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Closing the gaps in freedom of information legislation

The Carter Center

Project theme Hard-to-reach citizens  Inclusive governance  Open and responsive government  Open data 



Project type Scaling 



Country Indonesia  Nigeria  Uganda 



Support £39,891



“Access to information is a powerful tool in achieving good governance and development ideals.” — Carter Center

65

indicators are being used to measure public access to information

3

countries piloting the tool: Indonesia, Uganda and Nigeria

Start date
July 2014 End date
April 2016
Period: 22 months

Issue

Information on government spending and delivery of services helps improve citizen’s confidence and also helps people understand how government is, or sometimes is not, working.

As of 2015, more than a hundred countries have passed Freedom of Information laws but, despite significant progress legislation, there is often a significant gap between the law and practice.

Project

This project supports the implementation of Freedom of Information laws in Indonesia, Uganda and Nigeria by applying The Carter Centre’s Access to Information Implementation Assessment tool.

The tool identifies gaps where Freedom of Information legislation has not been implemented and provides verifiable benchmarks for citizens to call for change.

Targeting public service ministries such as healthcare, education and infrastructure, the tool uses public perception ratings to score how well these ministries are complying with Freedom of Information legislation. The findings of this assessment are then discussed with stakeholders, and are used to map key challenges to freedom of information.

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The Carter Center is a nongovernmental organisation that has helped to improve the lives of people in more than 80 countries by resolving conflicts, advancing democracy and human rights, preventing diseases, and improving mental health care.

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