Sürdürülebilir gelişmede veri yönetimi, şeffaflık ve kurumsallaşma: Türkiye mevcut durum tespiti
Data management, transparency, and institutionalization in sustainable development: Current situation assessment in Turkey
Yazar: HÜMEYRA ALTINIŞIK
Danışman: PROF. DR. EBRU KERİMOĞLU
İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi / Lisansüstü Eğitim Enstitüsü / Şehir ve Bölge Planlama Ana Bilim Dalı / Bölge Planlama Bilim Dalı
Derece: Yüksek Lisans, 2024
Konu: Şehircilik ve Bölge Planlama = Urban and Regional Planning

Özet:
Tez çalışması, kurumsallaşma ile veri yönetiminde açık veri ve şeffaflık yaklaşımlarının sürdürülebilir kalkınmaya etkisini araştırarak Türkiye'nin mevcut durumunu analiz etmektedir. Küreselleşen dünyada gelişen düzene adapte olma ve sürdürülebilir bir yapıya sahip olma hedefleri kapsamında; veri yönetimi, açık veri, şeffaflık, kurumsallaşma yaklaşımı kavramları ele alınmış; veri yönetiminde açık veri ve şeffaflık yaklaşımlarının, güvenilirlik ve hesap verebilirlik sağlama konusundaki önemi vurgulanmıştır. Sürdürülebilir kalkınmanın önemi temelinde; Şeffaflık ve Yolsuzluk Algılama Endeksi, İş Yapma Kolaylığı Endeksi, Açık Veri Barometresi ve Rekabetçilik Raporu Endeksi incelenmiştir. Endeksler kapsamı ve yüksek skorlara sahip ülkeler ortaya konularak Türkiye'nin bu endeksler kapsamındaki skor ve sıralamaları üzerinden değerlendirmeler yapılmıştır. Ortak kavramlar arasında şeffaflık, açıklık, hesap verebilirlik, kurumsal yapı ve yasal düzenlemeler bulunmaktadır.
Araştırmanın özgün analiz bölümünde, üç aşamalı analizle ele alınmıştır. İlk olarak, açık veri sunumundan yetkili birimler (TÜİK, bakanlıklar ve bağlı müdürlükler, diğer kurum ve kuruluşlar) ve veri sunulan açık veri erişim platformları belirlenmiştir. Burada kapsamlı bir erişim platformu olsa da erişen verinin kapsamlı olmadığı ve bütün bir şekilde sunulmadığı tespit edilmiştir. İkinci aşamada, bu kurumların açık veri, şeffaflık ve kurumsal yapı performansları değerlendirilmiştir. Bu değerlendirme, Türkiye'deki veri güncelliği ve kurumların şeffaflık eksiklikleri ortaya konmuştur. Elektronik platformlar, güvenilir veri erişimi ve kurumsal yapı güçlendirme çalışmaları yetersiz bulunmuştur. Toplum odaklı ve toplum ihtiyacı temelli iyileştirme çalışmalarının eksikliği, sürdürülebilir kalkınma için kritik bir problem olarak belirlenmiştir. Özel sektörde iş sürecine devam eden bazı firmalar ile yapılan görüşmelerde, açık veri erişimi sorunu, erişilen verinin okunamaması ve kullanılamaması problemi, veri yönetim sisteminin olmaması, kamu-özel sektör iş birliğinin olmaması, kurumsallaşma süreçlerinde KOBİ'lerin yok sayılması gibi bazı temel problemler ortaya konulmuştur. Sorunun çözülmesi için de firmalar tarafından bazı öneriler ortaya konulmuştur. Öneriler arasında erişilebilir, okunabilir ve kullanılabilir açık veri düzeninin oluşturulması, kamu-özel iş birliği sisteminin yaratılması, farkındalık çalışmalarının yapılması ve kurumsallaşma süreçlerinin güçlendirilmesi yer almaktadır. 
Sonuç olarak Türkiye'nin açık veri, şeffaflık ve kurumsallaşma konularında iyileştirmelere ihtiyaç duyduğu, kapsayıcı ve bütüncül bir yaklaşımla daha sürdürülebilir bir yapıya kavuşması gerektiği görülmüştür. Bu, daha şeffaf bir kurumsal yapı, güvenilir elektronik platformlar ve güçlü bir toplumsal odaklı yaklaşım ile sağlanabilirdir.

Abstract:
The thesis investigates the impact of institutionalization, open data, and transparency approaches in data management on sustainable development, specifically analyzing Turkey's current situation. For sustainability, it has become necessary to properly retain, evaluate, and use all the necessary knowledge and expertise in the current system, and to create a continuous accumulation of knowledge by passing these processes and results to future generations. Within the scope of adapting to the developing order in a globalizing world and having a sustainable structure, concepts such as data management, open data, transparency, and institutionalization approach have been addressed; the importance of open data and transparency approaches in data management for ensuring reliability and accountability has been emphasized. Data is the foundation of knowledge and wisdom (Bernstein, 2009). Proceeding with this approach, the importance of the open data approach in data management, addressed with the concepts of openness and transparency, has been highlighted. Presenting data openly and making that data meaningful creates information, and the internalization of information creates knowledge (Liew, 2013). This is not a one-way cycle, and in the reverse flow, externalizing knowledge creates information, and if the information is shared again, it becomes data. At this point, open data is both the main source of data and the form in which knowledge is transformed back into data. This process demonstrates the importance of open data in the data management process, ensuring the transfer of knowledge to future generations through open data and maintaining a sustainable order. "Digital Europe" is a concept put forward by the European Union that combines the concept of sustainability with digital transformation. The program emphasizes the concept of a data ecosystem and aims to create a harmonized ecosystem across Europe in the field of data. This includes the harmonization of data standards, formats, and protocols. It states the importance of the open data approach in the data management process for sustainability and suggests that a more open, transparent, and sustainable order can be achieved through digitization. The concept of institutionalization indicates the transition of a business or institution to a certain order, independent of individuals, and the adoption of a planned and orderly environment. Although the institutionalization process is unique and variable for each institution and organization, the underlying requirements and cause-and-effect relationships are the same. Apaydın (2009) defines the reasons and consequences of institutionalization in 3 stages and introduces 5 concepts in the institutionalization stage. These are formalization, professionalization, accountability, cultural strength, and consistency. The fact that the concepts of accountability and consistency lie at the core of the open data approach in data management reveals the conjunction of institutionalization with open data and transparency approaches. The 16th goal within the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations is defined as "Peace, justice, and strong institutions" (SDGs, 2015). This goal is described as "Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all, and build effective, accountable, and inclusive institutions at all levels." This goal defines the idea that an institutional structure will create a more transparent and accountable order.
Based on the importance of sustainable development, four significant indices focusing on open data, transparency, and institutionalization have been examined. These indices are the Transparency and Corruption Perceptions Index, the Ease of Doing Business Index, the Open Data Barometer, and the Global Competitiveness Report Index. The indices' scope and the countries with high scores were presented, and Turkey's scores and rankings within these indices were evaluated. Common concepts among the indices include transparency, openness, accountability, institutional structure, and legal regulations. While assessing various countries and their scores within the examined indices, Turkey's scores and rankings compared to other countries were also observed. According to the index results, it was found that Turkey performs poorly and has low scores compared to many other countries included in the evaluation. It was observed that Turkey's score has declined in recent years in the Transparency and Corruption Perceptions Index, and there are deficiencies in business processes and institutionalization practices according to the Ease of Doing Business Index. The Open Data Barometer evaluates policies, actions, and rights, focusing on concepts such as openness, transparency, accessibility, timeliness, and digitalization in the data presentation process. Within this framework, it was concluded that Turkey has very low scores compared to other countries included in the evaluation and faces problems in access, timeliness, and digitalization in open data processes. Lastly, the Global Competitiveness Index highlights competitiveness for the next five years, emphasizing concepts of institutionalization, transparency, and openness. In this context, it was found that Turkey's competitiveness is low based on its scores.
The original analysis section of the research has been approached with a three-stage analysis. These stages are: identifying the institutions involved in open data presentation, evaluating the institutional structure, open data, and transparency approaches of these institutions, and assessing the private sector's evaluation of the central government's open data, transparency, and institutionalization approaches through interviews with companies operating in the data business sector. Within the created framework, first, the units authorized for open data presentation were identified. The units authorized for data presentation in the central administration were grouped into TÜİK (Turkish Statistical Institute), ministries and affiliated directorates, and other institutions and organizations. Additionally, open data access platforms where data is presented by the authorized units, examined under three headings, were identified. As a result of the identification, it was observed that TÜİK primarily acts as the official statistical data portal, providing data through statistical reports, news, bulletins, and similar channels. Most ministries and their affiliated directorates were found to have open data access. While 11 ministries directly provide data on their official websites or through their affiliated directorates, 6 ministries do not offer direct open data access. These 6 ministries make data secondarily accessible through TÜİK or CİMER (Presidential Communication Center) referrals via electronic platforms. In the review specific to other institutions and organizations, it was observed that there are both institutions that provide data to TÜİK and those that provide data independently of TÜİK, offering data related to their respective sectors. Despite the presence of various access platforms, it was found that the accessed data was not comprehensive and not presented in a unified manner. In the second stage, the open data, transparency, and institutional structure performances of these identified institutions were evaluated. An evaluation framework was created encompassing 10 sectors and 4 main questions, forming a 4x10 matrix for each sector to answer the questions. The evaluation criteria included the availability of accessible data, the timeliness and transparency of data sets, the electronic platform, and society-focused management and improvement. This evaluation revealed deficiencies in the timeliness of data and transparency of institutions in Turkey. Electronic platforms, reliable data access, and efforts to strengthen institutional structures were found to be inadequate. The lack of society-focused and society-need-based improvement efforts was identified as a critical problem for sustainable development. In the final stage of the situation analysis for Turkey, interviews were conducted with companies continuing their business processes in the private sector. For this interview, sectors directly involving data usage and data management processes were identified through the economic activity classification NACE codes. The relevant NACE codes were 62.01 and 63.11. The number of enterprises in these sectors was examined for Turkey and its provinces. As a result of the examination, the provinces with the highest number of enterprises were identified, and those common to both sectors became the target provinces for analysis. Accordingly, random interview requests were sent to some firms through the relevant provinces' Chambers of Commerce, and a positive response was received from a total of 6 companies. Basic information was obtained from these companies, such as general company information, the role of data in their business processes, the nature of the data used, and their access conditions and capabilities. Additionally, information about their institutionalization processes and practices was gathered. Finally, their thoughts and suggestions regarding institutionalization approaches in Turkey, as well as the central government's open data and transparency approaches, were obtained. Through these interviews, basic information was obtained from the companies, such as general company information, the role of data in their business processes, the nature of the data used, their access conditions and capabilities, and their institutionalization processes and practices. Finally, their thoughts and suggestions regarding institutionalization approaches in Turkey and the central government's open data and transparency approaches were gathered. It was observed that each interviewed company operated in different business areas and served various sectors. They stated that they did not follow an official institutionalization process but implemented various institutionalization practices within the company. The lack of a specific framework and official practice in this regard was criticized by the institutions. Based on the responses from the interviewed companies, several fundamental problems were identified in Turkey, including issues with open data access, the unreadability and unusability of accessible data, the absence of a data management system, the lack of public-private sector cooperation, and the neglect of SMEs in institutionalization processes. The companies proposed several solutions to address these issues, such as establishing an accessible, readable, and usable open data system, creating a public-private cooperation system, conducting awareness-raising activities, and strengthening institutionalization processes. The problems identified through the evaluation of authorized open data units and platforms, and the assessment of the open data, transparency approaches, and institutionalization statuses of these units, were found to align with the experiences and thoughts on open data, transparency, and institutionalization shared by various companies continuing their business processes in the private sector.
In conclusion, it has been observed that Turkey needs improvements in open data, transparency, and institutionalization. Critical issues have been identified in areas such as accessibility, timeliness, and readability. Authorized units do not provide a comprehensive open data presentation within their authority, and the accessibility and public awareness of the presented open data are very low or nonexistent. Turkey lacks a standardized institutionalization process or definition. Although corporate governance principles are put forth by the Capital Markets Board (SPK), there is no specific implementation or monitoring by the central government. Moreover, these principles are not inclusive as they only cover large-scale and publicly traded companies, excluding SMEs from the scope of corporate governance principles. To address all these issues and deficiencies, a more sustainable structure needs to be achieved with a comprehensive and holistic approach. This can be facilitated through a more transparent institutional structure, reliable electronic platforms, and a strong society-focused approach. A solution proposal can be defined within three main frameworks. The first framework is the definition of authority. The scope of authority, open data, transparency, and institutionalization practices and obligations of the authorized institutions should be clearly defined. These authorities should be formalized through laws or regulations. The second framework is supervision. A supervisory phase is necessary to ensure the definition and implementation of the authority scope of the institutions responsible for open data and to sustain this implementation. The final framework is the standards of institutionalization processes. To strengthen the institutional structures of both institutions and organizations dealing with open data and other companies, businesses, and organizations, it is essential to define and formalize a standard for a strong institutionalization process and economic sustainability. This standard should be created for firms of all sizes. Within the scope of these recommendations, Turkey's open data and transparency approach in data management and institutionalization processes should be improved with a focus on sustainable development.