Open data as a public asset

The disclosure of data is often accompanied by many promises from an open government standpoint that use catchwords such as transparency, participation and engagement, not to mention innovation, viewing such data as a raw material that could be used by old and new companies to create and improve services. Although these promises effectively represent the potential of open data, in actual fact, they prove very difficult to accomplish. The delays, or rather the hurdles, that stand in the way of these data’s use are multi-faceted: cultural resistance to sharing data, legal constraints and issues with creating sustainable updating processes. By retracing the steps of open data, this article highlights these issues, proposes courses of action and suggests considering open data as a common good: a resource shared by all the members of a community and from which everyone can benefit