Research: Academicians Paul ‘t Hart, Ben Worthy and Albert Meijer have developed an interpretive framework for assessing government transparency that has been accepted for publication in Administration and Society. See online version. The abstract:
How can we evaluate government transparency arrangements? While the complexity and contextuality of the values at stake defy straightforward measurement, this article provides an interpretative framework to guide and structure assessments of government transparency. In this framework, we discern criteria clusters for political transparency-democracy, the constitutional state, and social learning capacity-and for administrative transparency-economy/efficiency, integrity, and resilience. The framework provides a structured “helicopter view” of the dimensions that are relevant for a contextual assessment of transparency. An illustrative case discussion of the introduction of Freedom of Information (FOI) in the United Kingdom demonstrates its utility.
FOI and Science: Two journalists look at the intersection of transparency and science. The article in the PLOS Biology Community Blog is by Paul D. Thacker, a journalist and consultant, and Charles Seife, a journalist and professor of journalism at New York University. The lengthy examination concludes:
In short, those working to improve public welfare should oppose attempts to embolden government entities to withhold public information, thus threatening public health and the public trust in science.
Open Data: “Open Data and Sub-national Governments: Lessons from Developing Countries,” has been published by The Worldwide Web Foundation, the first of four reports planned as part of research on the social, political and legal sides of open data. For an overview of the project see blog post. Download the full research paper here. The first report looks at the sub-national context in nine countries and concludes that “there is substantial effort on the part of sub-national governments to proactively disclose data, however, the design delimits citizen participation, and eventually, use.” The abstract also says:
Second, context demands different roles for intermediaries and different types of initiatives to create an enabling environment for open data. Finally, data quality will remain a critical challenge for sub-national governments in developing countries and it will temper potential impact that open data will be able to generate.
Video: My Society issues a collection of videos that were created after the AlaveteliCon in May. “They give useful insights into what it’s like to run an FOI site in all sorts of circumstances, and might inspire others to start their own!”
Commentary: Elena Fagotto, Director of Research at the Harvard’s Transparency Policy Project, and Archon Fung, Ford Foundation Professor of Democracy and Citizenship at the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, write about transparency in the Boston Review concluding:
We live in transparent times. Governments and corporations alike have learned how difficult it is to prevent the disclosure of their secrets. Some political hopefuls preemptively disclose their emails and income statements while others suffer public retribution for trying to conceal theirs. Whether as citizens or consumers, we are demanding more information from the organizations with which we engage. But consumers, citizens, and policymakers should not overestimate the power of sunshine. Transparency is no cure-all. Only careful design combined with a keen awareness of the political forces arrayed against disclosure will bring a next generation of transparency that enables us to guard against manipulation, exploitation, undue risk, and our own poor choices.
Commentary: The Financial Times run as a letter from FreedomInfo.org editor Toby McIntosh responding to Francis Fukuyama column on transparency in the US.
United Kingdom: The FOIAN publishes an infographic comparing the cost of FOI relative to total UK government expenditures.
India: A call for papers in advance of a one-day national seminar to mark 10 years of the RTI Act. Many topics suggested. Deadline for abstracts is Sept. 10. See also conference brochure.
El Salvador: The FreedomInfo.org country page for El Salvador now includes a of the origins of its access bill written by Javier Castro De León.
New Zealand: Transparency International and others object to a 24-day consultation period on the OGO national action plan.
United States: See the results of a coordinated requests project by The New York World in the state of New York. “The results were decidedly mixed, as some agencies quickly provided the requested documents in an easy-to-use format and at no cost, while other requests remain outstanding to this day, eight months after they were filed.”
FOI Tips: At the Guardian’s Masterclass on Investigative Journalism, Helen Darbishire of Access Info gave 10 tips to follow in pursuing FOI requests. More detail here.
– It might be public already!
– Set prejudice aside
– Know your right/law
– Keep a record of your requests. Set an alarm
– Think laterally
– Go public with your request
– Be prepared for the answer
– Anticipate exceptions
– Appeal, Appeal, Appeal
– A refusal is a story to publish
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