Search Results
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20 July 2012
FOI Notes: Research Calls, Grants, Job Opening, Reports
Open Data: The Web Foundation and International Development Research Centre are seeking proposals for “exploring the emerging impacts of open data in the south.” They want research proposals from specified southern countries by Sept. 10 “that address current gaps in the evidence base underlying the implementation of open data initiatives in the developing world, and […]
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6 July 2012
FOI Notes: Special Access Research, Twitter, Open Data
Special Access: A research paper by Toby Mendel, director of the Centre for Law and Democracy, on whether researchers should be granted special access to information privileges. Twitter: The first Twitter transparency report is issued, documenting government requests for user information and government requests received to withhold content, plush takedown notices received from copyright holders. The […]
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4 May 2012
U.S. Boosts FOI as Criteria for Receiving Foreign Aid
The United States has revised an indicator used to decide which countries qualify for foreign aid, somewhat elevating the importance of freedom of information and unfettered internet access. The changes were made last year by the Millenium Challenge Corporation, which uses a multi-faceted scorecard system to determine which under-developed countries qualify for development assistance. Not […]
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16 April 2012
Krafchik Named Co-Chair; Tanzania Fills OGP Slot
The Open Government Partnership Steering Committee April 16 approved the creation of a third co-chairman, to represent the nine civil society organizations on the committee. Warren Krafchik, of the International Budget Partnership, who has been a Steering Committee member from the beginning, will serve in the new position. In addition, the Steering Committee filled a […]
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10 April 2012
OGP Steering Committee Agenda Features Governance
By Toby McIntosh The adoption of “Articles of Governance” is a major topic on the agenda of the Open Government Partnership Steering Committee meeting April 16 in Brasilia, Brazil, according to the agenda released April 10. As the agenda was announced, a key State Department official working on OGP said in a Twitter post that […]
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24 February 2012
More OGP Countries Post Updates on Action Plans
Seven other countries participating in the Open Government Partnership have submitted interim reports on their efforts to write national action plans. According to a FreedomInfo.org review, Estonia, Georgia, Jordan, Kenya, Latvia, Montenegro and Sweden sent in updates within the past week that are posted on the OGP website. This leaves 15 countries that apparently have not heeded a January […]
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23 February 2012
OGP Selects 35 Civil Society Reps to Attend Brazil Meeting
By Toby McIntosh The Open Government Partnership Feb. 22 announced the names of 35 persons from civil society organizations who will represent their countries at the April 17-18 OGP meeting in Brasilia, Brazil. Their selection comes along with a few additional facts about the still-developing OGP governance plan. The OGP expects to have about 100 […]
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13 February 2012
21 Governments Tardy With Updates on OGP Activity
Twenty-one governments have yet to report on their progress toward developing Open Government Partnership action plans, according to a FreedomInfo.org tally. In the action plans that have been submitted, however, it appears that governments are holding consultations and preparing draft plans, though few of those have emerged in full. Three countries have already announced draft action […]
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20 January 2012
Worries about Google’s Deal with the World Bank
By Nathaniel Heller Heller is Managing Director of Global Integrity. His article appeared on a Global Integrity blog. Yesterday we tweeted that we were hearing concerns about the recently signed deal between Google and the World Bank that will allow the Bank to provide Google’s Map Maker platform to governments and multilaterals around the world. We’ve […]
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12 December 2011
CSOs on OGP Board Caution South Africa on Secrecy Bill
The civil society members of the Open Government Partnership Steering Committee Dec. 12 issued a statement critical of South Africa for its current efforts to pass a bill designed to protect government information that has been widely criticized as a “secrecy bill.” A broad South African civil society coalition, the Right2Know Coalition, had urged the […]
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7 December 2011
Greece Joins OGP; Tweets Source of Info on Meeting
By Toby McIntosh The Open Government Partnership began a two-day “peer exchange working level meeting” Dec. 7 as Greece’s commitment to join brought OGP membership to 50. Most of the sessions were nonpublic, but some tidbits emerged via Twitter postings throughout the day. Among the newsier items: – Kenya promised to have a draft plan […]
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11 November 2011
OGP Members to Present Status Reports in Brazil
Countries that will participate in the upcoming Open Government Partnership meeting in Brazil have been asked to make short presentations on their efforts to date to develop national action plans, according to the OGP website. In other recent OGP news: – The OGP is advertising to hire a person who for its support unit. – […]
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28 October 2011
FOI Laws: Counts Vary Depending on Definitions
By Toby McIntosh How many countries have freedom of information regimes? a.) 86 b.) 87 c.) 88 d.) 90 e.) more than 90 f.) 97 g.) all of the above The answer depends on the precise question and definitions. While there is substantial consensus, disagreements exist at the margins for the handful of experts who […]
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6 October 2011
Views on Open Data Contrast During ICIC Sessions
The sometimes discordant relationship between traditional advocates of freedom of information and the champions of open data was on display during several sessions Oct. 5 at the 7th International Conference of Information Commissioners in Ottawa, Canada. One Canadian open data advocate called reforming FOI laws a low priority. FOI traditionalists, while supported the release of […]
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27 September 2011
Let a Thousand Flowers of Information Bloom
By Rakesh Rajini Rajani is head of Twaweza Tanzania. This article is an edited version of a presentation he made on behalf of civil society at the Sept. 20 launch of the Open Government Partnership in New York on Sept. 20. Perhaps the most important reason we need open government, in a world marked by […]
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20 September 2011
Open Government Effort Officially Begun at NYC Event
World leaders inaugurated the 46-nation Open Government Partnership Sept. 20 in New York City with speeches about the value of open government. Endorsing a declaration on open government, the partner countries agreed to issue national action plans in which they make commitments to advance open government on many fronts. The eight founding members issued their […]
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19 September 2011
Three More Countries Join OGP on Eve of Kick-Off
Canada, Romania and Uruguay will round out the roster of 46 countries joining the Open Government Partnership, according to an OGP Twitter post late Sept. 19. In addition, the OGP has released the declaration that joining countries will sign and the steering committee has indicated it will take steps toward proactive disclosure and announce its […]
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16 September 2011
43 Countries to Join Open Government Partnership
With the only a few days to go before the Sept. 20 launch event, 43 countries have agreed to join the Open Government Partnership. The latest seven to appear on the official list are: the Czech Republic, El Salvador, Latvia, Peru, South Korea, Sweden and Ukraine. The list is: Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, […]
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16 September 2011
Is Open Data a Good Idea for the Open Government Partnership?
By Nathaniel Heller Heller is Managing Director of Global Integrity and managing the Open Government Partnership Networking Mechanism. This post appeared Sept. 15 on the Global Integrity website. As we’ve blogged before, Global Integrity is working to promote the new Open Government Partnership by serving as the OGP’s Networking Mechanism, which aims to connect aspiring […]
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14 September 2011
Eight More Countries Join OGP; Aguino Plan Criticized
Eight more countries have indicated their intention to join the Open Government Partnership – Azerbaijan, Chile, Colombia, Ghana, Jordan, Montenegro, Tanzania and Turkey. OGP membership now stands at 36. The OGP website lists 28 countries that have agreed to participate in addition to the eight founding members. The list is: Albania, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, […]