Accountability, open government and record keeping: time to think again?

Tough, Alistair

doi:10.1108/09565691111186894

Cited by 19 publications

(18 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…The Icelandic Government could set its course to carry out its obligation to publish information in conformity with the legislative environment which indicates what information should be published and when and where (Gunnlaugsdottir, 2011). Nevertheless, there is always the tendency not to document information (Shepherd et al, 2010;Tough, 2011) or to use circumvention methods such as private e-mails to attempt to avoid disclosure (Hasan, 2015). This is where the FOI Act helps in requests for information.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many doubts about the value of legislation on access to information and the provision of information to the public have arisen, and some feel that the passing of such legislation has instead led to an increased emphasis on secrecy and suppression of information (Worthy, 2010) when efforts have been made to avoid making a matter public by avoiding documentation altogether (Gunnlaugsdottir, 2011;Shepherd et al, 2010;Tough, 2011). Even the former Labour Cabinet Minister responsible for the FOI Act in the UK, Jack Straw, has called for the act to be rewritten claiming that:…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Reasons for the poor provision of information by the government: public opinion

Gunnlaugsdottir

2016

RMJ

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present, on the one hand, the findings of a survey conducted during 2012 in Iceland and, on the other hand, the results of interviews held in 2015 concerning why it was felt that the authorities withheld information either about subjects of general public interest or about public expenditures. Design/methodology/approach A survey questionnaire was sent in March 2012 to almost 2,000 Icelanders randomly selected from the National Registry. The response rate was almost 67 per cent. As to the interviews held in 2015, these were with individuals who were known to understand well the government’s actions, both as to provision of information to the public and the opposite, suppression of information. The interviewees were chosen purposively. The survey was modelled on other research and resources concerning open public information and other research that had examined trust towards public authorities and the influence of freedom of information acts on government information practices. Findings The research revealed that both participants in the questionnaire survey and the six interviewees in the later study felt that information was kept secret for a variety of reasons. Most felt that information was kept under wraps by the government, both about subjects of general public interest or about public expenditures, and that both transparency and traceability were less than sufficient in the public administration of Iceland. Practical implications The results could be of value to public authorities who want to improve the provision of information and practices according to the freedom of information act. They could also bring diverse and valuable opportunities to the profession of records managers as to documentation and registration, as well as others who practice information management. Originality/value The survey adds valuable information and fulfils a need for a better understanding of why public authorities suppress the provision of information in Iceland. Although the research cited was limited to Iceland, the findings may be of value also to public authorities and researchers in the Western World, Australia and New Zealand to give a few examples where the culture and the practice of government may not be that different, as well as in other countries. The two studies can, therefore, lay the foundation for further research into the field.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reasons for the poor provision of information by the government: public opinion

Gunnlaugsdottir

2016

RMJ

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“…In fact it is also argued that government secrecy can equally well increase with the advent of freedom of information laws (Worthy, 2010) and that it is possible to avoid publicizing matters by avoiding making them a matter of record. Tough (2011) argues that information leaks can lead to insufficient registration and that documents and records would not be created and captured. In the conclusions of the report of the Justice Committee of the House of Commons, it is mentioned that there is a risk that "policy discussions at the highest levels" may not be "properly recorded because of fear of early disclosure under the Act" (House of Commons, 2012, p. 89).…”

Section: Freedom Of Information Actsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Justice Committee of the House of Commons came to the same conclusion in 2012 (House of Commons, 2012). Opponents of the Freedom of Information Acts have expressed their opinion that passage of the law can also result in an increase in government secrecy and lead to outright neglect in documentation of information and records (Worthy, 2010;Tough, 2011). The Justice Committee of the House of Commons is afraid of this possible neglect as well (House of Commons, 2012).…”

Section: Rmj 252mentioning

confidence: 99%

Government secrecy: public attitudes toward information provided by the authorities

Gunnlaugsdottir

2015

Records Management Journal

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Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present findings of a survey conducted during 2012 in Iceland with the intent of examining public opinion on government provision of information, i.e. whether the public felt that the authorities withheld information, either about subjects of general public interest or about public expenditures, if the authorities felt there was a reason to do so. Design/methodology/approach – A survey questionnaire was sent in March 2012 to almost two thousand Icelanders. This was a random sample selected from the National Registry. The response rate was almost 67 per cent. The survey was modelled on other research and resources that had examined trust toward public authorities and the influence of Freedom of Information Acts on government information practices. Findings – The survey discovered that the greater part of the citizenry felt that the authorities did keep important information of general public interest secret often or sometimes. Only 2-3 per cent of them believed that this never happened. Most of those surveyed felt as well that important information about public expenditures was often or sometimes withheld. Only 3-5 per cent of the respondents were of the opinion that this never happened. Practical implications – The results could be of value to public authorities that want to improve the provision of information and practice according to freedom of information act. They could also bring varied and valuable opportunities to the profession of records managers as well as others who practice information management. Originality/value – The survey adds valuable information and fulfils a need for a better understanding of what the public believes regarding government provision of information in Iceland. Although the survey is limited to Iceland, these findings may also be of value to public authorities and researchers in the Western World, Australia and New Zealand, to give a few examples where the culture and the practice of government may not be that different, as well as in other countries. The survey can lay the foundation for further research into the field.

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“…Þá er í 35. gr. kveðið á um að stjórnvöldum beri að upplýsa almenning um umhverfi og náttúru, svo sem umhverfismengun og náttúruvá (Stjórnlagaráð, 2011).…”

Section: Viðmið Og áSkoranir Um Gegnsaei Upplýsingagjöf Og Skjalfestunclassified

Leyndarhyggja: viðhorf almennings til upplýsingagjafar stjórnvalda og stofnana

Gunnlaugsdóttir¹

2013

Samtíð

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Ágrip: Markmið greinarinnar er að kynna niðurstöður íslenskrar rannsóknar um það hvort þátt takendur hennar teldu að stjórnvöld leyndu mikilvaegum upplýsingum um almannahagsmuni annars vegar og opinber útgjöld hins vegar saeju þau ástaeður til þess. Sú tilgáta sem lagt var upp með í ljósi þjóðfélagsumraeðunar var að almenningur teldi að upplýsingum vaeri leynt að einhverju marki eða þeim ekki komið meðvitað á framfaeri af hálfu stjórnvalda. Spurningalisti var sendur tilviljunarúrtaki úr þjóðskrá í mars 2012 og var svarhlutfall 66,9%. Könnunin grundvallað ist fraeðilega á tengdum könnunum og gögnum um traust til stjórnvalda og áhrif upplýsinga laga á upplýsingagjöf. Helstu niðurstöður könnunarinnar voru að meginþorri svarenda taldi að upplýsingum sem vörðuðu almannahagsmuni vaeri leynt oft eða stundum. Einungis 2-3% svarenda töldu að það gerðist aldrei. Meginhluti svarenda taldi að upplýsingum sem vörðuðu opinber útgjöld vaeri leynt oft eða stundum. Aðeins 3-5% svarenda töldu að það gerðist aldrei.Abstract: Almost two thousand Icelanders were asked whether they believed that public authorities in Iceland concealed important information (either about matters of public interest or about public expenditures) if they saw reason to do so. In light of recent public debates in Iceland, the hypothesis was that the general opinion would be that the authorities do, at times, either conceal information or intentionally fail to disseminate it. The survey questionnaire was sent in March 2012 to a random sample selected from the National Registry. The response rate was 66.9%. The survey was modeled on other data and surveys that have explored trust towards public authorities and the influence of freedom-of-information acts on government information practices. The survey found that a great majority of respondents believed that information of general public interest was often or sometimes kept secret. Only 2-3% of respondents believed that this never happened. Most respondents believed, as well, that information about public expenditures was often or sometimes kept secret. Only 3-5% of those surveyed were of the opinion that this never happened. Citation/Tilvísun: Jóhanna Gunnlaugsdóttir, "Leyndarhyggja: viðhorf almennings til upplýsingagjafar stjórnvalda og stofnana," Samtíð 1 (2013), 3. http://dx

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Accountability, open government and record keeping: time to think again?

Cited by 19 publications

References 4 publications

Reasons for the poor provision of information by the government: public opinion

Reasons for the poor provision of information by the government: public opinion

Government secrecy: public attitudes toward information provided by the authorities

Leyndarhyggja: viðhorf almennings til upplýsingagjafar stjórnvalda og stofnana

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