Critical Perspectives on Open Development The MIT Press— International Development Research Centre Series Open Development: Networked Innovations in International Development, edited by Matthew L. Smith and Katherine M. A. Reilly Public Access ICT across Cultures: Diversifying Participation in the Network Society, edited by Francisco J. Proenza Shadow Libraries: Access to Knowledge in Global Higher Education, edited by Joe Karaganis Digital Economies at Global Margins, edited by Mark Graham Making Open Development Inclusive: Lessons from IDRC Research, edited by Matthew L. Smith and Ruhiya Kristine Seward Critical Perspectives on Open Development Empirical Interrogation of Theory Construction Edited by Arul Chib, Caitlin M. Bentley, and Matthew L. Smith The MIT Press Cambridge, Mas sa chu setts London, England International Development Research Centre Ottawa • Amman • Dakar • Montevideo • Nairobi • New Delhi © 2020 Contributors This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 (CC- BY 4.0) Inter- national License. Published by the MIT Press. A copublication with International Development Research Centre PO Box 8500 Ottawa, ON K1G 3H9 Canada www.idrc.ca / [email protected] The research presented in this publication was carried out with the financial assistance of Canada’s International Development Research Centre. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent those of IDRC or its Board of Governors. This book was set in Stone Serif and Stone Sans by Westchester Publishing Ser vices. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Chib, Arul, editor. | Bentley, Caitlin M., editor. | Smith, Matthew L., editor. Title: Critical perspectives on open development : empirical interrogation of theory construction / edited by Arul Chib, Caitlin M. Bentley, and Matthew L. Smith. Description: Cambridge, Massachusetts : The MIT Press, [2020] | Series: The MIT Press--International Development Research Centre series | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2020024468 | ISBN 9780262542326 (paperback) Subjects: LCSH: Information technology--Economic aspects. | Information technology--Social aspects. | Information society. | Information commons. | Open source software. | Economic development. Classification: LCC HC79.I55 C75 2020 | DDC 303.4833--dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020024468 ISBN: 978-1-55250-596-0 (IDRC e-book) Contents Acknowledgments vii Preface ix 1 Openness in International Development 1 Caitlin M. Bentley, Arul Chib, and Matthew L. Smith I Pragmatic Approaches to Open Development 2 A Stewardship Approach to Theorizing Open Data for Development 27 Katherine M. A. Reilly and Juan Pablo Alperin 3 Trust and Open Development 51 Anuradha Rao, Priya Parekh, John Traxler, and Rich Ling 4 Learning as Participation: Open Practices and the Production of Identities 81 Bidisha Chaudhuri, Janaki Srinivasan, and Onkar Hoysala Reflections I 5 Stewardship Regimes within Kenya’s Open Data Initiative and Their Implications for Open Data for Development 105 Paul Mungai and Jean- Paul Van Belle 6 Changing Infrastructure in Urban India: Critical Reflections on Openness and Trust in the Governance of Public Ser vices 115 David Sadoway and Satyarupa Shekhar 7 Learning through Participation in a Weather Information System in West Bengal, India 131 Linus Kendall and Purnabha Dasgupta vi Contents II Coevolutionary Perspectives on Open Development 8 Understanding Divergent Outcomes in Open Development 143 Andy Dearden, Marion Walton, and Melissa Densmore 9 A Critical Capability Approach to Evaluate Open Development 173 Yingqin Zheng and Bernd Carsten Stahl, with contributions from Becky Faith 10 Open Institutions and Their “Relevant Publics”: A Demo cratic Alternative to Neoliberal Openness 199 Parminder Jeet Singh, Anita Gurumurthy, and Nandini Chami Reflections II 11 What Makes an Agriculture Initiative Open? Reflections on Sharing Agriculture Information, Writing Rights, and Divergent Outcomes 227 Piyumi Gamage, Chiranthi Rajapakse, and Helani Galpaya 12 Using the Critical Capabilities Approach to Evaluate the Tanzanian Open Government Data Initiative 235 Goodiel C. Moshi and Deo Shao 13 Three Prob lems Facing Civil Society Organ izations in the Development Sector in Adopting Open Institutional Design 245 Caitlin M. Bentley 14 Conclusion 257 Matthew L. Smith, Arul Chib, and Caitlin M. Bentley Contributors 271 Index 279 Acknowl edgments This research was conducted as part of the Strengthening Information Soci- ety Research Capacity Building Alliance (SIRCA) III program and is funded by Information and Networks in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, a partnership between the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and Canada’s International Development Research Centre (IDRC), under the Networked Economies program at IDRC. We would also like to acknowledge two SIRCA members, Yvonne Lim and Sandy Pek, whose contributions were critical to this volume’s success. At IDRC, we thank Catherine Bienvenu for copyediting the manuscript, and Nola Haddadian, publisher, for providing invaluable assistance in pub- lishing our manuscript. We also appreciate the contributions of MIT Press’s Gita Devi Manaktala, editorial director, and María Isela García, acquisitions assistant, to the publication of this volume. Preface The Strengthening Information Society Research Capacity Alliance (SIRCA) program ran for over a de cade. What began as an intensive mentorship program for Asian scholars soon expanded to include members from across the globe. Driven by a passion for social change through the application of information and communications technology (ICT) in developing coun- tries, SIRCA scholars have demonstrated outstanding influence. They have shifted ICT4D (ICT for Development) discourses and taken up leadership roles within their institutions. Now, following the end of SIRCA’s third iteration, we have successfully developed and tested a more concentrated research model focused on a central objective—to build the field of open development. Focusing on the impact of digitally enabled openness in reducing global inequalities enables SIRCA to bring our transformed pro- gram design into effective action. In 2015, we began theorizing open development by centering on whether, how, for whom, and in what circumstances does the free, networked, public sharing of digital (information and communication) resources contribute toward (or not) a process of positive social transformation. Six teams of leading scholars developed white papers, which were released to the public to enable external researchers to build research proposals for investigation. An additional six teams of empirical researchers were selected in 2016 to put our theories to the test. This simultaneous theoretical and empirical approach, with minimal conflicts of interest between the two sets of scholars, is novel in ICT4D research. SIRCA’s theory- driven and empirically tested research model has the potential to serve as a gold- standard practice in ICT4D research. The SIRCA III program has culminated in a book that demonstrates the x Preface groundbreaking work that will define not only our program but the field of open development in and of itself. As we look to SIRCA’s future, we have learned a great deal from the SIRCA III experience. Global challenges related to changes in the geogra- phies of poverty and population migration, as well as severe social and gender inequalities, are now markers of our time. Openness may indeed mitigate some of these global challenges, but it seems that a more targeted, aggressive research agenda, focusing on reducing social inequalities, is needed. We encourage future research programs to focus on reducing dis- parities surrounding gender and technology specifically. There is much to look forward to. About the SIRCA III Program The SIRCA III program has evolved significantly since its first and second iterations. The third program was funded by a research grant award focused on developing crosscutting theoretical frameworks in the area of open development. SIRCA III funded proj ects were led by twelve distinct teams of two to three se nior researchers and/or prac ti tion ers, resulting in empiri- cal investigations in developing countries globally. SIRCA III had two phases in its research design— a theoretical phase (Phase I) and an empirical phase (Phase II). During the first year, se nior research teams were awarded funding to develop a cross cutting theoretical framework. This framework was tested during the empirical phase of the program in the second year. Additional researchers were selected, through a second call for proposals, to conduct the empirical research in close col- laboration with the theoretical research teams. This edited volume explores cross cutting open development themes and raises issues about the legitimacy and overall purpose of open develop- ment. It represents a remarkable evolution in the conceptualization and application of digitally enabled openness to influence positive social trans- formation. The volume pushes past a theoretical level of engagement with open development and puts the SIRCA III authors’ ideas and theories to the test. In this groundbreaking research, cross cutting themes were empirically tested in Asia and sub- Saharan Africa, and the authors reflect on how to improve proposed theoretical lenses. This volume therefore combines theo- retical views with their practical application. The authors likewise critically Preface xi reflect on