Promoting the use of open government data: Cases of training and engagement

In the last decade, governments around the world have created open government data (OGD) repositories to make government data more accessible and usable by the public, mostly motivated by values such as improved government transparency, citizen collaboration and participation, and spurring innovation. The basic assumption is that once data are more discoverable, accessible, available in alternative formats, and with licensing schemes that allow free re-use, diverse stakeholders will develop innovative data applications. Despite OGD's potential transformative value, there is limited evidence for such transformation, particularly due to scarce data use, which is partly attributable to the lack of technical skills and user training. To advance the dialogue around methods to increase awareness of OGD, improve users' skills to work with OGD, and encourage data use, the paper compares and contrasts how three training interventions in Spain, Italy, and the United States have sought to increase awareness of OGD, improve users' skills and potentially engage them in their use of OGD. We report three main findings. First, introduction and analysis skills are taught in combination to encourage use of open data. Being aware of OGD and its benefits is insufficient to promote use. Second, OGD training seems to be more effective when complemented with knowledge about context and interactions with government. Finally, embedding the training interventions in the specific contexts and considering the unique characteristics, interests, and expectations of different types of users is critical to success.