Public Access to Information for Development: A Guide to the Effective Implementation of Right to Information Laws by Victoria L. Lemieux; Stephanie E. Trapn

Author:Victoria L. Lemieux; Stephanie E. Trapn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: The World Bank

Technology

Technology is a tool that augments success, but it does not solve problems automatically. It is often touted as a solution to issues of efficiency and easy access to services. In terms of transparency, for example, online submission of requests allows government to track the status of RTI requests and collect data automatically, obviating the need for public officials to log requests. Such systems also make it vastly easier for at least citizens with online access to make requests. Web portals are the main mechanism for dissemination of proactively disclosed information, providing access to documents to a wide audience. Technology-enabled forms of recorded communication, such as e-mail and text, can increase the efficient flow of information throughout government. But the success of technology is based on a clear understanding of the needs and interests of users, both internal and external to government, the capacity of those users to employ technology effectively and sustainably, the provision of human and material resources to support the introduction and maintenance of technology solutions, and the way that technology is used to create and maintain recorded communications.

Although it is true that technological approaches to transparency can quickly facilitate access and openness, significant human and technical capital is the bedrock upon which technology rests. With few exceptions, technology for transparency and accountability purposes is rarely adopted across-the-board to universal acclaim. For instance, in terms of the claim that technology facilitates easier access to information, it is more likely that successful technological approaches are tailored to the needs of various user communities (Fung, Gilman, and Shkabatur 2010). Parents of school-age children, for example, may be very interested in online information about school fees, curricula, and teaching quality. Online information on medical treatments and hospital quality may be valuable to patients, doctors, and otherwise healthy individuals. Interventions that are successful on this kind of large scale tend to organize and display information that is immediately relevant to users’ lives and provide access to information in easily accessible formats. Other technological interventions may complement mainstream efforts at transparency by releasing specialized information that is relevant for intermediaries, such as journalists or political campaigners, who then make the information accessible to a wider audience. Ultimately the most successful use of technology for transparency purposes may lie with interventions that are dedicated to advancing the agendas of CSOs (Fung, Gilman, and Shkabatur 2010). Examples of this type include budget tracking tools, crowdsourcing of information via mobile phones, and online platforms for submission of complaints and requests. In addition, as noted previously in the discussion on records management, far from improving access and openness, in some cases, increased reliance on ICTs within the public sector has decreased the quality of information disclosed. Thus, technology, though a transformative factor, may not necessarily transform situations for the better without sufficient capacity, resources, planning and attention to the issues mentioned above (Lemieux 2016; World Bank 2016).

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