OPEN GOVERNMENT

The course is aimed to get the following goals: To provide a good understanding of the basic issues, concepts and practices of e-government, open government and digital democracy; To provide a basic understanding of the Internet as a public space with its relationships with social participation practices; To provide the basic tools for the study of the relationship between media, communication technologies and politics; To provide the tools for drafting projects and for participating to competitive call for funds.

Basic knowledge of political science and of sociology

Dublin’s descriptors Students must achieve: 1. Knowledge and understanding: of the forms and languages ​​of political technologies through the acquisition of theoretical skills on models of governance with particular attention to the participatory forms and to the relationships between media and power. 1.1. Students achieve this basic knowledge through the class attendance and the study of the texts discussed in the classroom. 2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: through the ability to analyse platforms, policies and processes of digital governance by applying the main analytical methods. 2.1. Skills acquired through online and offline workshops. 3. Judgment skills: a critical reflection on the evolutionary dynamics of the relationships between technologies, politics and society and on the ongoing transformations of governance and public administration. 3.1. This ability must be applied through discussion with the teacher and colleagues, during the exercises and in the preparation of the final exam. 4. Communication skills: students are called to interact online and offline through questions, exchanges with classmates, drafting short presentations during the exercise. 4.1. Skills that are practised in the classroom with the organization of moments of discussion and exercise. 5. Learning skills: students are asked to adopt a critical learning method capable of connecting theoretical skills and empirical analysis, orienting themselves to the specification of autonomous thought. 5.1. Skills to be strengthened thanks to the argumentation with the teacher and with the classmates.

Introduction to the topics. PA digitisation and e-Government. E-Government, Open Government, e-Democracy: definitions and practices. Open Government themes, concepts and practices. Digital policies in comparative perspective. Organisational, economic and social models and consequences of digital PA. Transparency as a guiding principle of Open Government.Transparency, openness and accountability. Positive and negative consequences of transparency on democratic societies. Open data: openness and reuse of public sector information. Data life cycle. Metadata and Linked Open Data. Benefits, barriers, potential negative effects. Pandemic case histories: what we learned from using data during Covid-19. Open data platforms. Interoperability of open data systems. Legal aspects of open data and open licences. Transparency and public communication. How institutions communicate through data and information. Main international indices for assessing open government. Digital governance and engagement. From information to content co-creation. Introduction to Platform analysis Open government and Trust: towards the Platforms society. The role of Open Government in crisis communication Internet governance: evolution of governance regimes. Relevant actors and institutions in the global context. Multistakeholderism. Governance and emerging technologies. Applications of blockchain to governance. Data-driven policy-making. Governing artificial intelligence and through artificial intelligence: Open Government and inclusion of liminal subjects, how technologies can foster inclusion in high marginalized areas. Platform society and Internet of Things. Connected devices, algorithms and tracking. Smart cities. Open Government and climate action. Sustainability and the role of the state, Europe and civil society.

De Blasio, E. (2018). Il governo online. Roma: Carocci. (for non-Italian speakers) Lathrop, D. and Ruma, L. (2010). Open Government: Collaboration, Transparency, and Participation in Practice. O'Reilly Media. Supplementary materials will be indicated throughout the course.

The course previews: - lectures - debates and seminars - online activities - role playing activities - papers' presentations The course includes forms of assessment (and self-evaluation) in progress, in the frame of participatory learning. Students will be involved in the drafting of a project on digitisation and sustainability of an institution of their choice, aimed at participating in funding calls. They will work in small groups on each of the components of the project, maintaining a coordination among groups. Throughout the course, they will have 45 minutes per week to discuss and coordinate their work with the teacher and teaching assistant. At the end of the course, they will present their final project to the classroom.

40% = Throughout the courses, the participants will use a participatory platform to draft a strategy of open government or design a project on digitalising an institution of their choice. 60% = The final exam is an essay detailing the analysis of an empirical case of open government, internet governance or participation agreed with the professor (2500 words).

The topics are proposed to and discussed with the teacher. The thesis work will be supervised by the teacher and/or the assistant professor. The main ( but not exclusive ) macro fields will be communicated through the course's website. Requirements: - Interest in the course's topics. - Basic skills in the political research methods. - Adequate knowledge of the basic theories of sociology and of political science. - Capacity to read books in English. It is required to submit a written research design, including methodology, draft table of contents and basic reference The citation system to use is the HARVARD SYSTEM: a concise guide to this system is available in the teacher's official website.