The Social Shaping of Open Data through Administrative Processes

Many models have been provided in the last years that aim at describing an optimal open data publication process. However, they fail to explain the different outcomes of open data initiatives. Based on qualitative research this paper conceptualises the open data phenomenon as a set of techno-political arenas in which different interests of a variety of actors potentially and actually collide. The micro-political arena model constitutes an instrument to delineate the social and institutional context of open data that can be employed to explain the successes, as well as the failures of individual open data projects.