United States: The Sunshine in Government Initiative announces WITHOUT FOIA, a project to show FOIA’s impact through examples.
India: Nagaland Information Commission has one the lowest rates of rejection of RTI applications recorded in the country at 0.7% cumulative. Only 3% of the RTI applicants in Nagaland are female. Bukchem Phom, Chief Information Commissioner, cited these and other figures during the celebration of “A decade of RTI in Nagaland.” He said, “Out of the total number of 92 public authorities audited, two are reflected as highly transparent, 45 as reasonably transplant, 43 as limited transparency and 2 as poor level of transparency,” according to an Economic Times report and a Morning Express article. Chief Minister TR Zeliang also commemorated the anniversary, according to another Morning
India: “The data available with us reveals that less than one percent women make use of the RTI Act in J&K,” said Dr. Sheikh Ghulam Rasool, patron of J&K RTI Movement, a non-governmental organization, according to a report in Greater Kashmir.
Commentary: A post on the World Bank Governance for Development blog advocates for “deliberative transparency,” highlighting video recordings of meetings between a former deputy governor of Jakarta Basuki Tjahaja Purnama, city council, and local government agencies. It does not mention that meetings of the World Bank board are closed.
Latin America: Access to information about the health of heads of state is the topic for this report (in Spanish) – Acceso a la información de la salud de los jefes de Estado – prepared by the Institute of Environmental Law and Economics (IDEA) – Paraguay, with the contributions from other sources.
Argentina: Congresswoman Karina Banfi describes the right to information bill she has introduced.
Mexico: “An access-to-information request and appeal filed by the National Security Archive for the secret investigative files on an important human rights case has produced new, more detailed, evidence about the actions of Mexican Army soldiers accused of executing at least 11 people who surrendered after a June 2014 firefight in the state of Mexico.” according to an article by Mike Evans of the National Security Archive.
Canada: “Canada’s public servants are proposing to release numerous government secrets as part of a sweeping overhaul that was promised in the last election campaign by federal Liberals, says a draft strategy document leaked to National Observer,” reports Mike de Souza.
United Kingdom: “Britain’s freedom of information laws are ‘working well’ – but who for?” is the title of an article in The Conversation blog by Christopher J. Murphy, Lecturer in Intelligence Studies, University of Salford.
Isle of Man: The new FOI law there is reviewed by UK FOIA expert Paul Gibbons.
Spain: Access Info Europe comments on a proposed access law for Madrid.
Trade Transparency: “Last chance for a pro-transparency trade legacy for Obama,” according to a commentary by Colleen V. Chien and Quentin A. Palfrey former senior advisers to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Georgia: The Institute for Development of Freedom of Information has recently completed a detailed analysis about the Open Data availability in Georgian private sector as well as recommendations about how to develop it. The full report can be found here.
Pakistan: The Centre for Governance and Public Accountability welcomes the approval of proposed amendments in KP Right to Information Act 2013 by KP information and law departments, according to The Business Recorder.
Tanzania: President John Magufuli gives his cabinet a deadline to each declare their assets or lose their jobs.
India: Noted RTI activist Anil Galgali, who received the Alert Citizen Right to Information Award, has decided to donate the Rs 11,000 cash incentive to an NGO run by actors Nana Patekar and Makrand Anaspure for drought-hit farmers in Maharashtra, according to PTI News.
Accountability: A World Bank blog post concerning a new report on “connecting the dots for accountability.”
Sports Transparency/US: In a perfect world, the committee meetings at which the American college football teams are chosen for the championship games would be televised and fully transparent, writes Mike Francis in SB Nation.
United States/FOI Advocacy: The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council and the Madison chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists are joining with open government advocates from both sides of the political aisle and media groups to bring what we’re calling the Open Government Traveling Show to communities across the state.
United States: The university students who used the FOIA to expose water problems in Flint, Mich., write about the experience.
United States/Florida: Lawmakers continue to chip away at open government, writes Beth Kassab in The Orlando Sentinal, as lawmakers add 10 or 11 new exemptions to the records law.
United Kingdom: The government launches a consultation into the sharing and use of data in public sector organizations. “The consultation, which will run for 8 weeks, focuses on data held by public sector organisations and will assess how data is accessed and used. It seeks to improve data security across government whilst making citizens’ lives easier.”
Commentary: “Leaving innocence behind: why open government is failing, and how it will still win in the end,” a blog post by Alberto Cottica.
Open Data: “All the open data community is invited to contribute to the agenda and develop the outcomes of the 4th International Open Data Conference (IODC) to be held in Madrid on October 6-7, 2016,” according to an announcement.
Open Data: “The Multiple Meanings of Open Government Data: Understanding Different Stakeholders and Their Perspectives,” research by Felipe Gonzalez-Zapata & Richard Heeks of the Centre for Development Informatics, University of Manchester.
Open Data: “Creating Value through Open Data, says a European Commission study.
Open Data/US: The White House looks back on progress made in open-data initiatives over the past year, and goals for the coming year. See blog post.
Open Data/US: GovTech’s David Raths analyzes software options for creating open data portals.
United States: The FBI has launched a second public beta version of its online portal for processing Freedom of Information Act requests — without the controversial requirement that users submit a copy of government photo ID in order for their requests to be considered, according to Fedscoop.
United States: Virginia Terry McAuliffe has agreed to sign an open government bill without the vast rewrite he recently pushed for, The Roanoke Times reports.
United States/Commentary: “Transparency within government helps build public trust,” by Colin MacArthur, Carolyn Dew, Michelle Chronister, John Yuda, and Brad Nunnally.
United States: The Defense Department says answering a FOI request will cost $660 million.
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