Mecanismos y factores determinantes que pueden favorecer las estrategias de Gobierno Abierto en los gobiernos locales

Abstract

This thesis has focused on the study of the implementation of new Open Government strategies carried out by public administrations in recent decades in order to better adapt them to the needs of citizens. In this regard, the current state of research on Open Government has been analyzed through a systematic literature review using the PRISMA methodology (Cooper, 2015), which has allowed us to understand the current research trends and the future of research in this field. Based on the results verified in the systematic literature review, three additional investigations have been carried out on a sample of 145 Spanish local governments with over 50,000 inhabitants, representing over 50% of the Spanish population. The first study examines the dimension of open government data and transparency related to Open Government Data (OGD) projects, specifically analyzing factors related to access to OGD projects and the volume and format of data published in OGD projects. The main results indicate that the intention of the governments in the sample is to increase open data portal initiatives and improve the level of information dissemination as a way to legitimize government actions to public scrutiny. This is evidenced by the divergences found between the local governments of the sample from the context in which information is disseminated. In the second study, the analysis is extended not only to OGD portals but also to transparency portals to find evidence of the level of compliance with the main components of government transparency, according to the different Open Government strategies adopted by local governments in Spain. The study seeks to analyze the different components of government transparency offered by the official websites of local governments and how these components can be influenced by the Open Government strategy followed or adopted by each local government. Components analyzed range from information disclosed to the format in which information is offered, the frequency of updates, accessibility and usability of information, and the comprehensibility of information disclosed about public decisions. All these components are essential for a good transparency policy. Finally, in the third study, the different models of electronic participation existing in different cities and their varying levels of development were analyzed. In this regard, the results showed the different online and offline participation channels currently offered by the cities in the sample. Overall, after conducting a cluster analysis and a difference test, and considering Arstein’s study (Arstein, 2019), the results demonstrate that the different e-participation models are determined by the city profile. Therefore, among these cities, those that stand out for presenting higher levels of development are the so-called smart cities, which are primarily characterized by having a higher population and population density, inhabited by citizens with high levels of education.