ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the developments of open government and explores the state of the recent open government data practices to discuss effective open data approaches that promote the values of open government for all citizen groups. Open government's practices have been recently reengineered to extend its open boundary related to new developments of e-governance and information technology (IT). The Electronic Freedom of Information Act (EFOIA) Amendments of 1996 were at the first step in merging IT into open government territory. The Obama administration has profoundly reinforced open government initiatives with emphases in government transparency and technology-driven data openness, as a reaction to the Bush administrations limited disclosure practices due to the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. Open government requires federal agencies to develop their own open government plans, launch direct websites to access data, use various social media computing technologies, and solicit feedback from citizens or experts.
