The road to Open Governance: Can Blockchain be the game-changer?

Governments have long been the victims of public scrutiny and criticism, and while a great deal of damage has already been done, the notion of transparency in governmental operations, along with access to information is still pretty intriguing. The idea of such open and accountable governance has its roots in the American & French revolutions which ultimately shaped way for rights to free speech, and rights to information as we know today. Fortunately, the open government proposition has gained significant momentum in the past few years. In fact, 96% of the countries in the world are currently working on an open government strategy, according to OECD. What’s promising to know is that governments have realized that this process of moving towards an open society requires an inclusive approach, one with a high degree of involvement from citizens and NGOs to ensure the very premise put forward by this phenomena.

Trust has never been more important for governments looking to expand the economy, and finding ways to improve citizen engagement and accountability. Around the world, governmental organizations have started using technology to enhance public services, and create customer-centric solutions. One of such technological innovations — Blockchain, sits at the intersection of trust, transparency, and accountability. Labelled initially as the engine behind digital currencies, blockchain has evolved into something of a revolution. Now termed as a disruptive force on the verge of replacing existing infrastructures of almost every industry, and set to transform the public sector. As per IBM’s recent study Building trust in government, nine in ten governmental organizations globally plan to invest in blockchain for use in financial transaction management, asset management, contract management and regulatory compliance by 2018.

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