FOI Notes: India, US, Nepal, OGP, Research, UK, Fellowship

10 March 2014

India: The Ministry of Personnel and Training has issued a Volume 1 of a “Compendium of Best Practices on RTI.” including

The chapter titles are: SARATHI (System of Assisting Residents And Tourists through Helpline Information), RTI Library, Transparency Desk, RTI Online, Central Monitoring Mechanism, Pro-Active Disclosure, Jaankari, MCA21, Information Kiosks, Chakravyuh, Digitization and RTI Foundation of India Initiative.

Nepal: A detailed analysis of the Nepal RTI experience by Vinaya Kasajoo, who from 2008 until 2012 was Chief Information Commissioner of the National Information Commission.

United States: An analysis by the Center for Effective Government of the performance of the 15 federal agencies that received the greatest number of FOIA requests in fiscal year 2012.

The results are sobering. None of the 15 agencies earned exemplary scores (an overall A grade), and only eight earned “passing grades” (60 or more out of a possible 100 points). The low scores are not due to impossibly high expectations. In each of three performance areas, at least one agency earned an A, showing that excellence is possible. But the fact that no agency was able to demonstrate excellence across all three areas illustrates the difficulty agencies seem to be having in consistently combining all the elements of an effective disclosure policy.

The top overall grades were received by the Social Security Administration (B), Department of Justice (B-), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (C+), and Department of Agriculture (C).

Also see criticisms of the report by Anne Weismann of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).

OGP: A call for submissions by the Government of Indonesia on innovative approaches to open government that will be showcased at the OGP Asia Pacific Regional Conference in Bali, Indonesia on May 6 – 7. “Seven ideas will be selected for Lightning Talks at the upcoming regional meeting. You may submit your own innovative idea or nominate someone else’s. The deadline for submitting your entry is March 23, 2014. To take part, simply fill in the nomination form at http://goo.gl/6ieEfJ and describe your inspiring innovation.”

Transparency Research: “How Cabinet Size and Legislative Control Shape the Strength of Transparency Laws,” by Gregory Michener, just came on Early View with the journal Governance.

Prevailing thinking surrounding the politics of secrecy and transparency is biased by assumptions regarding single-party and small coalition governments. Here, the “politics of secrecy” dominates: Leaders delay or resist strong transparency and freedom of information (FOI) policies when they control parliament, and yield to strong laws because of imposition, symbolic ambition, or concessions when they do not. In effect, leaders weigh the benefits of secrecy against gains in monitorial capacity. Their support for strong transparency policies grows as the number of parties in their cabinet rises. So while the costs of surrendering secrecy trump the benefits of strong transparency reforms in single-party governments, in broad multiparty coalitions leaders trade secrecy for tools to monitor coalition “allies.” Drawing on vivid international examples, patterns of FOI reform in Latin America, and an in-depth study of FOI in Brazil, this article generates new theoretical insights into transparency and the “politics of monitoring.

Fellowship: The Open Society Justice Initiative is inviting applications for its 2014-2016 Aryeh Neier Fellowship Program, a two-year program of practical work experience designed to expand a network of lawyers and advocates working internationally on human rights issue. In 2014, four (4) fellowships will be awarded. The deadline in March 28.

India: A new e-library about the Right to Information Act has been started by the Yashwantrao Chavan Academy of Development Administration (YASHADA), the Administrative Training Institute of the Government of Maharashtra. The e-library includes the RTI Act in English and vernacular languages, rules framed by different governments and judicial bodies, guidelines for stakeholders and reference materials, among other vital information. It also has RTI judgments of the Supreme Court and high courts.

United Kingdom: A new decision “could change the way that public authorities treat requests for salary information of senior officials,”according to a post on the FOIMan blog.

United States: The Coalition for Court Transparency sends a letter to U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts urging him to take another historic action on behalf of press freedom by allowing for video broadcast of hearings at the High Court.

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