Posts Tagged ‘measurements’
-
21 February 2015
OGP CSO Leaders Criticize Mexico Over FOI Legislation
In a highly unusual move, the civil society co-chairs on the Open Government Partnership Steering Committee have criticized the Mexican government, the overall OGP lead chairman, for proposing to undercut the Mexican freedom of information law. The Feb. 21 statement came after Mexican civil society groups blasted the Mexican government, but was a rare public […]
-
14 August 2014
Scottish Commissioner Draws Attention to Tardy Responses
Almost a quarter of all the valid appeals sent to the Scottish Information Commissioner concern untimely responses. Rosemary Agnew, Scottish Information Commissioner, included this information in an Aug. 7 report to the Scottish Parliament. “When authorities don’t respond to requests they are effectively denying an individual’s rights, she said. “This is not only stressful and […]
-
16 May 2014
OGP Steering Committee OKs Civic Space Plan “in Principle”
The Open Government Partnership Steering Committee May 5 agreed “in principle” to procedures that could lead to the expulsion of member governments whose actions undermine the values and principles of OGP. The OGP leaders deferred adoption, however, pending refinement of the language, according to persons who attended the meeting and spoke not for attribution with […]
-
24 April 2014
Carter Center Issues Tool to Assess FOI Implementation
The Carter Center April 23 unveiled a tool for assessing the implementation of access to information laws. The goal is to evaluate the “plumbing” that makes access laws work. The assessment tool uses 65 questions and the results are displayed with red, yellow and green ovals. The tool is not designed to rank countries or […]
-
25 January 2013
FOI Notes: Studies, Ratings, Mentorship, Open Data, Reports, Surveys, Video
Open Government Guide Revision: The Transparency & Accountability Initiative (T/AI) is updating the 2011 Opening Government Guide which has multiple chapters describing good practices in transparency, accountability and citizen participation across a wide range of open government areas. Feedback on the original guide is being sought via a very short survey here goo.gl/SxcAX . To give […]
-
10 January 2013
FOI Notes: Chile, Social Media, FOI Journalism, Open Data, Social Media, China, Aid Transparency
Chile: Chilean journalists think there´s more transparency in Chile now, but there still are institutions that are very slow to provide the answers. Almost 500 Chilean journalists participated in a survey (in Spanish) by the National Press Association (Asociación Nacional de la Prensa “ANP”) about the state of the access to public information, according to a […]
-
9 November 2012
Measuring Openness: Darbishire, Mendel Comment on Coronel Article
By Helen Darbishire and Toby Mendel Darbishire is Executive Director, Access Info Europe, and Mendel is Executive Director, Centre for Law and Democracy Sheila Coronel’s paper, Measuring Openness: A Survey of Transparency Ratings and the Prospects for a Global Index, is the first serious piece of research about the systems for assessing government openness which […]
-
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 […]
-
8 October 2012
Chinese Ministries More Transparent, Study Says
Chinese ministries are increasingly transparent, according to a new report by the Center for Public Participation Studies and Supports at Peking University. The 42 central government departments studied scored an average 60.4 points out of 100, up from 51.2 points in 2010 and 46.1 points in 2009. Only four departments saw their scores drop. “The […]
-
30 April 2012
Requests in Germany Doubled in 2011, Report Says
The German Federal Commissioner for Data Protection and Freedom of Information, Peter Schaar, April 24 issued an annual report showing that requests are rising. The third annual report on freedom of information for 2010 and 2011, indicates that in 2011, 3,280 applications were made, an increase of 110 percent compared with the 1,557 requests recorded […]
-
19 March 2012
Spending on Media Legal Environments Examined
Spending by four major U.S. funders to create a more enabling legal environment for the media worldwide is declining in proportion to overall spending on media training, according to a forthcoming report by the Center for International Media Assistance. The findings were previewed by CIMA’s Senior Director Marguerite Sullivan on March 16 at a National Freedom […]
-
19 March 2012
RTI Laws Rank Below Model Standards, Study Says
“Right to information laws in Africa and the Americas are falling below the standards set by regional human rights bodies, while in Europe the standards themselves are weaker than the better right to information laws, according to a new analysis by Access Info Europe (Spain) and the Centre for Law and Democracy (Canada). Using their […]
-
29 September 2011
Serbia Tops New FOI Ratings, Austria Ranks Lowest
A significant variation exists in the legal environment for right to information in 89 countries studied by Access Info Europe (Spain) and the Centre for Law and Democracy (Canada) that gives Serbia the highest rating. The RTI Rating is “based on 61 indicators drawn from a wide range of international standards on the right to information, feedback […]
-
29 August 2011
Statewatch Says EU Report Makes Pitiful Reading
The European Commission’s annual report on access to documents makes “very pitiful reading,” according to the public interest group Statewatch. The Report from the Commission on the application in 2010 of Regulation (EC) No 1049/2001 regarding public access to European Parliament, Council and Commission documents (pdf). The Commission’s annual report on public access to its […]
-
27 May 2011
Regional Russian Websites Found Lacking in IIFD Report
The Institute for Information Freedom Development has issued a report on the official websites of 83 executive government bodies of the Russian Federation. The monitoring results showed that Russian regional governments provided only 38% of the information on their activities that must be published according to the Russian FOI law, according to IIFD. “Therefore, the […]
-
2 May 2011
Philippines Journalism Center Sees Mixed Access Picture
There are a few signs of more transparency since President Benigno Aquino came to power nearly a year ago, but in most parts of the government “a predilection for opaqueness lingers and more barriers to access have been imposed,” according to a new report by the Philippines Center for Investigative Journalism. “Indeed, because Mr. Aquino’s […]
-
18 April 2011
Russian Compliance With Two New Laws Faulted
Russian agencies and courts are not abiding by two relatively recent transparency laws, according to a watchdog group’s annual report, which colorfully states, “One cannot stop a ripping rusty locomotive with a mere gesture.” Summarizing the situation, Institute for Information Freedom Development Board Chairman Ivan Pavlov, wrote: Unfortunately, as it is often the case in our country, […]
-
6 April 2011
World Bank Publishes Major Database on FOI Laws
The World Bank April 4 posted a detailed database on freedom of information laws in 88 countries. The Bank does not rate or rank the countries, but the database is expected to be a trove of information for comparative research. The Bank now is moving into research on FOI implementation issues. The database collects information […]
-
11 March 2011
Canadian Info Commissioner Issues Report Card
There were “limited gains” in the transparency of Canada’s federal institutions, according to a “report card” issued March 10 by the Information Commissioner of Canada, Suzanne Legault. The headlines about the report emphasized the poor ratings given the Canada Post Corporation and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation “for dragging their feet on answering information requests from […]
-
4 March 2011
Reports Faults Georgia on FOI Responses, Websites
The Georgian freedom of information law needs reform to prevent public officials from hiding information, according to one of two new reports by the Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI). In another report, the institute strongly criticizes the websites of public institutions. The conclusions in Electronic Transparency in Georgia were based on audits […]