Comparing Resistance to Open Data Performance Measurement: Public Education in Brazil and the UK

Public Administration, Volume 95, Issue 1, 2017

34 Pages Posted: 23 Dec 2018

Date Written: 2017

Abstract

Much is known about governmental resistance to disclosure laws, less so about multi-stakeholder resistance to open data. This study compares open data initiatives within the primary and secondary school systems of Brazil and the UK, focusing on stakeholder resistance and corresponding policy solutions. The analytical framework is based on the ‘Three-Ps’ of open data resistance to performance metrics, corresponding to professional, political, and privacy-related concerns. Evidence shows that resistance is highly nuanced, as stakeholders alternately serve as both principals and agents. School administrators, for example, are simultaneously principals to service providers and teachers, and at once agents to parents and politicians. Relying on a different systems comparison, in-depth interviews, and newspaper content analyses, we find that similar stakeholders across countries demonstrate strikingly divergent levels of resistance. In overcoming stakeholder resistance – across socioeconomic divides – context conscientious ‘data-informed’ evaluations may promote greater acceptance than narrowly ‘data-driven’ performance measurements.

Keywords: open data, education, transparency, privacy

Suggested Citation

Michener, Gregory and Ritter, Otavio, Comparing Resistance to Open Data Performance Measurement: Public Education in Brazil and the UK (2017). Public Administration, Volume 95, Issue 1, 2017, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3290604 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3290604

Gregory Michener (Contact Author)

EBAPE/FGV ( email )

R. Dr. Neto de Araujo 320 cj 1307
Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22250-900
Brazil

HOME PAGE: http://ebape.fgv.br/

Otavio Ritter

Getulio Vargas Foundation (FGV)

R. Dr. Neto de Araujo 320 cj 1307
Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro 22250-900
Brazil

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