Beside proposing it, I also have some doubts about transparency as new “killer value” of eGovernment.
First, I cannot forget that the very first episode of “Yes, Minister” was called “Open Government”. And it made fun about this rethoric – that was more than 20 years ago.
Secondly, I wonder if this is just for the people really interested in public affairs, which is not the majority of the population. Putting services online appears more concretely useful than providing information about the in-working of government.
Thirdly, it’s much more difficult to deal with for government than putting services online. It could make government ungovernable.
So I am not sure that citizens and government are so keen on transparency.
But I also have strong arguments in favour.
First, just have a look at the “The Power of Information” review carried out for the UK Cabinet. It capture most important points.
Secondly, transparency may appear not very concrete, but can be a strong driver of innovating public services, maybe the most important one in absence of competition. Just think what would be the impact of publishing the mortality rates of different hospitals.
Thirdly, government are not monolithic institutions. There are innovative people inside, including politicians, who want change and can use transparency for their advantage.
Fourth, transparency happens also outside government control. Citizens can publicly complain on blogs, and there is always http://www.wikileaks.org .
UPDATE: Fifth, government can benefit to better understand complex multi-dimensional problem by making data available for analysis by more people.
February 2, 2008 at 11:42 pm
Open Government is not a problem, Open Government could be the solution.
When citizens are every day more and more esceptics about the government and when politians are not arriving with their messages to the citizens, something have to change. The change is in the way to offer services, better and more close services. What is the goal for public administration? we need to recover the origins of the real nature for the public and go ahead to satisfied the needs of the citizens.
February 4, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Javier, thanks a lot for contributing. In general I agree but concretely I have three open questions: is it feasible? is it desirable? is it important?
That is why I publish some objections as well.
First, this argument for open government has been around for a long time, yet it has not happened. Why could it happen now? I also think it is an overstatement that Open Business is the new paradigm for business. You have to be realistic or you will not be listened.
Secondly, there should be limits to openness. The notion of what is a public data varies from country to country. We have to respect the privacy of citizens, business and civil servants.
Thirdly, could this be a driver for eGovernment policies such as the “putting services online” objective? Maybe yes, but how many people actually care about what MP say? When you listen to the best web2 project managers in the public sphere, the problem is always take-up and impact.
Look forward to further discussion!
February 26, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Well, It depends on what are you calling transparency. I have written this:
transparency = clarity x obscenity
I love your blog. Excellent discussion!