In recent years open data initiatives, which make government data publicly available in a machine-readable format for reuse and redistribution, have proliferated, driven by the launch of open-data government initiatives such as data.gov and data.gov.uk. Research on open data has focused on its potential for governance, its implications on transparency, accountability, and service delivery, and its limitations and barriers of use. However, less attention has been focused on the practices of data intermediaries-an emerging configuration of actors that plays an essential role in facilitating the use and reuse of data by aggregating open government data and enhancing it through a range of data practices. This thesis will assess the data practices of open government data intermediaries from three perspectives. First, it will trace the development of open government data initiatives to contend that at a moment when open data policy is seeing global diffusion with the potential of increasing social, political, and economic impact, there is a crucial need to assess the practices of intermediaries to understand how open government data is put to use. Second, it will develop a framework to analyze the role of open government data intermediaries by proposing a definition for "the data intermediary function" constituted by a range of technical, civic, representational, and critical data practices. Third, it will assess the data practices of two open government data intermediaries, 596 Acres and Transparent Chennai, who as urban actors facilitate the conversion of open government data into actionable information for communities to effect changes in the built environment. In describing and assessing the tools, practices, and methods developed by open data intermediaries this thesis will explore the potential and limitations of data intermediaries, and offer recommendations that might inform future open government data initiatives that seek to mediate open government data to facilitate changes in the built environment.

Participatory Budgeting—the experiment in democracy that could redefine how public budgets are decided in the United States. Democracy Reinvented is the first comprehensive academic treatment of participatory budgeting in the United States, situating it within a broader trend of civic technology and innovation. This global phenomenon, which has been called "revolutionary civics in action" by the New York Times, started in Brazil in 1989 but came to America only in 2009. Participatory budgeting empowers citizens to identify community needs, work with elected officials to craft budget proposals, and vote on how to spend public funds. Democracy Reinvented places participatory budgeting within the larger discussion of the health of U.S. democracy and focuses on the enabling political and institutional conditions. Author and former White House policy adviser Hollie Russon Gilman presents theoretical insights, indepth case studies, and interviews to offer a compelling alternative to the current citizen disaffection and mistrust of government. She offers policy recommendations on how to tap online tools and other technological and civic innovations to promote more inclusive governance. While most literature tends to focus on institutional changes without solutions, this book suggests practical ways to empower citizens to become change agents. Reinvesting in Democracy also includes a discussion on the challenges and opportunities that come with using digital tools to re-engage citizens in governance.

The Social Dynamics of Open Data is a collection of peer reviewed papers presented at the 2nd Open Data Research Symposium (ODRS) held in Madrid, Spain, on 5 October 2016. Research is critical to developing a more rigorous and fine-combed analysis not only of why open data is valuable, but how it is valuable and under what specific conditions. The objective of the Open Data Research Symposium and the subsequent collection of chapters published here is to build such a stronger evidence base. This base is essential to understanding what open data’s impacts have been to date, and how positive impacts can be enabled and amplified. Consequently, common to the majority of chapters in this collection is the attempt by the authors to draw on existing scientific theories, and to apply them to open data to better explain the socially embedded dynamics that account for open data’s successes and failures in contributing to a more equitable and just society.

Recent years have witnessed considerable speculation about the potential of open data to bring about wide-scale transformation. The bulk of existing evidence about the impact of open data, however, focuses on high-income countries. Much less is known about open data’s role and value in low- and middle-income countries, and more generally about its possible contributions to economic and social development. Open Data for Developing Economies features in-depth case studies on how open data is having an impact across the developing world-from an agriculture initiative in Colombia to data-driven healthcare projects in Uganda and South Africa to crisis response in Nepal. The analysis built on these case studies aims to create actionable intelligence regarding: (a) the conditions under which open data is most (and least) effective in development, presented in the form of a Periodic Table of Open Data; (b) strategies to maximize the positive contributions of open data to development; and (c) the means for limiting open data’s harms on developing countries.

This report examines the opportunities of enhancing access to and sharing of data (EASD) in the context of the growing importance of artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things. It discusses how EASD can maximise the social and economic value of data re-use and how the related risks and challenges can be addressed. It highlights the trade-offs, complementarities and possible unintended consequences of policy action – and inaction. It also provides examples of EASD approaches and policy initiatives in OECD countries and partner economies.

This White Paper sets out clearly how the UK will continue to unlock and seize the benefits of data sharing in the future in a responsible way. Firstly by ensuring equality in access to data; secondly in building greater trust in public data; and thirdly by ensuring that public services are more personalised and efficient by being smarter with the data public bodies hold. The UK is currently co-chairing the Open Government Partnership of 55 governments whose theme is 'Transparency drives prosperity' with the belief that opening up data will empower citizens, foster innovation and reform public services. It is also, therefore, about how others participate. About businesses and organisations becoming more transparent themselves and pushing data into the public domain and individuals taking that data and using it to make better decisions or press for different types of services.

It’s been ten years since open data first broke onto the global stage. Over the past decade, thousands of programmes and projects around the world have worked to open data and use it to address a myriad of social and economic challenges. Meanwhile, issues related to data rights and privacy have moved to the centre of public and political discourse. As the open data movement enters a new phase in its evolution, shifting to target real-world problems and embed open data thinking into other existing or emerging communities of practice, big questions still remain. How will open data initiatives respond to new concerns about privacy, inclusion, and artificial intelligence? And what can we learn from the last decade in order to deliver impact where it is most needed? The State of Open Data brings together over 60 authors from around the world to address these questions and to take stock of the real progress made to date across sectors and around the world, uncovering the issues that will shape the future of open data in the years to come.