Employment: The Open Society Foundations Justice Initiative Freedom of Information and Expression team is inviting applications for a new Program Officer position, to be based in New York. “We seek someone, preferably an FOI activist, who is fluent in Spanish and English and has worked in Latin America. Experience with FOI or transparency work would be a huge plus, as would proficiency in Portuguese.” See job notice. Deadline May 7.
United States: Revised recommendations for resolving FOIA disputes through targeted alternative dispute resolution are posted on the website of the Administrative Conference of the United States in advance of a May 6 Council meeting.
Colombia: Commentary on the new law by Marta Erquicia on the Transparency International blog. (Spanish)
Open Data: New directions for the Open Knowledge Foundation.
United States: How the 50 States Rate in Providing Online Access to Government Spending Data “Every year, state governments spend tens of billions of dollars through contracts for goods and services, subsidies to encourage economic development, and other expenditures. Accountability and public scrutiny are necessary to ensure that the public can trust that state funds are well spent.”
United States: Suggestions to the Justice Department on improving FOIA from OpentheGovernment.org.
Budget Transparency: The International Budget Partnership annual report “focuses on taking stock of the lessons learned from one period of work as we transition to another. Highlights from 2013 include:
- The conclusion of the Partnership Initiative, our major grantmaking and technical assistance effort in 18 focus countries.
- The publication and release of the Open Budget Survey 2012.
- The finalization of a substantial set of case studies on the impact of civil society on budget processes and policies.
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