Open Government: Policies, Practices, Challenges, and Impacts

Description

Open government entails governance based on innovative and sustainable public policies and practices, motivated by the principles of transparency, integrity, accountability, and stakeholder participation. For over a decade, there has been a growing interest in the notion of open government and a rapid increase in open government initiatives around the world. The popularity of open government has been aided by a shift to digital platforms such as government portals, Internet, and social media as channels to share data, disseminate information, and seek public participation. These platforms have also played a significant role in making the government more accountable and in fostering policy changes through citizen and other stakeholders’ engagement. Overall, the practice of open government and public participation is hoped to foster greater transparency, fight corruption, transform government structures, and engender broader political, economic, and societal impacts.

However, the practice of open government is also faced with significant challenges. Open government initiatives and commitments often face countervailing forces. For example, initiatives that promote transparency, freedom of information, and the right to know must also consider security and privacy concerns. While the Internet and social media are great tools for data and information sharing, there has been a growing rise in misinformation, disinformation, and the potential for deceptive practices, which undermine the authenticity of data and information shared through these media. Furthermore, not all government regimes have a vested interest in open government. Some regimes will share data and make available only information that they are comfortable making public, and which does not undermine their selfpreservation interests. Moreover, the potential for the data and information made public to be systematically distorted and highly favorable is elevated in this scenario. Nonetheless, open government can contribute to better policies and services, greater citizen trust, and, ultimately, stronger democracies in an increasingly complex information environment.

This minitrack aims to provide a platform for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers to have discourse on the various facets of open government, including open government policies, practices, challenges, and impacts. Research that develops and/or explores open government frameworks and theories is welcome. Furthermore, empirical studies and case studies that examine short-, medium- and long-term impacts of open government under various contexts and political regimes are welcome. This minitrack also welcomes meta studies and critical literature review papers that provide frameworks for theory development on the topic. By examining this topic from multiple perspectives, this minitrack seeks to foster a comprehensive understanding of the broader impacts of open government on the functioning of political systems, the economy, and society.

Topics for consideration in this minitrack include, but not limited to studies examining:

• Different types of open government initiatives around the world
• Privacy, security, freedom of information and the right to know
• Misinformation/disinformation in relation to open government
• Deception and systematic information distortion at various levels of government
• Public communication through social media/social networks
• Trust and information credibility in social networks in relation to open government
• Policy issues in relation to open government and the interplay between policy and
  openness
• Open government partnerships
• The role of public participation and engagement in governance and policy
• Drivers of open government
• Challenges of open government
• Artificial intelligence applications in open government
• The political, economic, and societal impacts of open government
• Legal and ethical implications of open government practices
• Frameworks, case studies, theories, quantitative, and qualitative studies on open
  government
• Methods, practices, and approaches to assess the success of open government
  initiatives 

Minitrack Leaders

Samuel Otim is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Information School at the University of
Washington, Seattle. His research is based on the sociotechnical perspective, and is focused on
evaluating the individual, organizational, and societal impacts of information and communication
technologies. His research has been published in main journals, including Journal of Management
Information Systems, Information Systems Journal, and European Journal of Information Systems. Dr.
Otim’s current research focuses on evaluating the impacts of open government initiatives

Hans Jochen Scholl, PhD, is a Professor in the Information School at the University of Washington,
Seattle, WA. His research interests focus on modeling human-originated complex systems, in particular,
by means of system dynamics. Besides quantitative approaches he also embarks on qualitative research
using Action Research, Cognitive Action/Activity Analysis among other methods. Areas of study include
technology evolution, information management, pro sports information management, mobile
computing, electronic government, and disaster and catastrophe response/recovery management.
Jochen is the past president of the Digital Government Society of North America.

Christian Schaupp is the Director of DBA Programs and Professor in the Department of Accounting in the
John Chambers College of Business and Economics at West Virginia University. His primary research
interests include e-government adoption and IS success metrics. He has published in several top-tier
journals including Communications of the ACM, Journal of Information Systems, and Information
Systems Frontiers. He currently serves as co-chair for the digital government track at the Hawaii
International Conference on System Sciences.