Abstract: Current researches on data governance focus on single enterprise, but the collaboration under the background of data opening prompts researches to shift from data governance to data co-governance. However, exiting researches on the mechanism of data co-governance have yet to be deeply explored. Based on the data governance theory, this paper analyzes the UK Open Data Institute (ODI) using the grounded theory method, which explains the mechanism of multi-subjects collaboration under the background of data opening, and puts forward the data co-governance model. It finds that data co-governance follows the path from co-governance subject to co-governance framework to co-governance value. To be specific:first of all, data flow and collaboration among multiple subjects is a prerequisite for the data co-governance. And there is a virtuous circle among the four roles of subjects. Secondly, the co-governance framework is an action program that contains four parts:co-governance goal, co-governance key, co-governance scope and co-governance support. Lastly, co-governance value is the significance and the natural result of data co-governance, including social value and economic value. This paper enriches the data governance theory, which has theoretical and practical guiding significance for data co-governance under the background of data opening.

Key words: data co-governance, data opening, the Open Data Institute, grounded theory