A coordination theory perspective to improve the use of open data in policy-making

Abstract

At this moment there is little coordination of the publication and use of open data. In this research coordination needs and challenges for open data and coordination mechanisms that can help in improving coordination are identified. A literature review shows that the opening and use of data are isolated and unrelated processes. Open data publishers do not profit from the wisdom of the crowd by having knowledge of how their data are reused. In addition, results of data reuse are not discussed and little feedback is gained by data providers, in this way barely supporting policy and decision-making. Coordination mechanisms, such as standardization and interconnected processes, can enable open data providers to profit from publishing data and to use this for improving their policy-making and decision-making. Yet, it is difficult to coordinate the open data process with these coordination mechanisms due to the complexity, lack of structure, uncertainty, dynamism, and the involvement of varying stakeholders in the open data process. Further research is necessary to investigate which coordination mechanisms are appropriate in the context of open data publication and use. © 2013 IFIP International Federation for Information Processing.