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Transparency: A list of useful documents

Topic headings

Aid organisations and transparency

Budgets and transparency

Technology and transparency

Elections and transparency

Governance and transparency

Organisations focusing on transparency

Aid organisations and transparency

• ActionAid’s Open Information Policy: “Our Open Information Policy describes exactly how and what minimum information ActionAid International will share proactively with the general public, and informs exactly what information you can demand AAI make public.” ” ActionAid International believes that timely, free-flowing information in accessible language, form and format is essential for ensuring accountability to our stakeholders, learning, trust and good performance. To this end we have decided to publicly publish a number of internal strategies, plans, reports and staff information, among others. Our decision to do this is guided by our commitment to transparency, and to sharing information with poor and marginalised people and their organisations. We are also directly accountable to our staff, partners, donors and host governments.” (Posted 23/03/07)
• UK Charity Commission on Transparency and Accountability The Charity Commission interprets transparency and accountability as providing relevant and reliable information to stakeholders in a way that is free from bias, comparable, understandable and focused on stakeholders’ legitimate needs. This report looks at what people think is important in this area and examines the level of transparency and accountability a charity demonstrates in its reporting. We consider compliance with the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) to be the minimum standard of accountability, particularly for the largest charities…This report presents the findings of an analysis of the information provided in the Annual Report and Accounts and the Annual Review of a sample of 200 of the largest charities. The analysis was not designed to assess of the extent of SORP compliance in the sector. Instead it assessed the extent to which the charities in the sample had gone beyond minimum requirements to provide information that accounted fully and transparently for their performance during the year. (19/03/06)
• The International Development (Reporting and Transparency) Bill was tabled by the Rt Hon Tom Clarke MP, shadow secretary of state for international development from 1994-1995. It aims to increase transparency in international development reporting so that the level, poverty-focus, and coherence of the Government’s international development policy and expenditure – and their contribution towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals - may be readily tracked. If the Bill becomes law it will require the Secretary of State to prepare an annual report to parliament using information that is comparable over time, including between Government administrations. It will also place on the statute books for the first time a specific reference to the UN target (signed up to in 1970) for expenditure on official development assistance (ODA) to constitute 0.7% of gross national income (GNI). It will also, for the first time, prescribe in law how DFID should report on its development policies and use of resources. Although few Private Member’s Bills make it to the Statute Book, this one enjoys Government support, and passed its crucial Second Reading in the House of Commons unopposed. The Bill also has strong civil society backing, as demonstrated by the external link open letter to MPs published in The Guardian on 19 January. (2006)
• AidTransparency (AT) “is a regional non-governmental organization based in Dakar, Senegal. It is created in response to the overwhelming need for improved governance and development delivery services as well as innovative ways for tackling development issues, strategies and operations in Africa”
• The 2006 Global Accountability Report measures and compares the accountability of transnational organisations in the intergovernmental (IGOs), non-governmental (INGOs) and corporate sectors (TNCs) on the basis of four dimensions of accountability: transparency, participation, evaluation, and complaint and response. (posted 10/01/07)

Budgets and transparency

• [From ELDIS] NINE AFRICAN BUDGET TRANSPARENCY AND PARTICIPATION CASE STUDIES Author(s): IDASA; African Budget Project Produced by: Institute for Democracy in South Africa (IDASA) (2005) The findings from this study explore budget transparency from the ordinary citizen’s perspective. It sheds some light on information required to engage meaningfully with budgetary and other decisions involving public resources from the ordinary citizen’s perspective. In this regard, the study evaluates mechanisms promoting good governance accross nine African countries (Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia) and identifies the main weaknesses of the budget process. As such, the key elements covered by this study are: * legal frameworks for transparency * clarity of roles and responsibilities * public availability of information * capacity and systems in the budget process * management of extra-budgetary activities * participation in the budget process * the role of donor funding. (Posted 22/07/05)
• Budget transparency: A Kenyan Perspective. A Mwenda and N M Gachocho (2003) 94 pages (825KB) If fiscal policy is to be effective, national budgets, and the processes by which they are developed and implemented, must be transparent and participatory. This report from Kenya’s Institute of Economic Affairs shows how a lack of openness and accountability in that country’s budget process has led to poor utilisation and management of public finances. Goals such as poverty reduction can only be achieved by improving budget transparency. (Posted 26/01/05)
• (from GSDRC website) Guide on Resource Revenue Transparency Author: International Monetary Fund (2005) Size: 77 pages (31 KB) Countries deriving a significant share of revenues from natural resources face a unique set of problems. The IMF’s Guide to Resource Revenue Transparency applies the principles of the Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency (the code), with a greater level of relevant detail than that provided by the Manual on Fiscal Transparency (the manual). The guide gives a framework covering the resource-specific issues to be considered in a fiscal transparency assessment, and a summary overview of good or best practices for transparency in resource-revenue management.
• (from GSDRC website) Manual on Fiscal Transparency Author: International Monetary Fund (2001) Size: 100 pages Fiscal transparency is a key aspect of good governance, which is essential for the achievement of high-quality growth and macroeconomic stability. This manual, published by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), identifies the general principles and best practices of fiscal transparency. Fiscal transparency should make the process of designing and implementing fiscal policies more accountable. Stronger and more credible fiscal policies should attract the support of a well-informed public and lead to more favourable access to domestic and international capital markets.
  
  

Technology and transparency

• eGovernment for Development Using ICTs for Government Transparency Part of the eGovernment for Development Home Page. Topic headings: Topic Overview 1a. What is this page all about? Answer 1b. Where can I find a quick summary of this topic? Answer 1c. What are transparency, e-transparency, and accountability? Answer 1d. How can I add my resources and ideas to this topic? Answer Why eTransparency? 2a. Why proceed with my e-transparency project: what are the potential benefits and costs? Answer 2b. Why use ICTs in my transparency project? Answer 2c. What/who really drives my e-transparency project forward? Answer Understanding eTransparency Projects 3a. What type of e-transparency project am I dealing with? Answer 3b. What causes success and failure of e-transparency projects in developing/transitional economies? Factor Answer or Design-Reality Gap Answer 3c. Where can I find some case examples of e-transparency projects in developing/transitional economies? Answer Practical Techniques for Successful eTransparency 4a. Who is involved in my e-transparency project (stakeholder mapping)? Answer 4b. How can I predict and/or identify and/or understand e-transparency project failure? Answer 4c. How can I make my e-transparency project more likely to succeed/less likely to fail? Factor Answer or Design-Reality Gap Answer 4d. In my e-transparency project, what factors should I bear in mind for poor communities? Answer Other Materials 5. Where can I find other online materials about this topic? Answer Training Guide 6. I want to run a training session on e-transparency. Training Guide (Posted 16/06/2005)

Elections and transparency

• (from GSDRC website) Money in Politics Handbook: A Guide to Increasing Transparency in Emerging Democracies Author: United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2003) Size: 91 pages (287 KB) How does money impact on politics? How can transparency in emerging democracies be extended? This handbook is the first publication by United States Agency for International Development on the topic of political finance in emerging democracies. It’s purpose is to increase understanding of this obscure and sensitive topic. It aims to create awareness of the issues and benefits of open finances and suggests practical technical options that encourage disclosure as a methodology for strengthening democratic political processes.
• Secrecy and Transparency in Lesotho’s General Elections. The twin concepts of transparency and secrecy are central to any discourse on the freeness and fairness of elections. How and why do these concepts have an alienating effect in practice? How can elections in Lesotho be better managed to serve the interests of voters? This paper from the Institute for Security Studies highlights the dangers of depoliticising elections and relegating them to the legal sphere.(Posted 26/01/05)

Governance and transparency

• (from GSDRC website) Tools to Support Transparency in Local Governance Author: United Nations Human Settlement Programme (UN-HABITAT) (2004) Size: 201 pages (1.68 MB) Increasing transparency at the local level has come to be recognised as an important element in tackling some of the challenges to sustainable development. Transparency improves governance because it enhances citizen participation, fosters greater accountability and helps combat corruption. How can transparency be put into practice? This second publication in the Urban Governance Toolkit Series produced by UN-HABITAT and Transparency International outlines a set of tools for building transparency into local governance.
• Public Sector Transparency: What Works? “The lack of transparency in official governmental transactions is one of the biggest barriers to development today. Shining a publicly scrutinizing light on otherwise veiled economic, political and social goals of nations is the core goal of transparency, lessening the possibility of corruption and advancing democratic practices. Increasingly, the argument for transparency also now extends to its role in global poverty reduction and economic growth. This Special Report on Public Sector Transparency illustrates current international trends in advancing transparency through civil society, government and the media. Through extensive interviews with leaders across a range of sectors as well as survey feedback from Development Gateway users, this Report explores the practical issues of ensuring openness in governments around the world.” (posted 28/12/06)
• The Center for Public Integrity produces the Global Integrity Report An investigative report tracking corruption, openness and accountability in 25 country studies. The Public Integrity Index is the centerpiece of that report, providing a quantitative scorecard of governance practices in each country. The Index assesses the institutions and practices that citizens can use to hold their governments accountable to the public interest. Thus, a government with weak institutions and practices may not necessarily be corrupt—but it is far more difficult and rare to maintain a clean government than if such mechanisms are strong. The Public Integrity Index does not measure corruption itself, but rather the opposite of corruption: the extent of citizens’ ability to ensure their government is open and accountable. Essentially, the Public Integrity Index measures three things: 1. The existence of mechanisms, including laws and institutions, that promote public accountability and limit corruption 2. The effectiveness of these mechanisms 3. The access that citizens have to public information to hold their government accountable. The Index scoring is based on the national governance framework. In many cases, particularly in federal states, the experience at the local level diverges from national experiences, and these local situations are not reflected in the Public Integrity Index.” (31/01/05)

Organisations focusing on transparency

• The Open Society Institute (OSI), a private operating and grantmaking foundation, aims to shape public policy to promote democratic governance, human rights, and economic, legal, and social reform. On a local level, OSI implements a range of initiatives to support the rule of law, education, public health, and independent media. At the same time, OSI works to build alliances across borders and continents on issues such as combating corruption and rights abuses…”. Here is a listing of pages returned when “transparency” was entred in to the search field (posted 19/07/06)
• Transparency International: “Transparency International is the leading global non-governmental organisation devoted to combating corruption. Its mission is to create change towards a world free of corruption. ” (Posted 26/01/05)

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