The pressure on governments to make better choices, deliver results and demonstrate accountability is intensifying. Recent headlines reflect tensions on multiple fronts due to economic and fiscal uncertainty amid social and political change. They also highlight new dynamics in the relationships among citizens, organizations and their governments. Open principles such as accessibility, transparency, collaboration and participation lie at the heart of these expectations.

This paper details the need for governments to become more open and the benefits of doing so. Read on to gain insight into the role of public sector information in economic development, a world map of open government data initiatives, how governments are sharing their data with citizens, the challenges and implications that lie ahead and so much more.

Furthermore, discover four steps that will help governments achieve the full benefits of an open policy, and a three-step process on how to execute the recommendations,