Moving towards open government data 2.0 in U.S. health agencies: Engaging data users and promoting use

Abstract

We trace the evolution of open government data (OGD) publication among U.S. health agencies to illustrate how OGD goals and benefits might be achieved. Our novel conceptual framework illustrates the implicit logic underlying OGD activities in the health domain and their anticipated impact on population health. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 50 diverse practitioners and policymakers from local, state, and federal agencies, and non-governmental organizations. Using a positive deviance approach, we identified innovative U.S. health agencies that were early OGD adopters. We analyzed transcripts using a grounded theory methodological approach to identify common themes. Results indicate that the OGD movement is marked by three major eras (pre-OGD early activities, Open Data 1.0, and Open Data 2.0), and U.S. health agencies are in different stages of evolution. Among innovative jurisdictions, OGD transitioned from an early focus on releasing large volumes of data to a more demand-driven approach to promote meaningful user engagement with data. Although engagement strategies could yield benefits, limited evidence exists on best practices for engaging diverse data users and many jurisdictions have not yet transitioned to this later phase. Our conceptual framework could be adapted for other domains to help visualize how successful OGD initiatives might unfold.