Posts Tagged ‘transparency research’
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4 January 2013
Gergana Jouleva Offers Perspective on the Global Index Concept
By Gergana Jouleva Jouleva is Executive Director of the Access to Information Programme in Bulgaria. This article was published Dec. 12 in the AIP Monthly FOI Newsletter. (And in Bulgarian) Sheila Coronel’s report “Measuring Openness: A survey of transparency ratings and the prospects for a global index” was recently released.[1] Freedom of Information Advocates were […]
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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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14 December 2012
Fewer Information Requests Made in China, Report Says
The number of citizen requests for information in China has dropped because of impediments facing requesters, according to a new Peking University report. The government is releasing more information, according to the report, but key information about the budget, spending and collection of administrative fees is still missing. The report is described in a Dec. […]
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30 November 2012
FOI Notes: Ibero-American Agreement, Call for Papers
Ibero-American Agreement for Transparency and ATI: Drafted recently in Cadiz, Spain, by representatives from 19 Latin America countries and three from Europe (Spain, Portugal and Andorra), this document contains many other agreements along with the Transparency and ATI. The statements on transparency and access are on page 80. (pdf in Spanish) Drafted under the auspices […]
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26 November 2012
FOI Notes: Requester Privacy, Aid Transparency, Open Data, Jobs, More
Privacy for Requesters?: “Protecting the Freedom of Information Act Requestor: Privacy for Information Seekers,” an article by Sarah Shik Lamdan in the Kansas Journal of Law & Pubic Policy, Vol. 21, p. 221, 2012. The abstract says: FOIA requests are one of the foremost tools of American democracy, a primary means for assuring government transparency. […]
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21 November 2012
FOI Notes: Latin America, Austerity and RTI, WikiLeaks
Research: A new study ranks the openness of Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru. To build the ranking 4 main factors were considered: 1) regulations (normatividad); 2) parliamentary labour (labor parlamentaria); 3) budget and administrative management (presupuesto y gestión administrativa) and 4) citizen participation and attention (participación y atención ciudadana). Factors have different weights (see […]
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19 November 2012
Global RTI Index: Study’s Goals Clarified
By Sheila Coronel Coronel is the Toni Stabile Professor of Professional Practice, and Director, Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism, Graduate School of Journalism, Columbia University Helen Darbishire and Toby Mendel make interesting points but seem to misunderstand the intent of my paper, “Measuring Openness: A Survey of Transparency Ratings and the Prospects for a Global Index.” […]
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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 […]
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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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24 October 2012
Level of FOI Requests Varies With Awareness of Laws
Variation in the per capita usage of freedom of information laws may depend on public awareness of the laws, according to two Swiss researchers. The research was done primarily on the situations in Switzerland and Germany, where usage is lower than in other countries. Or at least it was at the time of the study, […]
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19 October 2012
FOI Notes: Access for Foreigners, Bangladesh, Data
International FOI: “Rights of Foreigners in Access to Information Laws – a Comparative Picture” has been issued by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative. The detailed spread sheet (click “download” under graphic on right side) describes access rights in 56 countries. It was compiled by Venkatesh Nayak with input from members of FOIANet. Bangladesh: Research Initiatives, […]
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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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30 August 2012
FOI Notes: Middle East, EU, Mini-Grants, Contest
Middle East: The August issue of the ATI newsletter on the regional dialogue on access to information in MENA region contains a country-by-country update on recent regional developments by Toby Mendel of the Centre for Democracy and Law, a summary of a June regional workshop, an article on the media and ATI laws by Rosario […]
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10 August 2012
Report Details Access Scene in Four Middle East Nations
A new report provides extensive detail on the access to information situation in Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco and Tunisia, concluding that in all four “a culture of secrecy prevails over that of openness,” and advocating incremental reforms. The report, “Access to Information in the Middle East and North African Region: An overview of recent development in […]
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6 August 2012
U.S. State Access Laws Evaluated in New Study
Connecticut is ranked first and South Carolina last in a new evaluation of state access laws in the United States. The survey of the laws and their effectiveness was done by local reporters using an evaluation scheme prepared by State Integrity, a nongovernmental organization. “In state after state, the laws are riddled with exemptions and […]
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30 July 2012
FOI Notes: Research, Aid Transparency, a Tweet
Research: “Modeling the Informational Relationships Between Government and Society” is a new paper prepared for an upcoming workshop by The Research Foundation of State University, New York. The papers describes “the value of an information polity perspective as an approach to broadening and sharpening understanding of the nature of open government initiatives in a holistic […]
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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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15 June 2012
FOI Notes: Personnel Moves, Research
Moves: Daniel Kaufmann, “a renowned expert on governance and anti-corruption issues worldwide,” will become president of the Revenue Watch Institute in September 2012, Revenue Watch announced June 14. Kaufmann is currently a Senior Fellow in the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution and a former director at the World Bank. He will […]
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11 June 2012
50 Papers on Transparency Given at Utrecht Conference
More than 50 academic papers were presented June 7-9 at the Transatlantic Conference on Transparency Research, held at Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands. The presentations addressed access to information and other transaprency-related topics from many angles and covering many countries. Many papers focus on theory, such as: “Bentham Revisited: Transparency as a `Magic’ Concept, Its Justifications […]