Barriers and Enablers of Open Data Provision and Usage: The Case of Estonian municipalities
Name
Katrin Rajamäe-Soosaar
Abstract
This thesis aims to explore the Estonia's OGD development at the national and local levels, through an integrated analysis of various indices and evolution of the Estonian OGD portal, systematic literature review and qualitative analysis on main barriers of open data provision by municipalities performed in the form of interviews with 12 municipalities, whereas interview protocol is developed by drawing from the Innovation Resistance Theory. The research shows that although Estonia has made progress in the national level open data ecosystem, mainly due to improvements in the OGD portal usability and legislative amendments, local governments are lagging behind in the provision of OGD. The literature review highlights the lack of previous research focusing on Estonian and European local level open data, emphasizing the need to explore the barriers and enablers of municipal OGD. The findings of the interviews with Estonian municipalities indicate the importance of addressing identified barriers such as limited awareness of open data concepts, lack of skills and resources for OGD preparation and the uncertainty about the value of municipal OGD. The research contributes to an in-depth understanding of Estonia's journey on the open data landscape, shedding light on the achievements and providing practical recommendations for moving towards a more sustainable open data ecosystem.
Graduation Thesis language
English
Graduation Thesis type
Master - Conversion Master in IT
Supervisor(s)
Anastasija Nikiforova
Defence year
2024