offices.<sup>76</sup> Within this context, Weber described the role of the civil servant as “vested in his ability to execute conscientiously the order of the superior authorities.”<sup>77</sup> This classical model is also a hallmark of “Taylorism”—based on Taylor’s _Principles of Scientific Management_<sup>_78_</sup> —which emphasized the importance of control and planning mechanisms to best ensure efficiency and accountability. Although NPM does move away from these classical public administration perspectives, it provides an important antecedent for the conceptual model described in the next section, particularly, the ability of government to manage public servants to deliver services.

# **_Empirical Evidence and Linkages between Concepts_**

Current empirical evidence of the effects of OGD remains somewhat sparse; however, efforts have been made to study the relationship between OGD and accountablity, albeit with mixed results. As such, Davies (2014) challenges an implicitly linear theory of change and argues that policy makers need a more nuanced understanding of how Open Data leads to outputs, outcomes, and impact.<sup>79</sup> Using qualitative case studies, Davies finds that while there is evidence of Open Data outputs such as applications, dashboards, and new analysis, information on outcomes is limited. Nevertheless, his case study review highlights the importance of legal frameworks, domain knowledge, and technical skills as important background resources for reaching outputs such as applications, reports, analysis, and new derived data sets.<sup>80</sup> Similarly, other case study research on Open Data’s impacts in Kenya’s urban slums and rural settlements suggests that data are being used by these communities and that they are demanding even greater quantities of data; however, the study finds no clear association between Open Data and improved accountability or service delivery.<sup>81</sup> A similar stream of research investigates the role of transparency initiatives more broadly, particularly the role played by Freedom of Information (FoI) and Access to Information (A2I) legislation—which have the ostensible goal of improving government accountability. As such, empirical studies have suggested a connection between improved accountability and government responsiveness, although the linkage between FoI/A2I and accountability is less clear. For instance, it has been postulated that FoI initiatives, particularly those that are community based, have been linked to improved citizen rights related to housing and water in South Africa.<sup>82</sup> Similarly, Hazell, Worthy, and Glover (2010) provide a systematic evaluation of FoI laws in Britain, finding that such legislation can help improve government decision making and public awareness.<sup>83</sup> Likewise, Peisakhin and Pinto (2010) analyze FOI legislation in India and find that it has a significant impact in motivating government officials to process applications for certain entitlement programs, including reducing the time needed to collect benefits.<sup>84</sup> Pandey et al. (2009) find that FOI has reduced absentee rates of public school teachers in rural India, albeit with limited effect on eventual learning

> 76 J. Pfiffner, “Traditional Public Administration versus the New Public Management: Accountability versus Efficiency,” in _Institutionenbildung in Regierung und Verwaltung: Festschrift fur Klaus Konig_ , ed. A. Benz, H. Siedentopf, and K.P. Sommermann (2004) p. 443–54.

> 77 M. Weber, “Politics as a Vocation,” in _From Max Weber_ , ed. H. H. Gerth and C. W. Mills, Oxford University Press (1946) p. 95.

> 78 Frederick Winslow Taylor, _The Principles of Scientific Management_ , New York and London: Harper & Brothers (1911).

> 79 T. Davies, “Open Data in Developing Countries: Emerging Insights from Phase 1,” World Wide Web Foundation (2014). 80 Ibid.

> 81 Jesuit Hakimani Centre, “Open Government Data for Effective Public Participation: Findings of a Case Study Research Investigating Kenya’s Open Data Initiative in Urban Slums and Rural Settlements,” Nairobi Kenya (2014).

> 82 ODAC, “The Right to Know, the Right to Live: Turning the Right to Information into a Living Reality,” Cape Town (2010). 83 R. Hazell, B.Worthy, and M. Glover, "The Impact of the Freedom of Information Act on Central Government in the UK: Does FOI Work?" Palgrave Macmillan (2010).

> 84 L. Peisakhin and P. Pinto, "Is transparency an effective anti-corruption strategy? Evidence from a field experiment in India," _Regulation & Governance_ 4(3) (2010) p. 261–280.

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