Latin America: “Use of and Compliance with Access to Information Laws: Experiences in Brazil, Chile and Mexico,” by Marcos Mendiburu and Silvana Fumega is available in English and Spanish on the website of La Red de Transparencia y Acceso a la Información Pública (RTA). The report takes a close look at data about the use of access laws in three countries and how it has been used. It concludes that “it is key that oversight bodies collect the necessary data to effectively perform their duties, and thereby contribute to the exercise of the right to information among all individuals.”
Malaysia: Transparency International Chairman José Ugaz says the Malaysian government has failed to tackle the corruption scandals it faces and objected to its handling of civil protests, according to The Malaysian Insider. “Malaysia needs robust right to information laws,” the group said on the eve of the 16th International Anti-Corruption Conference, this year being held Malaysia. The head of Malaysia’s anti-corruption commissioner calls TI’s statement “ill-advised” and “ill-informed,” as reported by The Malay Mail.
India: A lengthy article on the 10th anniversary of the RTI Act by Shalu Nigam, an activist and a researcher working in gender, law and governance issues, published in Countercurrents. One comment: “The law has failed to benefit citizens as recently the bureaucratic apparatus is creating hurdles in its smooth implementation. Instead of empowering citizens, the law has been operated in a manner to exclude majority of populace. The widening polarity between the givers and the receivers of information is creating a hindrance in smooth functioning of democracy.”
EU: “Redacted documents detailing covert meetings between the European Commission and powerful tobacco lobbyists have compounded fears a secretive EU-US trade deal would allow tobacco giants to sue governments that attempt to legislate in the public interest,” according to a Reuters report. The request was made by Corporate Observatory Europe, which also described the documents.
OGP: A report, “From Informing to Empowering, Improving Government-Civil Society Interactions within OGP,” commissioned by Hivos and carried out with a grant of the IDRC in Canada, looks at government-civil society interactions within 9 OGP member countries: Peru, Honduras, Chile, South Africa, Tanzania, Ghana, Croatia, Romania, and Armenia. The report says the best mechanism is the existence of a regular structure for OGP dialogue within a country, such as in Croatia. The authors of the report (Mary Francoli, Alina Ostling and Fabro Steibel) summarized their findings in a blog post on the OGP website that also links to the full report, a shorter Policy Brief and registration information about a virtual presentation of the research will take place Wednesday, Sept. 9, at 9:00-10:00 EST.
United Kingdom: The Department for Work and Pensions releases requested under FOIA showing that thousands have died shortly after being declared fit for work, The Independent reports.
Governance Data Alliance: An OGP post summarizes the GDA, a new initiative uniting non-governmental organizations, multilateral donors, and governments who produce and consume governance data.
Canada: New Brunswick’s information commissioner Anne Bertrand argues again proposals to reinstate fees and to give bureaucrats whether a request is “frivolous or vexatious.” under the act, the CBC reports.
Canada: “Quebec: Access to Information Reform Proposals Only a Start,” according to an analysis by the Centre for Democracy and law.
EU/Turkey: The case for disclosing negative clearance/exemption applications made to government competition authorities is made by Sahin Ardiyok and Belit Polat in a Mondag article.
Ghana: In a Ghana Web article a Prof N. Lungu lambastes K. T. “Hybrid” Hammond for his strong opposition to a FOI bill during a recent legislative debate.
Transparency Research: Papers are sought for a panel on transparency and open government at the International Research Society for Public Management (IRSPM) 20th Annual Conference, in Hong Kong in April 12016. “Specific attention will be given to contributions focusing on the increasing number of ‘blind spots’ of transparency,” the announcement says, providing more elaboration.
Australia: Victoria’s FOIA watchdog “has been embroiled in a “jobs for mates” controversy after spending almost $1 million on contractors linked to the outgoing commissioner’s old workplace,” reports The Age.
Aid Transparency: Publish What You Fund describes plans for tracking commitments to aid transparency in a blog post.
Open Journalism: “Why Journalists Should Use Transparency as a Tool to Deepen Engagement,” an article by Josh Stearns in MediaShift. The main point is: “If journalism wants to make the case that it is valuable, it has to start showing its work. ”
United States: “California voters want increased access to police records, including misconduct investigations and body camera footage, according to a statewide poll commissioned by the American Civil Liberties Union,” as described in an article in the Pasadena Star-News. The Californian Department of Justice creates a website on policing data.
United States: The monthly newsletter of the New England First Amendment Coalition.
Budget Transparency: The International Budget Project announces the launch of the Open Budget Survey 2015 and looks back at which countries made the biggest gains in improving budget transparency in 2012? And what were some of the drivers of these improvements?
India: “Goa gets a saffronised chief information commissioner” according to a GOAcom article describing the political connections of Chief Information Commissioner Prashant Prabhu Tendolkar. “He will now get a four and half cozy year term in this plumb post as Chief Information Commissioner with salaries, allowances and perks on par with that of an Election Commissioner.”
Open Governance: Lucy von Sturmer of Making All Voices Count summarizes the lessons of a two-day Buntwani meeting held in South Africa about how technology can support governance efforts.
United States: A fledgling group called Archives Corps is a volunteer effort to organize the saving of physical materials in danger of loss, as described in an article in The Atlantic.
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