Open Contracting: The first global meeting on open contracting is held in South Africa. See website here. The description says: Within the context of improved governance and service delivery, Open Contracting refers to norms, practices and methodologies for increased transparency and monitoring in public contracting, including contracts implemented by multilateral donors. Open Contracting begins with the disclosure of the relevant public procurement information from pre-award activities through contract award and implementation to allow for effective monitoring and accountability for results. It covers the variety of contract types, with an initial emphasis on large-scale concessions deals in land, extractive industries, infrastructure, forestry, and service delivery procurement contracts.”
United Kingdom: The UK unveils its Global Data Strategy. The strategy predicts avings of £1.7 to £1.8 billion each year and lays out 14 steps. Notes about the document itself. An article in Tech Week Europe. As described by blogger David Eaves.
Funding: The United Nations Democracy Fund has invited grant proposals. UNDEF is a fund to promote democracy and “each application must be able to show how the funding of that project will advance the cause of democracy. UNDEF focuses on supporting the voice of civil society, and so the application must show how that voice will be strengthened, and how that, in turn, will strengthen democratic processes. The more direct the link, the stronger the application.”
Asset Disclosure: A new World Bank database finds that although 78 percent of countries covered by the database have financial disclosure systems, only 36 percent systematically check public servants’ disclosures for irregularities and inconsistencies. The Bank launches a Financial Disclosure Law Library to help policymakers and practitioners establish strong financial disclosure systems. The Library compiles over 1,000 laws and regulations on financial disclosure and restrictions on public officials’ activities from 176 countries.
National Security Exemption: There’s an updated version of the draft Principles on National Security and the Right to Information being developed by the Open Society Justice Initiative and others.
Contest: The Allard Prize in International Integrity was recently established at the University of British Columbia. The inaugural prize of CA$100,000 will be awarded to an individual, movement or organization that has demonstrated exceptional courage and leadership in combating corruption, especially through promoting transparency, accountability and the rule of law. Nominations for the Allard Prize for International Integrity are now open and will remain open until January 11, 2013. The selection process will occur in the spring of 2013 and the inaugural award ceremony is scheduled to take place in September 2013. For more information, see their website: http://www.allardprize.org/.
United States: A conservative think tank grades President Obama and others poorly on transparency, according to an article in The Washington Times.
China: An article in The Atlantic magazine by Washington lawyer David C. Caragliano concludes: “The new leadership should waste no time in finishing the task of implementing the OGI regulations. Meaningful reform in this area will go a long way to quelling public discontent, protests and violence and will provide the disinfectant to make government more accountable and responsive.”
China: An article in the official news agency extols the value of more transparency, particularly regarding officials’ assets. The Oct. 31 article in Xinhua begins, “A raft of property scandals uncovered by netizens have underscored the need for public officials to disclose their assets, which is key for curbing corruption and ensuring social equity.”
Open Government: The Instituto Electoral y de Participación Ciudadana de Jalisco (Mexico) along with the UNDP released an English version of their report on “Technology and Citizen Particpation in the Construction of Democracy.
Open Data: An interview on open data and open government with Beth Simone Noveck, the former deputy chief technology officer of the United States now a law professor, publishing in Development Gateway’s #OpenGov News.
Open Data: The project Open Data for Development in Latin America and the Caribbean has been implemented in partnership with W3C Brazil, the European Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), within the scope of the Observatory for the Information Society in Latin America and the Caribbean (OSILAC) and the International Development and Research Center of Canada (IDRC), according to the Open Knowledge Foundation blog.
United States – New Book: “The Liberal War on Transparency: Confessions of a Freedom of Information ‘Criminal,’” by Christopher C. Horner, Threshold Editions, $27, 283 pages, is reviewed in The Washington Times, which says it is “an intriguing and painstakingly in-depth glimpse into the hypocrisy of the Obama administration” that “catalogs the author’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) fiascos.” It’s termed “a rollicking tale of hilarious frustrations and disturbing government shenanigans.” Horner is a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute — a free-market think tank in Washington.
Jobs: The Open Knowledge Foundation has seven open positions. “We’re hiring for a number of different roles, some technical and some more community focussed.” More information on each of them can be found by clicking on tthe links below:
- Community manager (open government data)
- Labs – Technical lead
- Events coordinator
- Community Coordinator (local groups specialist)
- Marketing & Fundraising Coordinator
- Data Wrangler (Labs)
- Communications and Community Coordinator – Labs
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