Public Administration Perspective

Open Government: Origin, Development and Related Legal Institutions in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Document Type : Research Article

Authors

1 Graduated with a doctorate in public law from Tabriz University, Tabriz, Iran

2 Associate Professor, Department of Law, Faculty of Law and Social Sciences, Tabriz University, Tabriz,

Abstract

Purpose: In today's advanced world, to maintain their existence, organizations must constantly monitor their performance to improve it and increase people's trust in them. One of the things that an organization or government can do to improve its performance is to increase transparency. The theory of open government, which comes from transparency, is considered an issue of the day in order to increase intra-border and extra-border communication. This article, while providing a unified definition of open government, has been written with the aim of explaining the jurisdiction of legal institutions related to the framework (components) of open government. In addition, this article analyzes the empirical and conceptual literature on open government to infer the framework of open government and open data policies in achieving open government in order to improve public administration.
Design/ methodology/ approach: This article is a descriptive and analytical approach, and the sources used in this research are part of the books and articles that are collected and compiled in a library format, and at the end of each part, the content is presented in a table to make it easier to understand the topics. Design and methodology of research.
Research Findings: The issue of open government in the literature is very heterogeneous with regard to the field of research, the topic, the country of interest, and the content, so the integrated concept of open government is not clearly explained in the literature. In fact, the literature does not have a clear understanding of what the term open government generally includes, and even lacks basic and unified definitions, which are identified in Table No. 3, the cornerstone of the open government framework, which has led to the presentation of a homogeneous definition. Finally, in the definition of open government and different views about it, it can be briefly mentioned that the inner heart of open government consists of three pillars: transparency, participation, and cooperation, which increase public value. In addition, these three pillars affect the government-to-citizen/government-to-business relationship. Together, they form the internal factors of open government. These internal factors are influenced by external factors such as technology, accountability, regulations, and law, which ultimately interact with the internal circle to accept and trust the government as well as accountability.
Limitations & Consequences: The limitations of time and the lack of resources, and issues related to the collection of the required information and data are among the most important limitations of the current research. Also, the investigation of this research is focused on the short-term effects of implementation, and more studies are needed to analyze the long-term effects.
Practical Consequences: In organizational composition, open government, easy access to information generally means. Meanwhile, in an open government, the organizational transparency of the guarantee process and the commitment to accountability is defined by the timely disclosure of information and data, so, it is essential that the institutions outlined in this article and the proposed open data policies be further scrutinized using the aforementioned components to pave the way for the emergence of an open government as soon as possible.
Innovation or value of the Article: The issue of transparency of information becomes important when citizens have the right to access government documents and actions in order to provide the possibility of people's effective monitoring of the government. Open public data policies not only help government organizations in keeping data, perhaps through the integration of current and common data with new information for management, through the ability to systematically access internal or external problem-solving procedures, but also create more organizational capacities. Therefore, this article seeks to provide a systematic investigation that includes all the literature reviewed in relation to open government.
Paper Type: Original Paper

Keywords

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Public Administration Perspective
Volume 16, Issue 2 - Serial Number 62
July 2025
Pages 36-57