This handbook, co-edited by Mila Gasco-Hernandez, Ramon Gil-Garcia and Theresa Pardo is Published by Edward Elgar Publishing at https://www.elgaronline.com/edcollbook/book/9781035301652/9781035301652.xml

In the past decade, open government has received renewed attention. It has increasingly been acknowledged globally as necessary to enhance democratic governance by building on the pillars of transparency, participation, and collaboration. Transnational multistakeholder initiatives, such as the Open Government Partnership, have fostered the development of open government by raising awareness about the concept and encouraging reforms in member countries. In this respect, many countries at the local, state, and federal levels have implemented open government initiatives in different policy domains and government functions, such as procurement, policing, education, and public budgeting. More recently, the emergence of digital technologies to facilitate innovative and collaborative approaches to open government is setting these new efforts apart from previous ones, designed to strengthen information access and transparency. Building a new shared understanding of open government, how various contexts shape the perceptions of open government by different stakeholders, and the ways in which digital technologies can advance open government is important for both research and practice.

Part I: Concepts

In Chapter 2, “Global Evolution of Open Government,” Sabina Schnell provides a comprehensive overview of open government by explaining the concept of open government and its global evolution. In doing so, the chapter traces the historical origins of open government and identifies its drivers and consequences while highlighting the role of international initiatives like the Open Government Partnership in advancing its agenda on a global scale. Additionally, it demonstrates a nuanced understanding of political and administrative challenges, particularly in the context of the digital divide and democratic backsliding.p. 3

Part II: Pillars of Open Government

Building on the foundations of open government, Part II of the Handbook elaborates on the three main pillars: transparency, participation, and collaboration, in the context of digital technologies. The five chapters in this part explore the possibilities of not only making information available through the use of social media and crowdsourcing platforms but also provide insights on how information can be leveraged through participation and collaboration to address societal challenges. In this respect, some of the chapters build on the concepts of civic hackathons and open innovation for the public sector.

In Chapter 3, “Social Media Services and Open Government – A Conceptual Model,” Bernd W. Wirtz and Marcel Becker explore the role of social media as catalysts for participation and collaboration while granting citizens transparent access to information. Despite acknowledging the significance of social media, the current strategies for designing and implementing it within the context of open government initiatives remain somewhat vague. To realize its fullp. 4potential, the authors first provide an overview of various social media services that can generate citizen value and propose a strategic and application-driven social media model for the public sector to facilitate open government.

Focusing specifically on collaboration, in Chapter 4, titled “Crowdsourcing: An Instrument for Opening Policymaking,” César Rentería and Edgar Alejandro Ruvalcaba-Gomez discuss crowdsourcing platforms as an instrument to facilitate collaboration between governments and citizens. Although governments increasingly utilize crowdsourcing, there is limited understanding of designing platforms to foster openness, problem-solving, innovation, and collaboration. To address this gap, the chapter provides insights to navigate the complexities of crowdsourcing and effectively harness its potential. The authors do so by delineating the four stages of the crowdsourcing process: (1) task formulation, (2) crowd management, (3) session management, and (4) knowledge conversion to discuss the diverse practices and technical considerations essential for each stage to design impactful crowdsourcing platforms that facilitate openness.

Chapter 5, “Open Data Hackathons and Game Jams: A Systematic Literature Review,” the authors explore collaboration in open government through hackathons and game jams.p. 5Specifically, Davide Di Staso and colleagues present the results of a systematic literature review conducted to understand the focus of hackathons and game jams, the types of prototypes generated during events, and the methodologies employed by participants for data collection during hackathons and game jams utilizing open data. Findings suggest that hackathons are organized to explore and discuss social issues with a wider community of diverse stakeholders, designers, and problem-solvers. However, the prototypes created through the use of open data converge towards providing a “technology fix” such as making mobile apps and web portals.

Moving towards the outcomes of participation and collaboration, Chapters 6 and 7 discuss social and open innovations in the context of open government. In Chapter 6, “Social Innovation: Leveraging Civic Knowledge to Tackle Public Challenges,” Lisa Hohensinn and M. Jae Moon discuss social innovation by elaborating on the concepts of transparency,p. 6participation, and collaborative problem-solving to tackle societal challenges. Reflecting on the COVID-19 pandemic experience, the authors present the various measures taken by governments and citizens to solve problems by designing innovative solutions, such as contact tracing apps, and highlight the role of digital technology in strengthening the diffusion of information, organization of information, and community building by highlighting three key points: (1) digital technologies can help increase the reach of the organization in sharing information, (2) flow of knowledge between government and citizens is facilitated through digital technologies, and (3) advanced digital technologies have facilitated platforms where data and digital technologies are embedded and can potentially build a community interested in discussing and solving societal problems.

In Chapter 7, titled “Open Innovation in the Public Sector: Models, Determinants, and Outcomes,” Qianli Yuan discusses the potential of collaboration in the context of open government by exploring open innovation in the public sector. The chapter highlights how the integration of digital technologies not only facilitates the adoption of open innovation but also fosters the creation of public value. It particularly focuses on crowdsourcing and living labs as key examples of distributed and coordinative approaches to open innovation, respectively. The chapter then delineates the crucial factors influencing the adoption and implementation of open innovation strategies. Finally, it engages in a discussion on the outcomes of open innovation in different forms of innovation and public value. The chapter also highlights the needp. 7for public organizations to make efforts to ensure the sustainability and scalability of open innovation initiatives.

Part III: Open Government in Policy Domains

Part III of the Handbook explores the practical application of open government in different policy domains. Across the world, open government initiatives have been leveraged to strengthen public services, reduce corruption, and bolster public institutions, such as courts and parliaments. Learning from such specific applications, this part shares the lessons from the implementation of open government in health, policing, justice, and sustainable development domains while also highlighting the challenges and opportunities.

In Chapter 8, “Open Data in the Health Sector: Exploring Questions of Use and Engagement,” Grace Begany explores the use of open data with a focus on implementation challenges. Although the availability of open health data promises manifold benefits, a significant challenge in implementing open health data is ensuring its utilization and engagement across diverse stakeholders. Highlighting the current research and practice, the chapter discusses the types, benefits, and barriers of open health data use and engagement, including a set of recommendations for future research and practice in the health sector.

Alex Ingrams, in Chapter 9 titled “Open Government in Policing: Concepts, Methods, and Challenges,” bridges the concepts of open government with the theory and practical application of policing, shedding light on both its implementation process and the challenges. The chapter meticulously examines 75 open government initiatives within the realm of policing across 33 countries, offering insights into their impact on the quality of police work. The findings suggest that police organizations are focused on increasing transparency efforts, but the standardized approach to implementing open government overlooks the unique organizational dynamics and challenges specific to police work, thereby raising concerns.

Moving to Chapter 10, “Revisiting Open Justice in the Digital Age” by Carlos E. Jimenez-Gomez and colleagues explore the intersection of open justice within the broader context of digital transformation and the modernization of the public sector. Given the unique complexities of the judiciary, there is a need to reevaluate the concept of open justice through a digital, comprehensive, and multidimensional lens in the era of digital transformation. The authors note that digital tools can facilitate progress towards innovation and participation in the rule of law. However, their adoption must be approached strategically and comprehensively within the digital justice ecosystem to avoid potential barriers. In sum, in this chapter, the authors discuss the need to implement open and digital justice through an integral and systematic approach to improve citizens’ quality of life.

Chapter 11, “Measuring and Assessing the Openness of Sustainability Information in the Public Sector: A Conceptual Model,” explores the potential of open government practices to achieve sustainable development, particularly in areas such as environmental protection, social inclusion, and economic development. Sonia Royo and Ana Yetano propose a conceptual model to measure and assess the openness of information about sustainability in order to improve sustainability reporting practices, which relate to interactivity, citizen participation, and social and environmental aspects. By including these sustainable reporting practices, the chapter presents the case for broadening public sector transparency beyond fiscal transparency. Implementing sustainable reporting can facilitate the achievement of Sustainablep. 8Development Goals by not only meeting environmental and social goals but also strengthening public institutions.

Part IV: Global Progress on Open Government

Part IV presents the progress of open government implementation in different parts of the world. Beginning with a global perspective in Chapter 12, “Unveiling the Linkages between Political Regimes, Open Data Performance, and Anti-corruption Outcome: A Cross-national Comparative Study,” Tzuhao Chen analyzes data from 71 countries to describe the impact of open data on corruption in democratic and non-democratic settings. The author specifically tries to understand the relationship between (1) the level of corruption and open data performance and (2) the influence of political regimes on open data performance. The evidence suggests that higher open data performance is associated with lower government corruption. Additionally, in terms of political regimes, democracies perform better than non-democracies in implementing open data initiatives.

Focusing on political regimes, Chapter 13, “Open Government in Central Asia: Towards a More Accountable and Participatory Government?” by Saltanat Janenova and Bakhytzhan Kurmanov, discusses open government policies in the context of authoritarian regimes in Central Asia. Specifically, the chapter elaborates on the various challenges in the implementation of the open government agenda in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan to facilitate a more transparent, accountable, and participatory government. Findings highlight that authoritarian regimes implement an open government agenda to gain external legitimacy from the international community and internal legitimacy from their citizens, underscoring the discrepancies between the rhetoric and reality of open government implementation in non-democratic contexts.

Chapter 14, “Open Government Policies and Strategies in Ibero-America: A Decade of Changes and Reforms in the Context of the Open Government Partnership (2011–2021)” by Álvaro V. Ramírez-Alujas presents the progress of open government policies in Ibero-America in the past decade. Using open government action plans from 18 countries; the author assesses the transformation of public organizations to find that regulatory and technological advancements have been central to this process, along with endeavors to enhance public integrity and improve public services. These efforts have been prioritized in the co-creation and implementation of commitments to institutional openness across the regional agenda. Consequently, open government emerges as the cornerstone of a shift towards a collaborative and intelligent governance model for public affairs, enabling effective responses to the challenges of the twenty-first century. However, a greater integration effort is required to generate broader and more sustainable strategies.

Part V: Emerging Trends in Open Government

Part V, the last section of the Handbook, addresses emerging trends in open government. The rise of new technologies and the changing context of the public sector have the potential to bring about changes in the implementation of open government. The chapters in this section discuss these potential changes by highlighting some opportunities and challenges.p. 9

In terms of new technologies, in Chapter 15, “Blockchain as an Emerging Technology for Open Government,” Juho Lindman provides an overview of the possibilities of opening government through the use of blockchain technology in the context of three pillars: transparency, participation, and collaboration. Using real-world examples, such as local voucher infrastructure, fingerprinting services, and micro-credentials, the author elaborates on the potential and challenges of blockchain. Highlighting the challenges of using digital technologies for open government, in Chapter 16, “Designing with End-Users in Mind: Principles and Practices for Accessible, Usable, and Inclusive Open Government Platforms,” Kayla Schwoerer discusses applying user-centered design and UX principles to improve online platforms by going beyond transparency and openness and ensuring the use of digital technologies in open government initiatives is accessible, usable, inclusive, and responsive. The chapter also explores the tools and technologies that can be useful in implementing user-centered design in government organizations.

The last two chapters focus on the expanding scope of open government. Chapter 17, “Mis/Disinformation and Infodemics since COVID-19: The Double-Edged Sword of Open Government,” discusses the challenge of open governance in the context of increasing misinformation. Using the COVID-19 pandemic as a case study, Charmaine B. Distor and colleagues discuss the potential challenges and highlight the types of misleading and false information in the ecosystem. Experiences from the Philippines, Montenegro, and Tunisia are highlighted to promote understanding of the measures to combat misinformation. The last chapter of this section, “Open State: An Emerging Concept,” highlights the possibilities of transitioning from open government to open state. Highlighting the experience of Latin American countries, the author, Oscar Oszlak, explains the concept of the open state: an institutional aggregate that encapsulates open government, open parliament, and open justice.

Led by Theresa A. Pardo, the Handbook concludes with a final chapter by the editors, which applies the Integrative Framework of Open Government (Gil-Garcia et al., 2023) to take stock of the current state of open government in the context of the constitutive components of open government, its results, and the relationship between components and results. Each chapter of the Handbook is analyzed through the lens of the Integrative Framework to understand its contribution as well as to identify areas for future research.