Staking a Claim in Data: Expertise and Participation in a Rural Open Government Data Initiative

Open government data initiatives have the potential to improve civic participation and trust in government by making government data more transparent to and inclusive of citizens. However, it remains under debate if and how open data initiatives can meet these goals. Through a case study of a state-level government open data initiative with rural hunters, we explore the impact that open data had on citizen-government relations and citizen perspectives on data more broadly. Interviews with 14 hunters led to findings that the open data initiative improved feelings of trust and respect between hunters and the government agency behind the open data initiative. Additionally, hunters' involvement with data collection and consumption led them to stake a role in the open data ecosystem and develop critical perspectives on data. We suggest that open data initiatives could better achieve these benefits by valuing citizen expertise in open data contributions and involving citizens more holistically in the open data ecosystem.