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FREEDOM OF INFORMATION FRAMEWORKS:USING ACTIONABLE INDICATORS TO EVALUATE DESIGN AND PERFORMANCE

Presentation at the First Global Conference on Transparency Research, Rutgers University, Newark, NJ

By Stephanie E. TrapnellMay 19, 2011

THE WORLD BANK

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Outline

Actionable Governance Indicators (AGI)

Freedom of Information Legal framework indicators Draft implementation indicators

Annex: Public Accountability Mechanisms (PAM)

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Measurement and Actionability

Actionable Governance Indicators

Data: for whom?4

Policymakers

Agency

Citizens

Oversight Committees

Managers and examiners need productivity data to improve performance

Policymakers need data on design features and capacities to make strategic decisions

Citizens and “Info”mediaries (NGOs, Media) want to know the impact of the FOI system on the behavior of officials.

Oversight committees often require data on productivity, impact, and citizen engagement.

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What makes an AGI?

Specific object of measurement: moving from governance concepts (transparency) to governance systems (access to information).

Governance concepts

Governance systems

Corruption

Rule of Law

Social accountability

VoiceAccess to Information

Public financial management

Oversight institutions

Efficiency of courts

Budgeting

Financial disclosure

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Actionability, i.e., establish link between actions and indicator values

• Integrate FOI-related objectives into agency’s overall strategic planning

Did the agency's strategic planning

process incorporate FOI-specific goals, objectives,

and outcomes?

• Select methods for dissemination based on current or future resources

How does the agency proactively disclose

information? (agency website, media, printed

materials, other)

• Identify bottleneck areas and find ways to improve efficiency

What was the average turnaround time for

providing information when requested?

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What do AGIs measure?

Institutional

Arrangements

Organizational

Capacities

Governance system performa

nce

Design (or rules of the game) provides the parameters and guidelines for implementation

Resources that underpin the performance of tasks and functions

Capability of system to perform required tasks within the existing institutional arrangements and using available capacities

Immediate

Impacts

Intermediate outcomes

Changes in the behavior of citizens, public officials, or governments that can be traced back to the performance of governance systems.

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Utilizing Actionability

Determinants of performance: design + capacities

Quality and productivity of performance

  Behavioral changes reflected in

immediate impacts:

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Freedom of InformationPublic Accountability Mechanisms, 2010https://www.agidata.org/pam

Legal Framework indicators

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Freedom of Information AGIs

Legal framework Categories1. Legal framework2. Coverage of information3. Procedures for accessing information4. Exemptions to disclosure requirements5. Enforcement mechanism6. Deadlines for release of information7. Sanctions for non-compliance8. Proactive disclosure (2012 only)

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● Countries in the PAM dataset● PAM countries with right to information● PAM countries with specific ATI/RTI law

Access to Information Laws in PAM Data Set

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Draft as of May 19, 2011

Implementation Indicators

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Timing of Data Collection

Institutional Arrangements

Organizational Capacities

Governance

system performance

Baseline assessment every 2-3 years

Annual stocktakingPeriodic evaluation (annually, quarterly, etc)

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Measurement of FOI Systems

Section 1. Management and Accountability

1.1 Facilities

1.2 Records management

1.3 Human resources

1.4 Financial management

1.5 Policy management

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Measurement of FOI Systems

Section 2. Implementation

2.1 Public awareness

2.2 Responsiveness

2.3 Appeals

2.4 Proactive disclosure

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Responsiveness indicators

Institutional Arrangements

Is there a policy requiring timely responses to information requests?

Is there a policy requiring explanation of refusal to provide information?

Capacities

Are RTI personnel aware of procedures for responding to requests?

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Performance

What was the nature of information requested in the last fiscal year? Please provide a breakdown of types that constituted 15% or more of requests

What was the percentage of requests responded to?

What was the average turnaround time for providing information when requested?

What was the percentage of requests refused with no reason provided?

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Formulating goals, considering impacts

For any given freedom of information system, any or all of the following goals are possible:

improve efficiency of the public sector enhance credibility of government regularly and reliably provide government documents to

public educate public on significance of transparent government facilitate appropriate/relevant use of information in the

lives of individuals

In specific contexts, these goals may be refined or expanded as necessary.

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Considering immediate impacts

D.1 Public engagement

  What is the level of knowledge exhibited by the public? [Accessible through public surveys]

  What is the perception of the transparency of government? [Accessible through public surveys]

  What is number of information requests received by all covered entities?

  What is the number of information requests received per specific entities? (e.g., Ministry of Health, Ministry of Education, Treasury, etc.)

  What is the percentage of requests for each category of requester background? (e.g., age, sex, ethnicity, organization, domicile, etc?)

  What is the percentage of requests for each category of information requested? (financial disclosure, agency statistics, policy actions, etc)

  What is the number of appeals filed?

  What is the number of hits on agency website that hosts RTI policies, procedures, or proactively disclosed information?

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D.2 Government commitment

 

What is the percentage of agencies penalized for disregarding FOI requirements?

 

What is the percentage of agencies that were forced to disclose information (whether by judiciary or information commissioner)?

 

Was there a national campaign to foster public awareness about RTI laws and policies?

How many FOI laws did the government overturn or nullify?

Immediate impacts continued

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Next steps

Pilot FOI implementation indicators in 5-10 countries in spring 2011 (looking for volunteers!)

Roll out FOI implementation indicators/data in summer 2011

Update FOI legal framework indicators in 2012

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For more information please contact:Stephanie E. Trapnell, strapnell@worldbank.orgFrancesca Recanatini, frecanatini@worldbank.org

Thank you!

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The PAM Initiative brings forward detailed and regularly updated data on efforts to enhance the transparency and accountability systems in a sample of 88 countries worldwide.

https://www.agidata.org/pam

Public Accountability Mechanisms

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5 areas of inquiry/ 2 stages

Income and asset

disclosure

Freedom of information

Conflict of interest

Immunity protections

Ethics training

Legal framework

(in law)

Implementation(in

practice)

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PAM Dataset regional coverage

Sout

h As

ia

Euro

pe &

Cen

tral A

sia

Middle

East &

Nor

th A

frica

East A

sia &

Pac

ific

Latin

Am

erica

& Car

ibbe

an

Sub-

Saha

ran

Afric

a0%

10%20%30%40%50%60%70%

63%

35%

10%

44%

16%

58%

Public Accountability Mechanism Sample,

as % of Region in world

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Low Income (N=27)

Lower Middle Income (N=25)

Upper Middle Income (N=20)

High Income (N=16)

0%

5%

10%

15%

20%

25%

30%

35%

31%28%

23%

18%

Income Level by groups (WB Classifi-cation),

as % of Region in PAM sample

PAM Dataset income classifications

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Library of laws

Contributors List

Country profiles & links

Descriptive

statistics

AGI data

Methodology

paper and

sources

Products available on PAM website

https://www.agidata.org/pam

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Website features: Country Profiles

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Website features: Descriptive Statistics