Open Data: Cliques to Culture

Data is arguably the new “oil”. Cliques (or groups) of entities across the globe are shaping the organizational culture by steering operational transparency movements. Emphasis for societal progress has now shifted toward utilization of transferrable, trusted, standardized, equitable and freely accessible data. The premise being that such open data strengthens sustainability efforts through citizen empowerment, which in turn enhances conditions for civic engagement. Thus, a well-commanded open data-driven economy fosters openness, allowing translation of diverse sets of information into meaningful insights in governments, organizations, scientific centers and society. Open data may well be the central tenet of digital economy, innovative public services and effective governance, yet several behavioral, technical, economical and legal challenges remain. Opening up information resources, efforts to centralize user needs and monitoring of performance not only require sustainable funding & legislative enhancements, but also necessitates development of diverse skills to operate and prosper in the digital environment. This introductory chapter proposes open data as a purpose-driven phenomenon, laden with greater challenges than closed data, yet an opportunity toward a culture of transparency, accountability and enablement in a digital environment…