By Natalia Torres
Torres is Senior Researcher for the Center for Studies on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information (CELE) in Argentina. See this article in Spanish.
CELE has just released a brief note on access to information training for government officials. The note, elaborated by Natalia Torres and Luis Esquivel, describes different approaches used by governments to ensure that public officials are prepared for FOI implementation. The note is the result of an exploratory research on four case studies: Chile, India, Mexico and United Kingdom. These cases highlight some trends in training approaches and draw some preliminary conclusions. The note is available at http://www.palermo.edu/cele/english/ati.html.
The note focused on the institutional arrangements and the incentive structure set to train public officers. The analysis of cases showed that designating the agency responsible for providing training is a key aspect of the institutional arrangements for ATI training. Another critical aspect is who will be in charge of providing the training programmes.
The study found that there are different institutional arrangements for organizing the training programs (concentrated –one agency provides the training- vs. dispersed models –many agencies provide the training). In any case, it is vital that the goals set in the ATI policy and the training plan are met, and that the authority responsible for the training oversees its different phases. This serves to guarantee common standards in the delivery of the courses.
The study drew some preliminary lessons and identified key recommendations for ATI legislation-mandated oversight bodies and public authorities. Some of the main findings were:
– the importance of having a comprehensive policy on ATI that includes training as the cornerstone of proper training of public officials.
– the consideration of Inter-agency coordination as a critical aspect for the success of a training program.
– a comprehensive training plan should consider using incentives to effectively manage training of governmental officials on the implementation of the ATI legislation.
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