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This paper aims to address the recent trends and developments relating to the re‐use of public sector information (PSI) and open government data.

It starts from the European Commission's Digital Agenda, which stressed the importance of opening up access to content to promote the single market. While the 2003 PSI directive has contributed to this, barriers to the re‐use of PSI still remain, often based on a lack of awareness with public sector data holders and users. Some of these barriers are currently being challenged by the open government data (OGD) movement. While this movement has comparable objectives to the PSI directive, it is based on different arguments. This raises the question of how the two approaches relate.

The paper argues that the proponents of the re‐use of PSI and OGD should join forces to promote the availability of public sector data.

In this way, the public sector can be encouraged to rethink its information policy and move to a more coherent view on how data can be used to increase the benefits for the information society and the market for digital content.

The purpose of this paper is to first, describe the origins and evolution of electronic information products and services for the business community in Spain and second, to analyze the current distribution of today’s market players.

This study is based on a review of the scholarly literature about the information industry, on Spanish annuals and directories about databases, on related legislation, and on the broad experience of the authors who have worked in this field since the 1980s.

The early days of the business information industry in Spain developed precariously, in comparison to other parts of the world. Furthermore, the supply of information was almost entirely monopolized by the public administration. Nevertheless, the structure and market players have been completely reorganized, starting in the 1980s, leading to today’s totally transformed panorama.

Three main factors can explain this evolution: first, growth in the creation of new companies; second, processes of mergers and acquisitions; third, recent consolidation of a group of companies that re-use information generated by the public sector. Their activities have been stimulated by legislative initiatives over the past eight years that promote and regulate this market.

Accountability, citizen participation and transparency are the three pillars on which open government data (OGD) is based. As such, OGD implies that the government shall provide data freely via the internet so that the same may be re-used for diverse purposes. It is hoped that by re-using government data, public value shall be co-created and government services might be improved upon with the involvement of different stakeholders. The purpose of this paper is to underline the impact of OGD on accountability and transparency in the context of Pakistan where OGD initiative is taking roots for quite some time now. In the present study, the authors seek to investigate the challenges being faced by the professionals in the private sector and nongovernment organizations (NGOs) in Pakistan. Besides, the authors also seek inputs from the respondents in the manner in which OGD initiative of Pakistan has impact on ensuring accountability and transparency.

For conducting the review of the national OGD portal of Pakistan, the authors invoke documentary analysis wherein the authors investigate the features of the national OGD portal of Pakistan. Furthermore, the authors conducted structured interviews with 49 senior management representatives from private sector and NGOs in order to gauge the challenges encountered by them in tapping OGD from diverse online public sources.

Respondents aver that robust statistical analysis is not feasible via the data sets being shared by the online sources. More initiatives are required on the part of the government bodies to release the data sets which have remained confined in silos. Government should institutionalize an OGD policy and promote the re-use of OGD by the professionals from diverse backgrounds. At present, only educational data are being shared by the OGD portal of Pakistan and it is important that more data sets are being released in the public domain. Furthermore, the respondents perceive that in a bid to be more accountable and transparent, the government bodies should release data sets via the online channels which are user-friendly.

The present study conducted a qualitative research where the number of respondents was relatively less. Further research is required by adopting quantitative approach in order to accommodate more respondents and lend reliability to the study. Nevertheless, the study holds implications for academicians and practitioners in the sense that while it is needed that further research be conducted on the OGD initiative of Pakistan, it is imperative that policy makers get involved in institutionalizing the OGD initiative of Pakistan at national and local levels.

Professionals might be better involved in creating and co-creating products and services by tapping OGD.

Given that OGD initiative in Pakistan is in a nascent stage and research is wanting in exploring the nature and scope of Pakistan’s OGD, the present study seeks to contribute toward the existing OGD literature.

The purpose of this paper is to provide an introduction to a number of initiatives in train at European and international level to promote the value of public investments in digital information from different perspective.

Major developments in three key areas are described and assessed in terms of their potential impact on libraries in the digital era.

Significant progress is being made in opening up digital information for wider use but major barriers and constraints remain to be addressed.

The paper brings together inter‐related perspectives, e.g. those of public and private sector users, which are not always seen as part of the same picture. It is of interest to a wide range of stakeholders in the information society and the knowledge economy.

Open government data and access to public sector information is commonplace, yet little attention has focussed on the essential roles and responsibilities in practice of the information and records management professionals, who enable public authorities to deliver open data to citizens. This paper aims to consider the perspectives of open government and information practitioners in England on the procedural and policy implications of open data across local public authorities.

Using four case studies from different parts of the public sector in England (local government, higher education, National Health Service and hospital trust), the research involved master’s level students in the data collection and analysis, alongside academics, thus enhancing the learning experience of students.

There was little consistency in the location of responsibility for open government data policy, the range of job roles involved or the organisational structures, policy and guidance in place to deliver this function. While this may reflect the organisational differences and professional concerns, it makes it difficult to share best practice. Central government policy encourages public bodies to make their data available for re-use. However, local practice is very variable and perhaps understandably responds more to local organisational strategic and resource priorities. The research found a lack of common metadata standards for open data, different choices about which data to open, problems of data redundancy, inconsistency and data integrity and a wide variety of views on the corporate and public benefits of open data.

The research is limited to England and to non-national public bodies and only draws data from a small number of case studies.

The research contributes to the debate about emerging issues around the complexities of open government data and its public benefits, contributing to the discussions around technology-enabled approaches to citizen engagement and governance. It offers new insights into the interaction between open data and public policy objectives, drawing on the experience of local public sectors in England.

Open government data (OGD) is making data available free to all by the government with the aim of ensuring accountability and transparency in government besides generating public value by its usage. OGD is an emerging government initiative in Indonesia and there is potential for harnessing OGD for spearheading innovation and improvising services in different economic sectors. This paper aims to investigate the usage of OGD in the private sector and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Indonesia.

Documentary analysis was conducted to review the national OGD portal of Indonesia. Structured interviews were conducted with 49 senior management representatives from the private sector and NGOs to solicit their perspectives regarding the usage of OGD for professional purposes. Also, questions were posed regarding the challenges in harnessing OGD for professional purposes.

OGD has immense potential for private sector and NGOs; however, more initiatives are required on the part of the government to open their data sets. Further, involvement of stakeholders from the private sector and NGOs and other interested partners is required for an optimum usage of OGD in different economic sectors of Indonesia.

As the research focuses on the private sector and NGOs in Indonesia, the study requires a more broad-based approach to consider the perspectives of different users. Further research is required to appreciate the role of contextual factors in determining the usage of OGD in Indonesia.

The study is one of the first to be conducted in Indonesia about the OGD initiatives of the country. Soliciting views from the key management representatives in the private sector and NGOs, the paper contributes to the extant OGD literature, which is more supply-focused and not demand-driven. While conceding that there are ample usages of OGD for the different economic sectors, the paper underlines the need for refining the OGD initiatives of Indonesia.

Public sector data analytics concerns the process of retrieving data, data analysis, publication of the results as well as re-using the data by government organizations to improve their operations and enhance public policy. This paper aims to explore the use of public sector data analytics in the Netherlands and the opportunities and challenges of this use.

This paper finds 74 applications of public sector data analytics, identified by a Web search and consultation with policymakers. The applications are categorized by application type, organization(s) involved and application domain, and illustrative examples are used to elaborate opportunities and challenges.

Public sector data analytics is most frequently used for inspection and enforcement of social services and for criminal investigation. Even though its usage is often experimental, it raises concerns for scope creep, repeated targeting of the same (group of) individuals, personal data use by third parties and the transparency of governmental processes.

Drawing on desk research, it was not always possible to identify which type of data or which technology was used in the applications that were found. Furthermore, the case studies are illustrative rather than providing an in-depth overview of opportunities and challenges of the use of data analytics in government.

Most studies either perform a literature overview or present a single case study; this paper presents a more comprehensive overview of how a public sector uses data analytics.

This paper examines the implementation of the Public Sector Information (PSI) directive in two Swedish municipalities amidst a changing information management landscape impacted by e-government development. Government information is currently looked upon as a “gold mine” and “raw material” to be explored by interested parties. The PSI directive grants European citizens a right to access government information flows (PSI) in order to develop new electronic services. The Swedish government implemented its PSI directive in July 2010. Swedish municipalities have to embrace the directive and make the PSI available to the general public. The literature review highlighted a number of critical issues that should be addressed if PSI initiatives are to succeed. This study revealed that the two municipalities had different resource capacities, and the levels of e-government development varied. This meant that the implementation of the PSI directive also varied. The bigger municipality with a bigger budget had implemented the PSI directive and was publishing data sets on its website, while the smaller municipality with a smaller budget only published a few documents. This paper, therefore, argues that the municipalities should have the same capacity if the PSI is to be a democratic endeavor to serve all citizens. Good quality PSI will also require the municipalities to embrace a records and information continua thinking, which highlights the necessity to proactively and holistically manage the information for pluralization in different contexts.

This paper builds on interviews that were conducted with four municipal officers. The number of respondents is quite small because the focus was specifically on people who were responsible for the implementation of the PSI directive in the municipalities. The respondents were identified through their fellow colleagues and they also recommended each other. Pickard refers to this kind of approach as a snow-bowling approach. Through interviews and observation, one participant advises on issues that need further inquiry and, hence, directs the researcher to another person who might offer more answers. A general interview guide approach was used to solicit answers to issues such as the implementation of the PSI directive, guidelines for PSI publication, if terms such as big data and open data were being used in the municipalities, if the municipalities had an information governance plan and how it was understood, if the information systems were well aligned to meet with the requirements of the PSI directive, how e-government development affected information management and information security and if the municipalities had information security guidelines.

The Swedish government requires its administrations to engage in e-government development. This development has led to increased amounts of information that the municipalities have to effectively manage and make available to the general public. However, the municipalities operate under different conditions. Municipalities that are financially stronger are better placed to invest in measures that will lead to better quality PSI. All municipalities are, however, expected to implement the PSI directive. The two municipalities that were the subjects of this study had different information management environments and the capacity to invest in information management systems that would facilitate the management of their information resources. The budgetary constraints faced by smaller municipalities might impact the implementation of the PSI directive and, hence, hinder the publication of the PSI. e-Government is meant to be an inclusive project, and the PSI is meant for all citizens with innovative ideas. There is a risk that citizens who belong to poorer municipalities might not be equally privileged compared to those living in resourceful municipalities. This poses a democratic challenge that should concern all people interested in an open and inclusive society.

Little research has so far been published on the implementation process of the PSI directive. The discourses that have started to emerge discuss the challenges of open data without paying much attention to the creation, capture and the management aspects of the PSI. The originality of this paper, therefore, lies in the application of the records and information continua thinking, which highlights dimensions that enhance information management and the democratic challenges that will be caused by the data divide, as municipalities have different capabilities when it comes to the publication of the PSI.

Open government data (OGD) is making available data freely to all by the government with the aim to ensure accountability and transparency in government besides generating public value by its usage. OGD is an emerging government initiative in Pakistan, and there is a lot of potential for harnessing OGD for spearheading innovation and improvising services in different economic sectors. This paper aims to seek to investigate the usage of OGD in private sector and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Pakistan.

Documentary analysis is conducted to review the national OGD portal of Pakistan. Besides, structured interviews were conducted with 49 senior management representatives from private sector and NGOs to solicit their perspectives regarding the usage of OGD for professional purposes. Also, questions were posed regarding the challenges in harnessing OGD for professional purposes.

OGD has immense usage for private sector and NGOs; however, more initiatives are required on the part of the government to open their data sets. Further, involvement of stakeholders from the private sector and NGOs and other interested partners is required for an optimum usage of OGD in different economic sectors of Pakistan.

As the research focuses on private sector and NGOs in Pakistan, the study requires a more broad-based approach to take into account the perspectives of different users. Further research is required to appreciate the role of contextual factors in determining the usage of OGD in Pakistan.

Government should be more forthcoming in its OGD initiatives and encourage collaboration from citizens, businesses, voluntary organizations and the like.

Working professionals from different economic sectors should tap OGD for generating value by improvising their services.

The study is the first one to be conducted in Pakistan about the OGD initiatives of the country. Soliciting views from the key management representatives in the private sector and NGOs, the paper contributed to the extant OGD literature which is more supply-focused and not demand-driven. While conceding that there are ample usages of OGD for the different economic sectors, the paper underlines the need for refining the OGD initiatives of Pakistan.

The purpose of this study is to underscore the significance, drivers and barriers towards re-use of open data sets in the context of Oman’s open government data (OGD) initiative.

Following a qualitative framework, the paper invoked a documentary analysis approach to probe the OGD initiative of Oman. Specifically, the national OGD portal of Oman (https://data.gov.om/) is being investigated in the paper. Furthermore, the paper invokes a theoretical model of “citizen engagement” (“Data over the wall”, “Code exchange”, “Civic issue tracker” and “Participatory open data model”) proposed by Sieber and Johnson (2015) to assess the extent to which open data sets may be re-used.

As per the theoretical model forwarded by Sieber and Johnson (2015), the OGD initiative of Oman is a cusp between “Data over the wall”, “Code exchange” and “Participatory” models. Oman’s OGD initiative facilitates the re-use of the open data sets. However, there are challenges in re-using the open data sets as well. The paper underlines the prospects of better re-use of data sets by institutionalizing the OGD initiative across all administrative levels of the country.

This study holds relevance for practitioners and policy-makers in Oman to ensure the re-use of data sets is facilitated for generating public value.

Hitherto, research has underlined the significance of launching OGD initiatives in the West but studies in developing countries are few. The present study seeks to plug this research gap by underlining the significance of OGD re-usage in Oman’s context.