Open Data and the Politics of Transparency

In just a few years, open data has been established as a fundamental cornerstone of official transparency and accountability initiatives around the world - from US President Barack Obama and UK Prime Minister David Cameron's respective open government programmes, to the Open Government Partnership, to the G8 Open Data Charter launched in June 2013. This paper will look at how open data initiatives are shaping the way that government and civil society actors think and talk about transparency - in particular examining at the political visions and theories of change which they promote. Through interviews with key actors and close readings of speeches, reports and other materials, it will look at how open data advocacy has contributed to a shift in official transparency discourse away from social justice and the needs of citizens, and towards technological innovation, public sector efficiency and economic growth.