An inquiry for local open government data policy: Is a proactive model of open government data portals possible in Turkey?

Abstract

This chapter describes and evaluates the current status of open government data policy and its applications in Turkey. The chapter has the purpose of defining and discussing the circumstances under which the concepts of open government data and open government data portal are operationalized in Turkish context. These circumstances are analyzed by a detailed inspection of a unique local open government data portal in Sahinbey Municipality of Gaziantep province in Turkey, which constitutes the first and only example of an open data portal in Turkey. In addition, a semi-structured interview, based on the literature, was conducted with a representative of the firm responsible for the establishment and management of the portal to gain deeper insights about the open data portal initiative at the local level. Based on this inquiry, we conclude that although the development of an open government data policy and open data portal is in its infancy in Turkey, there is a potential and possibility for a prosperous development and spread of open data portals throughout the country, at least at the local level. However, a structural analysis of e-government and information disclosure policies in Turkey strongly supports the argument that current open government data policies in Turkey inclines to be reactive rather than proactive, suggesting that there is no prospective indication for a proactive policy covering open data and open data portals. © 2017 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc.