Abstract

The extent of data disclosure related to transparency and accountability in Spanish regional governments is analyzed for the period 2013-2017. For that purpose, an index with weighting of the quality for data reutilization is used. The index is first calculated for open data portals, and then transparency portals and institutional websites are added to the assessment. Findings show that just five regional governments clearly opt for open data based transparency and accountability. Nevertheless, there is a general improvement when transparency portals and institutional websites are added to the index, mainly because of data disclosed in transparency portals. Findings show that fourteen regional governments show sincere transparency and accountability policies, five of them with open data and the remainders with transparency portals. On the contrary, four regional governments perform a sheer apparent transparency behavior, without disclosing significant data.

Abstract

Once open data initiatives are consolidated worldwide, it is important to find out if the Spanish regional open data portals are useful for active transparency. To this end, we developed an indicator to assess the existence of information and its reusable quality in three periods of time (2013, 2015 and 2018). Then, we inquired about the existence of differentiated groups of regional governments using, when necessary, cluster analysis. We found indications that there are two conglomerates of governments: advanced and lagged. These findings are in line with those offered by two opposing views on the dissemination of information from the public sector: agency and neo-institutional theories.