A comparison of open data policies in different countries

Abstract

Many countries around the world have joined the open data movement. Data is being published for a various number of reasons which include for the public to reuse, to create a more efficient government, and to increase transparency. Recent development in this field is that the data published is expected to be in machine readable format. In general, there is a lack in guidelines to regulate and help the process of opening data. Many countries are in different stages in developing these guidelines. Indonesia is an example of a country just beginning to join the open data movement. A field of study that is lacking is about how countries can learn from each other in developing the necessary guidelines. Being in the early stages of development, Indonesia can especially benefit from research in this area. A complex comparison of open data policies is conducted in this research to provide a basis for drawing conclusions and recommendations for the open data policy in Indonesia. For this study, five different countries that are in different stages of development in their open data initiatives are explored which results in an extensive list of findings. These countries include the United States, United Kingdom, Netherlands, Kenya and Indonesia. For the design of the framework, literature and case studies are conducted. The case studies are in the form of interviews with eight respondents involved in open data in each country. First, it is identified what aspects influence the uneven development of open data. Second, lessons that are relevant for Indonesia based on the many similarities and differences are identified. As the scientific contribution of the research, this framework and comparison is given because there is currently lacking research in this area. It was concluded that Indonesia can synthesize a number of lessons from the comparison that comprises a combination of elements that were presented as findings from each of the countries. The lessons that were developed include suggestions for a more robust legal framework, the creation of an ecosystem between data publishers and data users, the development of stronger IT and organizational support for open data, and the launch of initiatives that use open data at the district government levels. Interestingly, from the study, it suggests that the focus of the policies for countries in the developing stages are more related to the release of data from the publishers and less on the technical processes that are involved with opening the data. Other interesting results that were founded from the study suggest that the difference between the countries are influenced by specific forces and counter forces in the area of open government and also from the existence of individuals that highly advocate for the development of open data in that country. So, the practical contribution of this research is the lessons that each of the countries can derive from the comparison and also the specific lessons that are designed for Indonesia’s open data policy both to reap the identified benefits of opening data. Further to this research, there is a possibility to conduct research on further comparisons for a more robust and comprehensive learning process. Comparisons can be conducted on different countries about open data policies or about different aspects of open data itself. Another possibility is to create lessons for all countries involved in this current study.