What citizens want to know about their government's finances: Closing the information gap (original) (raw)
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Government Information Quarterly, 2005
In recent years we are witnessing simultaneously the need for public sector entities to be more transparent in the information they publish and a series of technological advances that are changing the way these entities relate to citizens. This latter fact could support the former; that is, the information and communication technologies -particularly the Web -could be put to use by governments and become the instrument through which to provide the citizens with regular accurate information on the public finances. In this context, this article (1) explores whether public sector entities (more specifically, the central public administrations of the EU countries) are becoming aware of the importance of including financial information on their Web sites that citizens can use in their decision making, and (2) proposes a model that will facilitate citizen access to financial information. D
Public information strategies: Making government information available to citizens
2009
New technological opportunities and increasing demands make it imperative for government agencies to make the information they gather available to citizens. How should they go about this? This paper presents a conceptual framework for analyzing the strategic options open to agencies which have information that could be relevant to citizens. The conceptual framework is constructed on the basis of the literature and tested in a case study.
For the People: Popular Financial Reporting Practices of Local Governments
Popular financial reports are reports distributed to citizens and other interested parties who lack a background in formal government financial reporting but who desire an overview of the government’s financial status and activities. This paper examines the current state of local government popular financial reporting in the U.S. The results of a survey of large cities and counties indicate that 75 percent of these local governments have issued popular financial reports and that the types of reports and methods of distribution vary. Many of the reasons for providing popular reports relate to providing information and improving transparency and accountability by providing more user friendly financial reports. This paper concludes with a discussion on popular financial reporting in the context of government transparency and accountability, and offers a research agenda for continued study of the topic.
Citizen attitudes toward transparency in local government
The American Review of Public …, 2007
The proper balance between governmental secrecy and open government is at the forefront of contemporary public debate. Citizens have different degrees of interest in and demand for governmental transparency. Using data from a national online survey of more than 1,800 respondents, we develop several indices to measure citizens' demand for transparency at the local level and explore its correlates. We also examine the correlates of citizens' reported requests for information from local government. The data and analysis suggest that there are several dimensions to the public's demand for transparency, including fiscal, safety, and government concerns, and principled openness. Age, political ideology, confidence in government leaders, frequency of contacting government, and especially the perception that there is currently not enough access to government appear to drive the public's demand for transparency, although determinants differ for each dimension. Some, although not all, of these factors also predict citizens' actual requests for government information.
2017
This 'Outstanding Paper Award' winning research focuses an optimal arrangement of open spending as added instrumental value to the accountability in communicating financial information towards citizens within The Netherlands. Open Spending is more and more of relevance in the Netherlands and is addressed as one of the key action points in the Open Government Partnership Action plan of The Netherlands. In order to adequately communicate financial information towards citizens, 5 arrangement variables of accountability (transparency, liability, verifiability, responsibility and responsiveness) as defined by Jonathan Koppell where explored and extended with the notion of social accountability. As social accountability mechanisms are geared towards public expenditure management processes-mechanisms that seek to directly involve ordinary citizens in processes of allocating, disbursing, monitoring and evaluating the use of public resources-have proved very effective since it is this resource flow that puts policy into action. From a viewpoint of the 'Civic Engagement Model' created by The World Bank, we reflected on the current formats of accountability in a focus group with six key actors from amongst others Dutch Ministries, Open State Foundation, Provinces and Municipalities and verified afterwards with delegates of the Open Knowledge Foundation. After empirical analyses current initiatives surrounding open spending within The Netherlands are lacking a clear goal, content and format and an adequate completion on a National level. This research also showed a twofold goal for further open spending developments, on one hand generating social accountability, civic engagement and clarifying financial Open Government Data by providing contextualised information.
Regular public input into a city's budget is frequently associated with municipal budgeting in Brazilian cities, successes in public engagement that have been emulated around the world. American communities are adopting the practice to varying degrees. This paper will report on a fiveyear old public input program that is taking place in Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital city of a politically conservative state in the U.S. We discuss the processes we use to engage the public about the City's budget. The process includes regular online input as well as face-to-face, deliberative discussions. On occasions, random sample surveys also have been used. The public's input has been helpful to City Hall in budget prioritization, and has even resulted, pursuant to residents' recommendations, in raising taxes to preserve programs rather than eliminating them to balance the City's budget. In an era of concern that the American public will not endorse tax increases, the recommendation was surprising. Our work to date indicates the public welcomes the invitation to participate in governance and responds positively to the opportunity to provide input and is willing to endorse policy options that have been thought to be unpopular by a majority of Americans.
Citizen Participation in Budgeting Theory
Public Administration Review, 2006
Citizen participation in government budgeting processes is a topic that has received attention for many decades. Despite prescriptive exhortations to cities, research in this area has significant limitations. We identify four elements that are believed to influence the participation process. The variables within each element have received attention in the empirical literature, but no systematic effort has been made to uncover interaction effects and extend theory to make it more robust. We consider the weaknesses of our knowledge, suggest an impact model of citizen participation in budgeting, and identify hypotheses that may be tested in future research.
The Role of Participation, Disclosure, and Transparency in the Government Budget
Humanities & Social Sciences Reviews, 2020
Purpose: This study aims to highlight the concept of public budget to become acquainted with the notion of participation. We also try to clarify the role of social organizations in the general budget and Shed light on the role of the State in the disclosure and transparency of public funds. Methodology: Practically, the study depends on a questionnaire prepared statistically to analyze Financial Statements of the General Budget for three frequent years (2015, 2016, and 2017). Main Findings: The aftereffects of the monetary and measurable examination show that there is no straightforwardness and exposure by the legislature during its distribution of the general financial plan of the last and last records. In addition, incomprehensiveness of the financial plan by a proper measure of straightforwardness and divulgence, the Ministry of Finance reports incorporate information and disaggregated information on government consumption, open obligation, and how to cover inability. Application...