This book exploresthe power of greater openness accountability and transparency in
digitalinformation and government data for the nations of Southeast Asia. The author
demonstratesthat although the term open data seems to be self-explanatory it involvesan
evolving ecosystem of complex domains. Through empirical case studies thisbook explains how
governments in the ASEAN may harvest the benefits of opendata to maximize their productivity
efficiency and innovation. The book alsoinvestigates how increasing digital divides in the
population boundaries tocivil society and shortfalls in civil and political rights threaten
to arrestopen data in early development which may hamper post-2015 development agendasin the
region. With robust open data policies and clear roadmaps member statesof the ASEAN can
harvest the promising opportunities of open data in theirparticular developmental
institutional and legal settings. Governments policymakers entrepreneurs and academics will
gain a clearer understanding of the factorsthat enable open data from this timely research.
