Rethinking open government as innovation for inclusive development: Open access, data and ICT in South Africa

Abstract

Open government has come to be closely associated with innovation for inclusive development (IID). These two areas of practice and research have converged around similar mechanisms aimed at achieving inclusive development outcomes including; open interaction between government, technologists and end-users in the design of policies and services; open, market-oriented approaches to delivering public services and meeting the needs of citizens; and a central role for information and communication technologies (ICTs) in policy development and innovation activities. We argue, however, that an uncritical adoption of open, ICT-oriented practices risks shifting responsibility and trust for governance and development outcomes to largely unaccountable global and national network enterprises. Taking South Africa as our primary focus, including its new White Paper on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), we note a renewed interest in adopting open government practices in relation to IID. More significant, we suggest, is the emergence of 'grassroots', hybrid civic-technology innovation networks at the fringes of formal open government initiatives. This article considers new questions that arise around how these grassroots movements sustain meaningful interaction with mainstream STI processes, how public officials may engage with such movements in order to meet national development outcomes, and the role of ICT in these spaces.

Understanding the link between government cashless policy, digital financial services and socio-demographic characteristics in the MENA countries

“…The previous papers provided evidence that digital finance can lead to greater financial inclusion, expansion of financial services to non-financial sectors, and the expansion of basic services to individuals since nearly 50% of people in the developing world already own a mobile phone (World Bank, 2017). Moreover, through digital finance governments can benefits from the digital transformation by providing an electronic platform to facilitate the increase in aggregate expenditure which subsequently generates higher tax revenue arising from an increase in the volume of financial transactions (Danyali, 2018; Plantinga, 2020).…”

Barriers towards Open Government Data Value Co‐Creation: An empirical investigation

“…Poor data quality is a major concern as far as the successful OGD VCC is concerned (McBride et al, 2018). Lack of interactive channels and coordination among the stakeholders were underlined as potent challenges to OGD VCC (Nurdin et al, 2014; Platinga & Adams, 2021). Legal and administrative bottlenecks in terms of the availability of resources, training and capacity building or senior management support are also the key thorny issues (Buttow & Weerts, 2022; Martin, 2014; Zhao & Fan, 2021).…”

Can open government support innovation for inclusive development? A South African case study

“…As outlined in the previous case study, this open policy discourse has been reflected in a number of open ICT-based practices that are shaping our approach to IID (Plantinga & Adams, 2020). In the following sections we similarly explore how emerging open governance practices, and the underlying values of protagonists, are influencing the sustainability of relationships and processes related to IID.…”