Open Government Data

Open Goverment Data (also OpenGovData, OGD) is data that is made available by a public authority or government organization for free use by the public. Open Government Data is a common subset of the Open Government and Open Data movement. However, many authors use the term Open Data synonymously with Open Government Data and neglect the broader meaning of the term.

"The world is witnessing a significant global transformation, facilitated by technology and digital media, and fueled by data and information. [...] Open data is at the center of this global shift." International Open Data Charter (IODC)

The right to inspect public administration documents and files is already enshrined in law in many countries (e.g. by the Freedom of Information Act of the Federal Republic of Germany, effective since 1 January 2006, or the Public Information Act of Switzerland, BGÖ, effective since 1 July 2006). While many data have so far only been published on request, the Open Government movement is striving for the "Open by default" principle, i.e. that administrative data should in future be published by default, even without prior request.

Most governments that disclose data on a large scale have committed themselves to the Open Government model (OpenGov for short), whose principles are summarized with transparency, participation and cooperation. Through more transparency, government action is to be made more comprehensible for citizens. By providing open data, the state is accountable for how taxpayers' money is invested or natural resources are used. Participation means that citizens are to be involved in the decision-making processes of the state - politics benefit from new impulses and problem-solving approaches from society, in society itself political disenchantment is to be reduced and the acceptance of state action is to be increased. In addition, the cooperation of governments with civic organizations and companies should be actively promoted.

According to the study "Open Government Data Germany" (Klessmann et al., 2012), Open Government, in cooperation with existing approaches, is intended to stimulate an ecosystem of openness in which the various approaches mutually enrich each other due to interactions (see figure).

The goals of Open Government were formulated prominently in the Memorandum on "Transparency and Open Government", published by US President Barack Obama in 2009. They can also be found in the Declaration of the Open Government Partnership (2011), an international open government initiative.

The Open Government Charter of the G8 states (2013), whose successor declaration is the International Open Data Charter, which is currently being actively further developed, has a greater focus on Open Data as a component of Open Government strategies. The two declarations state five and six core principles for the publication of open administrative data, which are essentially identical, respectively, but they are formulated somewhat differently in the International Charter and supplemented by a number of conditions. The nations and organizations that support one of the two charters have agreed to gradually converge towards these goals and to create the necessary legal, organizational and technical framework. Together with the 10 Open Data Principles of the Sunlight-Foundation, which are often quoted in official government documents, the two charters are decisive for internationally recognized Open Data standards and goals. As the overview below shows, key points of the Sunlight Foundation Principles are also reflected in the descriptions of the Charter Principles. The table compares the principles, which correspond to each other thematically, and summarizes their essential contents.