Over the past year, a new survey by the Transparency International found that American adults believe corruption has increased in the United States, with the White House being the most corrupt government institution. The results are bad news, with one exception: the vast majority of the public still believes that they can make a difference on corruption, a viewpoint that we at Sunlight also share. Here are six ways to make progress.
Continue readingState watchdogs face challenges monitoring threats to open records laws
State and local government watchdogs around the United States face major challenges keeping up proposed changes to public records laws in state legislatures.
Continue readingD.C. bill threatens local government accountability
Washington D.C. boasts a unique system of neighborhood governance, but a proposed bill would eliminate the rights of District residents to hold their most local officials accountable.
Continue readingToday in OpenGov: Vote.gov, HomeStat and Panama Leaks fallout in the UK
President Obama urged viewers of American Idol to vote during the series finale of American Idol last night, suggesting that... View Article
Continue readingCredit card abuse, open records and the U.S. Virgin Islands “black hole” government
The Virgin Islands Daily News recently requested information on how government-issued credit cards were used. The results were not ideal for the governor — or the taxpayers of the Virgin Islands.
Continue readingWhy the OGP needs to get serious about freedom of information laws
The Open Government Partnership and the next Argentine government need to take freedom of information laws much more seriously.
Continue reading21st century democracies without a Freedom of Information law: Argentina
Freedom of information (FOI) is increasingly treated as a fundamental human right all over the globe, but not in Argentina, a G20 country and the third largest economy in Latin America that does not yet regulate access to information.
Continue readingFreedom of information tools, it’s time for an open data inspired upgrade
Not only can open data and FOI disclosure efforts work symbiotically, they can also learn from each others’ shortcomings, and in many instances meet each other in the middle to create more robust disclosure.
Continue readingWhen open data isn’t enough
If we want governments to be truly transparent, we need both reactive information disclosure and proactive access to information.
Continue readingHow proactive release of public records could help lower costs
Can releasing information before people ask for it help lower the costs associated with public records? Initial estimates are starting to provide answers.
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