Title

Utilizing Open Data: A Primer for Public Procurement Research

Authors

• Csaba Csáki – [email protected]
  PhD, holds degrees in mathematics, manufacturing engineering, computer science and Business Information Systems. He has fifteen years of industrial experience including R&D, research project management, and consulting. He was founder of various start-ups and spin-offs. He has been involved in higher education for fifteen years and now works as a full time academic. His research interest covers organizational decision making, Business Intelligence, eGovernment, open data, Public Procurement support tools as well as software development methodology.
• Clifford P. McCue – [email protected]
  Ph.D. from Florida International University in 1997. Dr. McCue conducts research and teaches a wide variety of courses in public budgeting, financial management, public policy, and public procurement. As an international consultant and regular presenter at professional conferences, Dr. McCue has focused his research on numerous aspects of public procurement. His current research agenda examines the intersection of professionalization and public administration, including examination of the social and institutional barriers to enhancing accountability, sustainability, and good governance in public procurement.
• Eric Prier – [email protected]
  Received his Ph.D. Political Science in 1997 from Florida State University. Professor Prier conducts research and teaches a variety of courses in Political Economy, Research Methods, and Public Policy at Florida Atlantic University. As an international consultant and regular presenter at professional conferences, Dr. Prier has focused his scholarship on numerous aspects of public procurement. The former Senior Research Scholar at Florida Atlantic University’s Public Procurement Research Center, his current research agenda examines the intersection of political economy, organization theory, supply chain management, and the barriers to accountability, sustainability, and good governance in public procurement.

Abstract

Numerous open data initiatives by governments around the globe ostensibly promote better transparency and accountability, yet questions have arisen regarding the immediate usability of these datasets. This research reports on an attempt to utilize purchasing data published under the open data program of the European Union, which provides all expenditure data over certain thresholds from 33 European countries. However, the data and its informational quality as it has been published in CSV format leaves holes in trying to close that accountability gap across countries. This case study offers a recursive model which clearly conceptualizes the quality of data and information, and the research serves as a functional primer warning for users of the experientially-based issues of utilizing this and other open data. Key findings illuminate potential issues when working with open data and provide eight specific caveats on how to navigate the open data initiatives by governments.

Keywords

Open data; data quality; information quality; public procurement; purchasing; transparency; accountability; corruption prevention; European directives; TED.

 

Citation

Csaki, C., McCue, C. & Prier, E. (2019). Utilizing Open Data: A Primer for Public Procurement Research, European Journal of Public Procurement Markets, 2(2), 19-35. https://www.doi.org/10.54611/LHOV1465