Posts Tagged ‘FOI Notes’
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27 June 2014
FOI Notes: South Africa, Isle of Man, OGP, Bhutan, Pakistan, US, UK
Private Sector: A FOI manual by a private company in South Africa. The compliance-oriented manual by March & McLennon Companies is dated November 2013. Isle of Man: The government publishes a summary of responses concerning a proposed FOI law. Employment: The Open Government Partnership is looking to hire a Regional Civil Society Coordinator with a […]
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20 June 2014
FOI Notes: Transparency Research, RTI on Wheels, FOI T-Shirt, Request of the Week
RTI on Wheels: A mobile van to spread the word about RTI is traveling for 10 days through Jammu and Kashmir in India, sponsored by NGO Gujarat Pahel, according to Free Press article. Open Data: “Putting Open Data to Work for Communities,” a report by the US National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership, a network of local organizations […]
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13 June 2014
FOI Notes: C20, Technology, Environment, More
G-20: “After feedback through the C20 Conversations platform, the final position papers for the four C20 working groups are now online. You can read the papers now around: Inclusive Growth and Employment; Infrastructure; Climate and Sustainability; Governance. These position papers will form the basis for discussions at the C20 Summit and the key recommendations from […]
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6 June 2014
FOI Notes: Research, Audits, Reports, Interviews More
Research: “Does Access to Information Empower the Poor? Evidence from the Dominican Republic,” a report by Emmanuel Skoufias (World Bank), Renata Narita (Universidade de São Paulo) and Ambar Narayan (World Bank). World Bank Policy Research Working Paper No. 6895 (on SSRN) and on Bank website. This paper assesses the impact of an effort in the Dominican […]
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23 May 2014
FOI Notes: Books, Articles, Conference
Book: La transparencia informativa de las Administraciones públicas (Information transparency of public administrations. The right of the people to know and the duty to disseminate public information actively) by Miguel Angel Climent Blanes has just been published by Thomson-Reuters Aranzadi (ISBN: 978-84-9059-397-4). The author is s Doctor in Law and has served as an officer […]
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16 May 2014
FOI Notes: RTI Movie in India, and some other stuff
RTI the Movie: A movie, Angusam, with an RTI theme by a director using one name, Manukannan, has come out in India. One review says that “the seriousness of the issue gets diluted, what with the narration being jumpy and inconsistent, and the screenplay layered with romance, songs and sentiment.” A plot description says: Shiva […]
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9 May 2014
FOI Notes: UN Declaration, NGO Transparency, Video
UN Experts’ Joint Declaration: Frank La Rue, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and other UN experts issued a declaration addressing the lack in the promotion and protection of the rights to freedom of expression and information, freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of association and […]
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2 May 2014
FOI Notes: Budget Transparency, Global Data Alliance, Lots More
Budget Transparency: A World Bank report, “Financial Management Information Systems and Open Budget Data,” finds that only 48 of 198 countries (24 %) have websites providing an opportunity to monitor the budget. Global Data Alliance: A of a recent meeting to consider the formation of an international Global Data Alliance. Research: In the current issue […]
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25 April 2014
FOI Notes: Job, US, Colombia, Budget Transparency, Open Data
Employment: The Open Society Foundations Justice Initiative Freedom of Information and Expression team is inviting applications for a new Program Officer position, to be based in New York. “We seek someone, preferably an FOI activist, who is fluent in Spanish and English and has worked in Latin America. Experience with FOI or transparency work would be […]
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18 April 2014
FOI Notes: Making All Voices Counts Grants, OGP Awards, T/A
Making All Voices Count: The 28 winners are announced in a contest for cutting-edge projects to boost government and citizen engagement. Winners include a group planning to develop an app for searching pubic data worldwide, a project to engage with graffiti artists to spread data-based information in Nairobi’s slums, a project to construct a pharmaceutical […]
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11 April 2014
FOI Notes: Morocco, Environment, Accountability, Open Data, More
Morocco: A new guide on ATI in Morocco by UNESCO in Arabic and French by Saad Filali Meknassi. Tunisian cartoonist Z drew the cartoons. Transparency and Accountability: The Centre for Law and Democracy and the Democracy Reporting International have published a Briefing Paper on International Standards on Transparency and Accountability. A 2011 DRI report outlined […]
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3 April 2014
FOI Notes: EU, OGP, Open Data, Journalism, Broadway
European Union: StateWatch comments on access at three EU institutions, stating: Frontex given until end of March 2014 to comply with the Ombudsman’s Recommendations to change its Management Board Decision putting into effect the Regulation on public access to EU documents Eurojust seeks to avoid any compliance until some undefined point in the future Europol […]
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28 March 2014
FOI Notes, EU, US, India, Africa, OGP. Open Data
European Union: Statewatch has released two analyses on secrecy in the EU. “Constructing the secret EU state” discusses “restricted” and “limited” documents hidden from view by the Council. “There were over 117,000 “RESTRICTED” documents produced or handled by the Council since 2001 but only 13,184 are listed in its public register of documents,” according to […]
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14 March 2014
FOI Notes: OGP, UK, Canada
Open Government Partnership: The OGP Independent Review Mechanism is looking for individuals to carry out research at the national level for 34 countries. The reviewers will assess government progress on implementation of OGP action plans. Please read more here or directly submit an English (preferred) or Spanish CV to the IRM at IRM@opengovpartnership.org. Use the […]
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10 March 2014
FOI Notes: India, US, Nepal, OGP, Research, UK, Fellowship
India: The Ministry of Personnel and Training has issued a Volume 1 of a “Compendium of Best Practices on RTI.” including The chapter titles are: SARATHI (System of Assisting Residents And Tourists through Helpline Information), RTI Library, Transparency Desk, RTI Online, Central Monitoring Mechanism, Pro-Active Disclosure, Jaankari, MCA21, Information Kiosks, Chakravyuh, Digitization and RTI Foundation […]
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4 March 2014
FOI Notes: Research, Oscars, OGP, Open Data, RTI Video
Research: The Governance Lab (The GovLab) at New York University announced the formation of the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Opening Governance, which will seek to develop blueprints for more effective and legitimate democratic institutions to help improve people’s lives. It is made possible by a three-year grant of $5 million from the John D. […]
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28 February 2014
FOI Notes: World Bank, Honesty Oscars, Contracting, Big Data
IFTI Watch: The Bank Information Center has updated its how-to guide called “Unlocking the World Bank’s Access to Information Policy.” The principal author of the “toolkit” is Veronique Danforth. Honesty Oscars: The Accountability Lab and ONE is conducting voting for the Honesty Oscars 2014 Feb. 24-28 “to honor groundbreaking people and creative that make our […]
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21 February 2014
FOI Notes: Research Papers, Open Data, OGP, Sunshine Week
Implementation Guidelines: The Centre for Law and Democracy and the Indonesian Center for Environmental Law have releasing two sets of guidelines “designed to assist Indonesian public bodies overcome the major challenges associated with implementing the right to information (RTI) legislation Indonesia adopted in 2008. One guideline provides an overall roadmap of what public bodies need […]
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17 February 2014
FOI Notes, Sierra Leone, US, India, EU, OGP
Sierra Leone: Sierra Leone’s new RTI law is tied as 5th strongest in the world, according to an analysis by the Centre for Law and Democracy. The law scored 124 out of a possible maximum of 150 points on the RTI Rating, an analytical tool developed by CLD and its partner organisation, Access Info India: […]
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14 February 2014
FOI Notes: Algorithms, Contracting, Open Data, Funder Transparency, OGP
Algorithmic Transparency: Nick Diakopoulos, of the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University Journalism School, has written a report in which he says, “Algorithms, driven by vast troves of data, are the new power brokers in society.” In his conclusion, he advises: Next time you hear about software or an algorithm being used to […]