Design principles for improving the process of publishing open data

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to derive design principles for improving the open data publishing process of public organizations. Although governments create large amounts of data, the publication of open data is often cumbersome and there are no standard procedures and processes for opening data, blocking the easy publication of government data. Design/methodology/approach – Action design research (ADR) was used to derive design principles. The literature was used as a foundation, and discussion sessions with civil servants were used to evaluate the usefulness of the principles. Findings – Barriers preventing easy and low-cost publication of open data were identified and connected to design principles, which can be used to guide the design of an open data publishing process. Five new principles are: start thinking about the opening of data at the beginning of the process; develop guidelines, especially about privacy and policy sensitivity of data; provide decision support by integrating insight in the activities of other actors involved in the publishing process; make data publication an integral, well-defined and standardized part of daily procedures and routines; and monitor how the published data are reused. Research limitations/implications – The principles are derived using ADR in a single case. A next step can be to investigate multiple comparative case studies and detail the principles further. We recommend using these principles to develop a reference architecture. Practical implications – The design principles can be used by public organizations to improve their open data publishing processes. The design principles are derived from practice and discussed with practitioners. The discussions showed that the principles could improve the publication process. Social implications – Decreasing the barriers for publishing open government data could result in the publication of more open data. These open data can then be used to stimulate various public values, such as transparency, accountability, innovation, economic growth and informed decision- and policymaking. Originality/value – Publishing data by public organizations is a complex and ill-understood activity. The lack of suitable business processes and the unclear division of responsibilities block publication of open data. This paper contributes to the literature by presenting design principles which can be used to improve the open data publishing process of public sector organizations.