Open Data and the Knowledge Society

The idea of a knowledge society has been advanced over the last two decades, but the transition to such a society has not yet been realised in reality. Discussions around a knowledge society have largely focused on a knowledge economy and information society, rather than a mobilisation to a knowledge society. These debates have, however, taken place prior to the rise of open data and big data and the ensuing development of an open data movement. This book considers the role of the open data movement in fostering transformation to a knowledge society. The characteristics of the open data movement include the strong conviction of the value of open data for society, attention to the institutional aspects of making data open in an inclusive way and a practical focus on the technological infrastructure that is key to enabling a knowledge society. At the heart of any mobilisation is an emerging open data ecosystem and new ways of producing and using data – whether ‘born digital’ data, digitised data or big data – and how that data, when made openly available, can be used in a well-informed and beneficial way by societal actors.