Open Government und Verwaltungsreform

Open government is supposed to not only instigate a change in the culture of public authorities, but also lead to them providing citizens with better service. In this respect, greater transparency in government and administration is not an end in itself but a means of achieving higher goals, such as general well-being, heightened trust in the government and the revitalisation of democracy. This study investigates how this approach has been interpreted in Germany on a national, federal and municipal level to date and whether it is regarded as a way of modernising administrative processes. In order to receive more support, citizens, authorities’ staff members and also politicians in local councils and parliaments, who are supposed to make the necessary resources available, would each have to gain additional benefits from authorities deciding to become more transparent. So far it has been hard to detect such benefits.