Governance networks are composed of public, private, and nonprofit actors tied together by different types of bonds based on authority, resource exchange, and common interests in policy decisions or the implementation of policies and services (Isett et al., 2011; Rethemeyer & Hatmaker, 2008). Open Government Data (OGD) is governmental information published online and open for anyone to re-use without restrictions (Yu & Robinson, 2012). My dissertation focuses on the role of OGD strategies in making governance networks more inclusive (Rethemeyer, 2007b).

My research focuses on three aspects of the relationship between governance networks and OGD strategies: (a) The technological and institutional determinants of the release of government data for transparency purposes; (b) the use of these data by different actors in OGD ecosystems and the main factors that catalyze that use; (c) network management practices that use OGD technologies and strategies to foster network inclusiveness.

These three aspects are deeply interconnected. The availability of OGD for transparency is the conditio sine qua non for the creation of new connections among actors in OGD ecosystems, which, in turn, can give traditionally excluded actors a chance to participate in governance network decision making.

The three papers highlight the role of central governments in leading the efforts towards better transparency, as well as in enabling meaningful data use and participation at the local level. Some specific factors are explored that can promote or hinder effective OGD disclosure, the creation of ecosystems for OGD use, and for the inclusiveness of governance networks. The findings of the first paper show that several institutional and technological factors—both at the regional (subnational) and national levels—are linked with financial transparency. In the second, the creation of OGD ecosystems, studied in the context of one of the main Italian open government initiatives, seems to heavily depend on the role of government as data provider and intermediary, while actors’ location and shared policy interests also have an influence. In the third paper, develops a theoretical framework, mapping different OGD strategies with network management strategies for inclusiveness which, in turn, can affect the social and cognitive characteristics of governance networks. That paper, as a contribution to practice, identifies success factors for public managers to harness OGD as a tool for facilitating the entry of new actors into the network and increasing their influence in policymaking.