Open government policy implementation as a strategy for pandemic management in Iran (Covid-19 case study)

Open government, as a government based on the right to know, has positive functions in interacting with citizens, and it affects the acceptability of the government and its actions. Open government data has recently attracted a lot of attention as a tool to innovate, add value and improve outcomes in various sectors, public and private. Although some of the benefits of open government plans have been evaluated in the past, especially in terms of economic efficiency and the like, its evaluation in the field of law and politics, emphasizing the application of open government policy to manage the Covid-19 pandemic, has been less observed. The main challenge of the current research was to investigate the role of open government in the management of the Covid-19 epidemic in comparison with the policies implemented by the Iranian government. It was found that Iran's laws in the field of separation of publishable and non-publishable information, the need to publish all information, except in exceptional cases, and the methods of monitoring and complaining in cases of non-publishing of information are faced with fundamental weaknesses. In general, the indicators of open government, such as transparency and trust, have fundamental weaknesses, and the lack of timely and effective provision of information and reasons for decisions led to the poor management of the Covid-19 pandemic.