New evidence on the impact of open government
Recent years have seen an explosion of open government: efforts in the United States and around the world to make government more transparent, accountable, and participatory, including new initiatives using internet and mobile technologies, social media, and other innovations. Now, we are excited to share news of our forthcoming research report in which we tackle the question, “does open government work?” and provide a new analysis of how governments, citizens, and the private sectorGovernments are working to open private sector practices as well — including through beneficial ownership transparency, open contracting, and regulating environmental standards. Technical specificat... More can benefit from open governance, based on a comprehensive review of hundreds of the best studies on the subject.
In The Impact of Open Government: Assessing the Evidence, we review the empirical and theoretical literature examining the international impact of open government and offer recommendations for policymakers considering open government initiatives. We derive from our review of the evidence an original rubric of the six critical elements that we believe open government initiatives must have. This typology organizes what is known about the impact of open government and identifies the contexts in which open government efforts are most likely to be successful. We conclude by shining light on what future research is needed to further improve global understanding of the potential of open government to achieve its ambitious goals.