Here things get interesting. If we analyze the countries that lead in terms of their position in the Human Development Index and the Transparency International rankings, we notice a strong correlation between high levels of transparency (T) and greater human development (HD).
When analyzing which countries lead the top of open governments (OG), many names are repeated, although others that are not also appear. This is because here we are basically talking about governmental institutions that open their data clearly, nothing more. Anyone, with the will, can do it, although this is often related to the actions of the political party in power, and that is why it is important that citizens demand the opening of data as state policy, as another service.
So how about we change the order of the factors and alter the equation a bit? Can more Open Government lead to greater Transparency and then to greater Human Development for our society?
As we can see with various current issues, citizens are no longer content with just seeing what happens around them; they try to change reality, but to do so, they need to be empowered. And if information is power, it is time that it is returned to us, the citizens, because it is public, because it belongs to us.
This, in turn, can allow us to change the agenda, finally putting the citizen back at the center of it, without the usual intermediaries. Long-established institutions are resistant to these types of changes that can affect their role and power within the status quo, but who wants to maintain the current structures if we can move towards a superior State in terms of the organization of public affairs and positively impact the lives of its inhabitants. For that, we need an open government and the implementation of AI in the resolution and decision-making processes of the State, without falling into the error of forgetting that each data point in an Excel cell represents a human being, with a name, surname, and dreams, and that not everything has to be a zero-sum game in some departments. Only then will we be able to make intelligent decisions, thinking about the greatest possible well-being for the majority of the population. With technology applied correctly, we can easily identify superfluous expenses and areas that need more support. Not only will the State and its current administrators be able to see this, but if we indeed open the information correctly, we can involve civil society, data journalists, and citizens who can monitor the State’s wallet and decisions, alerting the rest of society if they disagree with something. Thus, that neighbor who has been asking the municipality for asphalt or sewers on their street for decades and is told that it is not possible or that resources do not allow it will be able to see and understand it for themselves, even enabling them to see where the resources are going so they might help find better ways to utilize them.
This is something that all countries, including Argentina, should do. Cede a bit of control, put it in the hands of society, to regain the trust that the political class has lost. Moreover, sharing does not mean losing power in this case, but enriching the collective.
Transparency alone does not solve all the problems of the State and its citizens, but it is important; it is also necessary to understand that public information does not belong to any particular public official or government, but it is a common good, and therefore we must think of it as a public service, just like education, health, and transportation.
This is undoubtedly a task that takes time and effort, but the sooner we start to explore and exploit this field and its possibilities, the sooner we will see its results.
We still have the opportunity to lead this paradigm shift that is happening globally; let’s accept the challenge and transform our data into information.