Search Results
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10 June 2013
FOI Notes: EU, Uruguay, OGP, UK, US, Open Gov
European Union: An article on transparency in the European Union by Deirdre Curtin, professor of European Law at the University of Amsterdam. Open Government: “A Citizen’s Guide to Open Government, E-Government, and Government 2.0” – a listing of resources compiled by the University of North Carolina school of public administration. Uruguay: The Uruguayan 2013 Online Transparency […]
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23 May 2013
FOI Notes: New Book on African ATI; Open Data; UK
Africa: The ATI committee of the African Network of Constitutional Lawyers has a new publication: “Access to information in Africa. Law, Culture and Practice,” edited by Fatima Diallo, African Studies Centre, Leiden, and Richard Calland, University of Cape Town. Published by BRILL. The chapters and authors are: 1. The State of the Art and the […]
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16 May 2013
OGP Seeks Researchers on 39 Country Action Plans
The Open Government Partnership’s “Independent Reporting Mechanism” (IRM) is looking for researchers in 39 countries to carry out evaluations of national action plans. The IRM is now accepting applications for researchers in the following countries: Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Estonia, Georgia, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Israel, […]
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22 April 2013
Model Access Law for Africa: A Response to Felt Need
By Gilbert Sendugwa Sendugwa is Coordinator & Head of Secretariat, Africa Freedom of Information Centre. The Model Law on Access to Information for Africa recently launched by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) an outcome of felt need and an inclusive process. The past decade marked an explosion of access to information […]
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7 March 2013
FOI Notes: Profiles of Indian RTI Activists, Job Openings, Articles, Resources
India: Profiles in Mumbai Boss of three RTI filers, including one who has made 10,000 requests. Short, but good reading. A snippet: For Kothari, filing RTI applications seems to be an obsessive hobby. But if it wasn’t for him, perhaps we wouldn’t know that 168 policemen committed suicide between 2002 and 2012, that only four […]
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22 February 2013
UNEP Council Agrees to Create Access Policy
The Governing Council of the United Nations Environmental Programme Feb. 22 agreed to create an access to information policy and increase participation of stakeholders and civil society. The draft decision was adopted by the Governing Council in Nairobi after encouragement by an information group of nongovernmental organizations calling themselves the environmental democracy group. The group […]
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22 February 2013
FOI Notes: Open Data Census, Research, Legislatures, OGP, Bedbugs
Open Data Census: A blog post by Rufus Pollack, founder and co-director of the Open Knowledge Foundation also includes a description of a developing effort to create a single overall ranking, an Open Data Index. Pollack also writes about how progress in open government data “is not (just) about the number of datasets being released. […]
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8 February 2013
African Commission Set to Revisit Model FOI Law
The model freedom of information law for Africa is on the agenda for discussion this month by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights. The draft model law (English and French) has been modified since it was first discussed by the Commission in 2012, FreedomInfo.org was told, although a new draft has not yet […]
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8 February 2013
FOI Notes: Reports, Contests, Blog Posts
Municipal Governance/Philippines: Global Integrity has published a new data set assessing governance and anti-corruption measures at the local level in the Philippines, the Philippines Local Governance Transparency and Accountability Indicators. The indicators include a total of 205 specific questions that were scored by local researchers through a combination of intensive desk research and hundreds of […]
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21 December 2012
FOI Notes: Measuring Transparency, Calls for Papers, Reports, More
Measuring Transparency: “What is Government Transparency?: New Measures and Relevance for Quality of Government,” by Monika Bauhr and Marcia Grimes of The Quality of Government Institute, Department of Political Science, University of Gothenburg. The abstract says: As policymakers and researchers focus increasing attention on the importance of government transparency for accountability and good governance more […]
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10 December 2012
FOI Notes: Viewpoints, Job, Canada, Open Data, Survey
Viewpoints: Stanford University professor Jeremy Weinstein and Princeton University professor Joshua Goldstein, write an article, “The Benefits of a Big Tent: Opening Up Government in Developing Countries,” as a reply to Harlan Yu and David Robinson’s The New Ambiguity of “Open Government.” The abstract says Bringing open data and open government under a single banner, Yu […]
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30 October 2012
Measuring Openness: A survey of transparency ratings and the prospects for a global index
By Sheila S. Coronel This report by Columbia University journalism professor Coronel was supported by the Open Society Foundations, Right to Information Fund. We are in the midst of an explosion in the measurement of government openness and the accessibility of information to the public. This is due largely to the growing interest worldwide in […]
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29 October 2012
FOI Notes: RTI Ratings, Videos, Reports, Interviews
RTI Ratings: Access Info Europe (AIE) and the Centre for Law and Democracy (CLD) have launched an improved version of the RTI Rating website. The new website contains updated results on all 93 countries with national right to information laws, searchable on various parameters, including total score and score in each category of the RTI […]
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19 October 2012
93 Countries Have FOI Regimes, Most Tallies Agree
The number of countries with freedom of information laws or similar administrative regulations stands at 93, according to most experts. The near unanimity on who makes a consensus list, and how many, represents something of a change since last year when estimates ranged from to 86 to 97 countries. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) Informal consultation among three […]
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5 October 2012
FOI Notes: Photos, Hubs, Jobs, Cases, Reports
Photo Contest: Winners were announced for the photo contest organised by FOIAnet (the Freedom of Information Advocates Network). There were over 120 entries. A total of 1,000 euros will be awarded to the winners.You can see the photos online here: http://bit.ly/2012FOIAPhotos The winners are: 1st place. Photo: “The other access” by Ranaivosoa Tolojanahary from Madagascar. […]
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1 October 2012
Groups Update Comparative Ratings for Access Laws
The Access Info Europe and the Centre for Law and Democracy on Oct. 1 issued updated ratings for the legal frameworks governing access to information in 92 countries. Serbia retained its top ranking, with 135 points out of a possible total of 150, while Austria was in bottom place, with 39 points. AIE and CLD […]
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27 September 2012
Additions Continue to FOI Family, Pace Slows
Two countries passed freedom of information laws in the year since the last Right to Know Day – Brazil and Yemen. This represents a lessened pace from the exceptionally high number of bills approved in previous years — in six countries and Jersey. (See previous FreedomInfo.org report.) In about half a dozen countries, however, FOI […]
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26 September 2012
OGP Looks to Future at One Year Anniversary
Commemorating its one-year anniversary, the Open Government Partnership is continuing to wrestle with finding the right balance between carrots and sticks. The multilateral effort has attracted 57 members who together have made more than 300 specific commitments to improve transparency and open government in their national action plans. Speakers at the two-hour reception attended by […]
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14 September 2012
Open Data, FOI Communities Show Signs of Convergence
By Toby McIntosh Small signs are signaling the emergence of more cooperation between two transparency communities – one focused on open data, the other on access to information – whose relationship has been hampered by cultural differences and distinct agendas, according to FreedomInfo.org interviews with activists in both camps. The cultural differences, in part the […]
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17 August 2012
South Korea Submits OGP Plans; Others Missing
South Korea has submitted its Open Government partnership action plan, making commitments largely in the areas of providing more online information and increasing citizen involvement in decision-making. A nine-point Macedonian plan also has been posted. The publication of these plans means that 46 action plans have been submitted by the 57 OGP member countries. Four of […]