Open Data Politics: A Case Study on Estonia and Kazakhstan (SpringerBriefs in Political Science)

This book offers a cross-national comparison of open data policies in Estonia and Kazakhstan. By analyzing a broad range of open data-driven projects and startups in both countries, it reveals the potential that open data phenomena hold with regard to promoting public sector innovations. The book addresses various political and socioeconomic contexts in these two transitional societies, and reviews the strategies and tactics adopted by policymakers and stakeholders to identify drivers of and obstacles to the implementation of open data innovations. Given its scope, the book will appeal to scholars, policymakers, e-government practitioners and open data entrepreneurs interested in implementing and evaluating open data-driven public sector projects. Acknowledgements 6 Contents 7 About the Author 11 List of Figures 12 List of Tables 14 1 Open Data Politics: Building a Research Framework 15 1.1 Introduction. Setting the Research Agenda 15 1.1.1 Understanding Key Public Values of Open Data Politics 15 1.1.2 The Key Purpose of the Research and Expected Outcomes 19 1.1.3 The Theoretical and Practical Importance of the Research 21 1.1.4 Identifying Key Research Hypotheses 22 1.2 Key Directions of Case Study Research 23 1.2.1 Understanding the Dynamic Nature of Open Data Politics 23 1.2.2 Setting a New Open Government Agenda for Practitioners 24 1.3 Understanding the Conceptual Frameworks of the Research 25 1.3.1 Institutional Theory: Understanding Different Administrative Contexts and Locating Key Institutional Stakeholders of Open Data Politics 26 1.3.2 Structuration Theory: Understanding Multidimensional Networking Phenomena of Open Data Politics 26 References 28 2 Methodology of Research and Key Sources of Empirical Data 33 2.1 The Primary Reasons to Choose the Cases 33 2.2 The Methodology of the Research 34 2.2.1 The Overview of the Methodological Basis 35 2.2.2 The Overview of Key Tools of Analysis 35 2.3 The Outline of the Main Stages of the Research 36 2.3.1 The Context Analysis of the Country Background 37 2.3.2 The Legal Analysis of Open Data Legislation 38 2.3.3 The Network Analysis of the Relationship Between Key Stakeholders of the Open Data Movement 38 2.3.4 The Policy Review of Official Open Data Strategies and Government Initiatives 39 2.3.5 The Content Analysis of Independent Open Data-Driven Projects 39 2.3.6 The Comparative and System Analysis of the Open Data Movement: Locating Typical Drivers and Challenges 41 2.4 Identifying Key Sources of Empirical Data for Case Study Research 41 2.4.1 The Analysis of Regulatory Acts 42 2.4.2 The Analysis of Key Sources of Official Data and Statistics 44 2.4.3 The Analyses of Open Government Portals and Open Data-Driven Platforms 46 2.4.4 Additional Sources of Data 48 References 49 3 Open Data Politics in Estonia: Advancing Open Government in the Context of Ubiquitous Digital State 51 3.1 Introduction: Setting the Research Agenda 51 3.2 The Country Context Analysis: Understanding Socioeconomic and Political Environments 52 3.2.1 The Economic Environment: The Promise of Public Sector Innovations 52 3.2.2 The Social Environment: The Promise of Civic Engagement and Collaboration 54 3.2.3 Political Environment: The Promise of Open Government and Digital Democracy 56 3.2.4 The International Environment: The Promise of Global Cooperation in the Area 57 3.3 Open Data Regulation: The Focus on Freedom of Information Laws 60 3.4 The Analysis of Networking Activities Among Key Stakeholders of the Open Data Movement 61 3.4.1 Public Sector as a Datasets Provider and Promoter of Open Data Policies 61 3.4.2 The Non-governmental Sector as an Advocate of Digital Democracy 62 3.4.3 Local Academia as an Incubator of New Ideas in Government Technology 63 3.4.4 The Journalistic Community as an Ideological Promoter of Open Government Philosophy 64 3.4.5 ICT-Developers as a Focal Point of Open Data-Driven Networking Activities 65 3.5 The Policy Review of the Open Data Movement in Estonia: Understanding Implementation Policies 67 3.5.1 Institutional Focus on Digital Centralization 67 3.5.2 Open Data-Driven Learning Philosophy 68 3.6 The Content Analysis of Independent Open Data-Driven Projects 69 3.6.1 The Riigiraha Project: Ensuring Public Scrutiny of Government Fiscal Activities at Local Levels 69 3.6.2 The Valitsemise Valvurid Project: Monitoring the Fulfillment of Electoral Promises 70 3.6.3 The Meieraha Project: Tracking Public Spending and Disbursement of Budget Assignations 71 3.7 Key Challenges of the Open Data Movement 73 3.7.1 Lack of Economic Incentives and Fundraising Basis 73 3.7.2 No Participation of Local Business Communities 74 3.7.3 Paradoxical Competition of Open Data Philosophy with E-Government and E-Commerce Ecosystems 75 3.8 Summary: Key Findings 76 References 76 4 Open Data Politics in Kazakhstan: Understanding a Tentative Advance of Civic Engagement in a Transitional Society 82 4.1 Introduction. Open Data as a New Socioeconomic Phenomenon in Kazakhstan 82 4.2 The Context Analysis of the Open Data Movement 85 4.2.1 Understanding the Political Contexts 85 4.2.2 Understanding the Economic Contexts 86 4.2.3 Understanding Social Contexts 87 4.2.4 Understanding the International Contexts 88 4.3 The Analysis of Open Data Regulation 89 4.4 The Networking Analysis of the Open Data Stakeholders in Kazakhstan 90 4.4.1 Understanding the Role of Public Agencies 91 4.4.2 Understanding the Role of Independent Developers 92 4.4.3 Understanding the Role of the Non-governmental Sector 93 4.5 The Policy Review of Government Strategies in the Area 95 4.5.1 Promoting Centralized Publication of Datasets 95 4.5.2 Promoting an Interactive and Collaborative Update of Datasets 96 4.5.3 Promoting the Single Ecosystem of Digital Government 97 4.5.4 Promoting Feedback Options and Public Awareness Campaigns in the Area 98 4.6 The Content Analysis of the Open Data-Driven Projects 100 4.6.1 The Healthcare Project: Raising Public Awareness About Free Medical Services 100 4.6.2 The Business Registration Checker: Promoting Open Data-Driven Services for Business Communities 101 4.6.3 The TengeApp Project: Promoting Financial and Economic Information 102 4.7 Discussion: Locating the Key Challenges of the Open Data Movement in Kazakhstan 103 4.7.1 The Paradoxical Lack of Open Data-Driven Projects in the Political Domain 103 4.7.2 Decision Making and Discretion Really Matters 104 4.7.3 It Is Important to Promote the Grass-Root Participation in the Area 106 4.8 Summary: Understanding Key Findings of the Research 108 References 108 5 Political and Socioeconomic Implications of Open Data Politics 112 5.1 The Promotion of Open Data Politics Changes Traditional E-Government Philosophy 112 5.2 Open Data as a Context Dependable Phenomenon 113 5.3 Open Data—It Is All About Collaboration and Networking Among Stakeholders 116 5.4 Open Data Transforms Freedom of Information Regulation Traditions 117 5.5 The Reuse of Open Data Demands More Sustainable Mechanism of Promotion 118 5.6 Centralization Trends in Generating Open Data Depositories 118 5.7 Public Relations Campaigns Is Instrumental in Promoting Open Data Philosophy Among Potential Stakeholders 120 Conclusion 122 Bibliography 124 Front Matter ....Pages i-xv Open Data Politics: Building a Research Framework (Maxat Kassen)....Pages 1-18 Methodology of Research and Key Sources of Empirical Data (Maxat Kassen)....Pages 19-36 Open Data Politics in Estonia: Advancing Open Government in the Context of Ubiquitous Digital State (Maxat Kassen)....Pages 37-67 Open Data Politics in Kazakhstan: Understanding a Tentative Advance of Civic Engagement in a Transitional Society (Maxat Kassen)....Pages 69-98 Political and Socioeconomic Implications of Open Data Politics (Maxat Kassen)....Pages 99-108 Back Matter ....Pages 109-111