Posts Tagged ‘FOI Notes’
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6 February 2014
FOI Notes: Grants, US Advisory Panel, Local Open Data Census, Delaware
Grants: Open Society Initiative for West Africa is seeking proposals to “promote access to Information and Media Freedom” in Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone. The announcement also includes a variety of other topics. Proposals should be sent directly to: proposals@osiwa.org and will be accepted until May 30, 2014. United States: The […]
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27 January 2014
FOI Notes: AfDB, EU, UK, Kurdistan, Commentary
African Development Bank: The African Development Bank has called for nominations of suitably qualified individuals to serve on the Appeals Panel created by its disclosure policy. The call has been extended until Jan. 31. “The candidates should have extensive experience dealing with issues of governance, transparency, access to information and related-matters. They should have a […]
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22 January 2014
FOI Notes: Research, India, Environment, UK, Employment, Commentary
Research: “When Does Transparency Generate Legitimacy? Experimenting on a Context-Bound Relationship,” by Jenny De Fine Licht, Daniel Naurin, Peter Esaiasson, Mikael Gilljam. A summary of the article: We analyze the main rationale for public administrations and political institutions for supplying transparency, namely, that it generates legitimacy for these institutions. First, we discuss different theories of decision making […]
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17 January 2014
Australia, India, Open Government, Commentary
Australia: The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner has translated some OAIC resources into languages other than English: Arabic, Chinese, Greek, Italian, Korean, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Turkish and Vietnamese. India: A report in the Times of India says “government agencies have put vast amount of personal information online, often with little barrier to access and […]
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30 December 2013
FOI Notes: Russia, India, France, UK, EU, FOI Tips, Open Data, World Bank
Russia: The Freedom of Information Foundation reports on the monitoring of official websites in large municipalities makes proposals for improvements. Also, a nice review of transparency disappointments in Russia in 2013 by (in Russian) by Asya Suvorova. India: Maharashtra will soon become the first state to allow online RTI requests, according to an article in […]
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20 December 2013
FOI Notes: Development, Surveillance, EU, China, Awards
Development: The International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA), Development Initiatives, CIVICUS and Beyond Access, IFEX and Article 19 issue a statement on why access to information must be a central pillar in the future of development and outline possible metrics to measure progress (found here). Surveillance: Some 110 civil society organizations issue a […]
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13 December 2013
FOI Notes: EU, US, Development, Open Data, Media, Australia
European Union: The European Ombudsman rules that the European Medicines Agency was not justified in refusing access to Periodic Safety Update Reports at the time the requests for public access were made. “However, in light of the change in practice of the EMA in relation to granting access to PSURs, the Ombudsman finds that EMA […]
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9 December 2013
FOI Notes: Open2063 Initiative, Processing Information Report, Guatemala
Open2063: The Open Institute and Africa Freedom of Information Centre have announced the Open2063 initiative (www.open2063.org). The African Union is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and looking to define the future of the continent over the next 50 years, in an AU-driven initiative called Agenda2063. Open2063 is an initiative to build a network of […]
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2 December 2013
FOI Notes: FOI Research, US, EU, PuzzledbyPolicy
FOI and Youth: An Access Info report about limiting access to information to people over sixteen. (English) (Spanish) United States: New section on litigation in the Justice Department online FOIA guide. United States. Secrecy News reports that the Public Interest Declassification Board, which advises the president on classification and declassification policy, is proposing to recommend […]
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26 November 2013
FOI Notes: Media, Security, India, U.S., Research
Media: The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism has issued a volume analyzing the challenges and opportunities presented to journalists as they attempt to hold governments accountable in an era of professed transparency.” Security Sector: The Transparency and Accountability Initiative, the producers of the Open Government Guide have invited comments on a draft chapter […]
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21 November 2013
FOI Notes: Open Data and FOI, Serbia, OGP, U.S. Guide
Research: A special issue of the Journal of Community Informatics explores the promise and practice of Open Government Data (OGD), including an article by Tim G. Davies and Zainab Ashraf Bawa called “The Promises and Perils of Open Government Data (OGD).” Another article, by Katleen Janssen, is titled, Open Government Data and the Right to […]
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15 November 2013
FOI Notes: RTI OGP Goals, Research, Open Data, EU, Open Agriculture
Open Government Guide: The right to information chapter in the new Open Government Guide suggestions of RTI-related commitments that countries could make in the context of the Open Government Partnership. Examples and other resources are provided. The 19-chapter guide was prepared by the Transparency and Accountability Initiative. T/AI is a donor collaborative that includes the […]
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8 November 2013
FOI Notes: Funding, Open Data, More Open Data
Funding: Making All Voices Count: A Grand Challenge for Development announces its first ever Global Innovation Competition. At the event, the Making All Voices team emphasized that the competition is seeking new, original and innovative ideas from anywhere in the world, from companies, organisations, government agencies and individuals. The Competition opens on November 12, 2013 […]
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25 October 2013
FOI Notes: Aid Transparency, Open Data, United States
Aid Transparency: Information about aid spending is steadily becoming more available, but it also needs to become more useful, concludes a report released by Publish What You Fund. For the first time, a U.S. agency – the Millennium Challenge Corporation – ranks top, scoring 89%, more than double the average score. Global Transparency Week: See […]
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17 October 2013
FOI Notes: Transparency Research, Rio, Nigeria, Open Data
Transparency Research: The papers for the 3rd Annual Conference on Transparency Research, to be held in Paris Oct. 24-26 are now available. Hannes Meissner, ‘Functioning , Effects and Perspectives of Transparency Initiatives – The Example of Azerbaijan‘ Luis Emilio Cuenca Botey & Laure Célérier, ‘Participatory Budgeting: a Bourdieusian Interpretation‘ Tsvetelina Yordanova, ‘Transparency in Foreign Policy […]
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14 October 2013
FOI Notes: Records, India Data, Open Data
Record Management: The interplay of record management and freedom information is explored in a new book by Eduardo Bertoni and Natalia Torres of the Center for Studies on Freedom of Expression and Access to Information (Centro de Estudios en Libertad de Expresión y Acceso a la Información – CELE) in Argentina. “The main purpose of […]
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11 October 2013
FOI Notes: Latin America, Nigeria, Canada, India, U.S.
OGP: A study documents the experience of civil society in Latin American regarding the Open Government Partnership focuses on the c activities of two regional civil society networks – Transparency International and Alianza Regional por la Libre Expresión e Información (Regional Alianza for Freedom of Expression and Information). Nigeria: A civil society organization, Public and […]
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4 October 2013
FOI Notes: OGP, Open Data, Open Contracting, Funding, Reports, More
OGP: Overview of the civil society experience with the Open Government Partnership. The lead authored is by Dolar Vasani, who also examined the civil society experience with the OGP in 15 countries in a series of stories underwritten by the OGP civil society coordinator. The conclusion states: The OGP has, in many instances, facilitated the […]
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30 September 2013
FOI Notes: Reports, RTK Day Tweeting, Funding, Jobs, Articles
RTI Rating: Access Info Europe and the Centre for Law and Democracy issue a report on trends in their global RTI Rating, which assesses the legal framework for the right to information in every country in the world which has adopted an RTI law. “A major finding of the report is that as international standards […]
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16 September 2013
FOI Notes: Slovak Republic, United States, India, Budget Transparency
Slovak Republic: The U.S. Sunlight Foundation issues its first transparency case study on public procurement in the Slovak Republic. “Through our first case study, we’ve already found that online data publication can positively impact the growth of a region’s NGO community (which, in turn, can increase civil sector oversight), and we are excited about what […]