need, since these are not only ends in
themselves, but also play a critical role in enhancing
individual capabilities to participate fully in the growth of the economy.
However, the biggest challenge citizens face is in accessing
services that they are entitled to, within a certain time frame.

Information is key to ushering in people-centred governance and
strengthening participatory democracy. People are entitled to know
what policies and programmes, how and why, are they being framed and
followed by the Government. Recognising the need for
transparency in public affairs, many governments have enacted legislations
such as Right to Information Act, Right to Public Service
Act, etc. Such legislation has significant bearing on open government and
development. 

While there is a growing literature on policy issues, potentials and
possibilities of Open Government, there are very few empirical or
action-research accounts of OG initiative. It is the intention of the track
to include both empirical and theoretical papers. These cases
may be ongoing, successful and less successful open government efforts.

Some recommended topics for this track include, but are not limited to the
following: Recent initiatives of open government to improve
public service delivery; analysing the importance of open government efforts
for public governance; providing insightful analysis
about those factors that are critical when designing, implementing and
evaluating open government initiatives; discussing how
contextual factors affect success and failure of OG initiatives; exploring
the existence of theoretical models of open government; issues
around what public data can be opened, how and at what intervals; usefulness
of open data for public; evaluation of open government
initiatives; proposing strategies to move forward and to address future
challenges in an international context.

For more information, please contact ranjini.cr at gmail.com or
mila.gasco at esade.edu.

More information on IFIP 2015 at
http://www.ifipwg94.org/ifip-wg94-conference-2015

Mila Gascó, PhD
Institute of Public Governance and Management/Instituto de Gobernanza y
Dirección Pública/Institut de Governança i Direcció Pública
  Av. Pedralbes 60-62. E-08034 Barcelona Tel. + 34 932 806 162
mila.gasco at esade.edu <mailto:mila.gasco at esade.edu>
www.esade.edu/igdp <http://www.esade.edu/igdp>
 <http://www.linkedin.com/in/milagasco>  <http://twitter.com/MilaGasco>

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