The collaborative construction of open databases as tools for citizen empowerment

Introduction: In the current context of digital media and social networks, in which citizens have gone from being consumers to 'prosumers' of information, they begin to demand transparency from the government and to become aware of their collective potential to change the world in which they live, buy and vote. Method: This article uses the case study technique to analyse open data portals and identify the technological and strategic elements that make it easier for citizens to collaboratively re-use and retransmit information that allows them to make informed decisions and construct their social reality. Results and conclusions: There is a 'movement' of open data initiatives, which are mostly dedicated to release public financial and political information; to organise it mainly according to geopolitical criteria; and make it available to citizens through technological standards and participation models that show the way to achieve change.