#Opendata: Digital-Era Governance Thoroughbred or New Public Management Trojan Horse?

Abstract

The open data movement - in which advocates have called for governments to provide open, easy-to-use and largely free-of-charge access to public data - has generated significant momentum in a short period of time. I review the benefits - to both governments and the public - that many open data advocates agree are achievable from making digitized government data more open. Following this, I focus on one of these purported benefits and propose an alternative interpretation that identifies a potential downside to open data as currently framed: that an alternative reading of some elements of the open data advocacy coalition originate in the New Public Management reform agenda and seek to revive it.

Keywords: open data, open government, Gov 2.0, new public management, digital era governance