Germany: The path to open data leadership

Abstract

The Federal Republic of Germany is a nation to look to when it comes to global leadership-a world leader in exports, (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/rankorder/2078rank.html) one of the strongest economies in the Eurozone, (http://www.weforum.org/content/top-10-most-competitive-economies-europe-2) the world’s champion in soccer. In the realm of digital innovation, however, the picture is more ambiguous. In its Digital Agenda 2014-2017, the German government has emphasized that digital leadership plays a significant role for Germany’s future political, social, and economic development (Digital Agenda 2014-2017). However, according to the Digital Economy and Society Index published by the European Commission, Germany merely ranks 10th in comparison to the 28 EU member states (European Commission Digital Agenda Scoreboard 2015) (“DESI 2015 - Digital Single Market - European Commission." Digital Single Market. European Commission, 19 Feb. 2015. Web. 23 Aug. 2016). Similarly, the UN’s e-government ranking exposes that Germany’s progress has significantly fallen in its most recent ranking in 2014 (United Nations e-Government Survey. United Nations Public Administration Country Studies. Web. 31. Jul 2015. Retrieved at http://unpan3.un.org/egovkb/en-us/Reports/UN-E-Government-Survey-2014).