Paper presented at the EGOVIS & EDEM 2012 in Vienna

1. From E to O
Towards Open Participation
as a Guiding Principle of Open Government
Michelle Anna Ruesch,
Sebastian Basedow,
Jan-Henning Korte
Zebralog GmbH & Co
KG
Bonn / Berlin
ruesch@zebralog.de
www.zebralog.com
EDEM | September 05, 2012

2. The presentation in a nutshell
1 From e-government to open government
The (neglected) importance of participation for open
2 government
3 From e-participation to open participation
4 Open participation as guiding principle of open government
www.zebralog.com 2012 2

3. From E-Government to Open Government (I/II)
E-Government
ICT for administrative
efficiency
ICT for better public services
Government civil society
ICT for civic participation
and dialogue
Open Government
www.zebralog.com 2012 3

4. From E-Government to Open Government (II/II)
Core differences between e (electronic) and o (open government)
• „e“ does not imply „o“
• „o“ implies a normative component, a vision, a guiding principle
• for „o“, ICTs are central, but not sole driving force
 Open government is the new Leitbild, i.e. guiding principle of
many governments.
 It is more accurate as compared to e-government since it
implies a normative component.
www.zebralog.com 2012 4

5. The (neglected) importance of participation for
Open Government
Collaboration
Open
Participation
Transparency
www.zebralog.com 2012 5

6. Example: transparent and participatory budget
www.offenerhaushalt.de
http://www.bonn-packts-an.de/
www.zebralog.com 2012 6

7. From E-Participation to Open Participation (I/II)
Recall differences between e-government and open government:
 Same goes for e-participation vs. open participation!
www.zebralog.com 2012 7

8. From E-Participation to Open Participation
(II/II)
E-Participation vs. Open Participation
Limited to the use of ICT Crossmedia participation, on- and offline
Little efforts regarding Handicapped access and useability as
handicapped access and useability central requirements
No specification regarding open Open access to information and data are
access to information crucial
No specification regarding the kind Use of open source software only
of ICT / software
No specification regarding real Facilitation of low-threshold, anonymous
name policy or anonymity participation
a method, a guiding principle,
without normative goal with a normative component
(„the more open, the better“)
www.zebralog.com 2012 8

9. Open Participation:
Guiding Principle of Open Government
transparent
• open data
• open source
• open process
• open results
inclusive
• crossmedia
•
•
•
accessibility
useability
anonymity
open participation
receptive
• dialogic
• open-ended
• scope for decision-making
www.zebralog.cvom 2012 9

10. transparent
• open data
• open source
• open process
• open results
www.zebralog.com 2012 10

11. Open Participation:
Guiding Principle of Open Government
transparent
• open data
• open source
• open process
• open results
inclusive
• crossmedia
•
•
•
accessibility
useability
anonymity
open participation
receptive
• dialogic
• open-ended
• scope for decision-making
www.zebralog.com 2012 11

12. Open Participation:
Guiding Principle of Open Government
transparent
• open data
• open source
• open process
• open results
inclusive
• crossmedia
•
•
•
accessibility
useability
anonymity
open participation
receptive
• dialogic
• open-ended
• scope for decision-making
www.zebralog.com 2012 12

13. Conclusion
• Open government is more than open doors
Open doors (=transparency) are the prerequisite to enter, i.e. for
open participation.
• Governments must actively invite citizens, i.e. create open
spaces of interaction
• „Open“ means: transparent, inclusive and receptive
• How much openness is necessary or enough remains a
normative question and matter of debate.
www.zebralog.com 2012 13

14. Thank you!
Questions?
If you want to know more about
Michelle Anna Ruesch, the mentioned, EU-funded
ruesch@zebralog.de IMPACT-project, please go to
www.zebralog.com http://www.policy-impact.eu
www.zebralog.com 2012 14