If only we knew …what the economic, political and social impact of increased transparency is?

By the Transparency Working Group @ the London Summit on Re-Thinking Government, Re-Imagining Democracy

Overall research approach:

• What is a general framework for performing active research on transparency?
• What factors influence whether transparency leads to positive economic, political and/or social change?
• What perceptions or differences exist among open datasets based on their providers: government agencies, NGOs, businesses and individuals?
• What are some initiatives already underway that offer the potential for “live experiments”?

Desired outcomes:

• How can we determine which factors lead to the ultimate success or failure of transparency initiatives in achieving desired outcomes?
• How can we connect researchers working on similar projects in different academic fields and disciplines?
• How can we use this research to inform government policy?
• How can we encourage government agencies to open data both among themselves and for the public?
• How can we encourage businesses to open data out of enlightened self-interest?

Factors for consideration:

• Including both quantitative and qualitative (case-study) impact studies will be important
• Both quantitative and qualitative (case-study) impact studies will be important
• Research should not be focused on success/failure, but on the factors that lead to success or failure
• To do that, study the lifecycle of open data: Transparency, usability, communication to users
• Find opportunities for collaboration – beginning with social impact of open data in the global south (WWW Foundation/CTG)
• Bring economists into the discussion (prize contest?)
• What new forms of collaboration have emerged in the Internet era?