An Evaluation Framework for Traditional and Advanced Open Public Data e‐Infrastructures
Alexopoulos Charalampos 1, Euripides Loukis 1, Yannis Charalabidis 1 and Anneke
Zuiderwijk 2 1
Department of Information and Communication Systems Engineering, Faculty of Science,
University of the Aegean, Samos, Greece
2
Department of Information and Communication Technology, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Management, Delft University of Technology, Delft, The Netherlands alexop @ aegean. gr e. loukis @ aegean. gr yannisx @ aegean. gr a. m. g. zuiderwijk‐vaneijk @ tudelft. nl
Abstract: Considerable investments are made to develop numerous e‐infrastructures for the reuse of open government data for scientific, commercial and political purposes. This necessitates a deeper understanding and assessment of the value these infrastructures generate. For this purpose, our paper presents a framework for evaluating open government data infrastructures, both‘ traditional’ ones following the web 1.0 paradigm and also advanced ones influenced by the web 2.0 paradigm. The evaluation framework is based on findings of previous research on the evaluation of public projects, information systems and e‐services, and also on technology acceptance and IS success models. The proposed evaluation framework consists of an evaluation model with measurable evaluation dimensions and criteria, as well as a comprehensive evaluation procedure for using this evaluation model, which enables both higher level and detailed evaluation. It includes quantitative as well as qualitative methods in order to provide comprehensive and deep insights. Finally, we describe an application of the proposed framework( both the model and the procedure) for the evaluation of a European e‐infrastructure for opening government data. This first application has provided some first evidence concerning the applicability and usefulness of the proposed evaluation framework, and at the same time useful directions and ideas for the improvement of the above‐mentioned e‐infrastructure.
Keywords: evaluation framework, evaluation model, evaluation procedure, public sector information, open government data, e‐infrastructures
1. Introduction
Public organisations are increasingly publishing their data on the internet( Meijer 2009). According to the( European Commission 2003, 2007), these data should be widely available and useable to all in order to maximise its usefulness for research and innovation. Public sector information( PSI) is the single largest source of information in Europe. It is produced and collected by public bodies and includes financial, education, health, poverty, traffic, crime, meteorological and other types of data. Most of this raw data could be re‐used for scientific research, for deeper analysis of the effectiveness of previous government action in order to enable a more substantial political discussion, or even integrated into new products and services, which we may use on a daily basis, such as car navigation systems, weather forecasts and financial and insurance services. Re‐use of public sector information means using it in new ways by adding value to it, combining information from different sources, making mash‐ups and new applications, both for commercial and noncommercial purposes.
However, a recent conference on the pragmatic approach to the use of Open Data( Open Data: Where to begin? 2012) identified a number of issues which are critical for its success:
• The supply‐driven approach is insufficient: Involvement of businesses and citizens in the PSI publishing lifecycle and exploitation is widely accepted as beneficial.
• There are strong barriers regarding data relevance and quality: Publishing data is not on its own sufficient; ideally, they should also be accurate, reusable, timely and comparable.
• The use of Open Data“ intermediaries” is more effective than the direct access to them: businesses and citizens sometimes find it difficult to identify what type of information exists and by which public authority it is held.
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