Drivers and barriers to re-use Open Government Data (OGD): a case study of open data initiative in Philippines

Abstract

PurposeGiven that the Open Government Data (OGD) initiatives of any country are founded on principles of transparency and accountability, it is important that the data sets permit a user-friendly interface for the data sets to be re-used. This paper aims to underline the major drivers and barriers to re-use the data sets in the context of the Philippines.Design/methodology/approachIn line with the model proposed by Sieber and Johnson (2015), the paper invoked an investigation of the national OGD portal of the Philippines following a documentary analysis research approach.FindingsThe OGD portal of the Philippines permits data search and sharing via social media. Data sets are available in user-friendly formats with a detailed description of the data set itself in the form of metadata. At the same time, the OGD portal of the Philippines has many barriers to re-use. Data sets are not current, and no attempts have been made at updating the records. While the provision of data mapping is provided, the same is not effective as of now. Conducting statistical analysis is not possible online and some of the links are not active. Finally, users’ suggestions are acknowledged, but the contribution of users toward the existing data sets is not permitted as of now.Research limitations/implicationsGiven that only a single country’s OGD initiative has been investigated in the study, further research is warranted to undertake a comparative analysis of OGD institutionalization across different countries.Practical implicationsGovernment authorities are encouraged to be more proactive in furthering the OGD initiative. Policymakers and practitioners may appreciate the underlying barriers in re-using the data sets and seek to address these concerns.Originality/valueThe OGD initiative of the Philippines has not been investigated so far despite the rising tide of the OGD initiatives across the globe. Given that most of the research on OGD is focused in developed countries, the present study seeks to contribute toward the extant literature by investigating the OGD portal of the Philippines and underlining the major drivers and barriers in re-using the data sets available via the portal.