Open data and open government data have recently attracted a great deal of attention as a means to innovate, add value, and improve outcomes in both the public and private sectors. Although some of the benefits of open data initiatives have been assessed in the past, particularly their economic and financial returns, it is often more difficult to evaluate their social and political impacts. In the public sector, a “murky” theory of change has emerged that links the use of open government data with greater government accountability, as well as improved service delivery in key sectors such as health and education. In the absence of cross-country empirical research on this topic, this research asks the following: Based on the evidence available, to what extent and for what reasons is the use of open government data associated with higher levels of accountability and improved service delivery in developing countries? To answer this question, a unique data set that operationalizes open government data, government accountability, service delivery, as well as other intervening and control variables is constructed. Relying on data from 25 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, the research finds a number of significant positive associations between open government data, accountability, and service delivery. Based on these quantitative findings, this research subsequently employs a qualitative approach that relies on comparative case study analysis and a novel political economy framework through which observers can better understand key enabling and disenabling factors. Although this early research has limitations and does not attempt to establish a purely causal relationship between the variables, it fills a critical gap in the literature by providing both an initial empirical support for claims about the efficacy of open government data for improving accountability and service delivery as well as an initial indication of the conditions that support these relationships.