Open government evaluation in a public sector: a case study of Iran

Abstract

Genesis of the internet and metadata and development of electronic government have given birth to open government, something inevitable that causes significant socio-economic transformation. Open government, indeed, provides a transparent process by which the public is given the right to access government records that can be used as valuable resources by different governmental, private sections, and institutes. However, the principles related to the implementation of open government need to be explored. To shed light on the concept of open government in Iran, the present research examined the principles of open government including transparency, participation, accountability, collaboration, and innovative methods. The effect of each factor was measured at the Ministry of Sport and Youth in Iran using a questionnaire. Data analysis was performed with SPSS. The results of t-test analysis were indicative of the poor status of open government principles in the present research. The findings, furthermore, revealed very low readiness for open government. Among the investigated principles, the principle of participation factor ranked the highest score and innovation had the lowest mean.