Constructing the data economy: tracing expectations of value creation in policy documents

Abstract

ABSTRACT Public sector data is increasingly seen as a key resource for value creation in the private sector across a wide range of countries. Situated within studies on technology policies, this paper investigates how the idea of data as a resource has become embedded in public policy through a case study on the Norwegian context. Which policy problem exist for which technological developments seem to provide the best solutions? As documents are an important site of governance, we trace the imaginary of value creation through public data by studying the main datafication policy documents in Norway. By making visible the self-referencing practiced in policy reports, we illustrate how datafication policies are based on fictional calculation-based anticipations. We show how the Norwegian government positions itself as a facilitator, rather than regulator of data markets. Our analysis captures the technological determinism driving public policy. In addition, we show how supranational actors and consultancy agencies play an important role in constructing the Nordic data imaginary. We argue that the act of producing policy papers is in itself an important action keeping the imaginary alive.