Passive Transparency Research Articles

Passive transparency in small brazilian municipalities

Purpose: This work aims to analyze the factors that influence passive transparency in municipalities with less than 50,000 inhabitants. Methodology: To achieve the objective of the study, at first, based on the cluster formation technique results, the municipalities were grouped into 03 groups according to the performance obtained in the variables that determine transparency. In a second moment, these clusters were evaluated and compared regarding the result of EBT- a Brazilian Scale of Transparency. Results: It was found that economic and social development and the fiscal capacity of the municipality are variables which influenced the results of EBT in its two editions. Thus, we concluded that a differentiated policy should be used for the transparency in small municipalities, considering the respective economic, fiscal and social development. Finally, it was observed that the performance of control bodies, the debate and development of metrics capable of measuring transparency are possible ways to improve passive transparency rates in municipalities. Contributions of the Study: The study results can support managers in promoting improvements in the passive transparency of their municipalities. In addition to it, they can support municipal managers in identifying the factors that influence their passive transparency.

A Ouvidoria como Manifestação da Transparência Passiva nos Regimes Próprios de Previdência dos Municípios Fluminenses

We identify how the Special Social Security Regime (RPPS) Ombudsman of municipalities of Rio de Janeiro State falls under the level I certification of the RPPS Pro-Management Program, in the indicator related to the Ombudsman; a tool to promote the democratic participation of citizens through passive transparency. The relevance of this study stems from the fact that the RPPS are in charge of managing a substantial number of resources, having managed around 157 billion Reais in investments for their respective insureds in 2020 (SPREV, 2021). Through documental analysis performed on the websites of the Rio de Janeiro RPPS and their respective federative entities, we concluded that among the 92 municipalities in the State, only 79 have RPPS. Furthermore, 54.4% of municipalities have a communication channel in the RPPS, while 43.1% have it available through the Federal Entity to which they are linked, and 2.5% have no such communication channel. Thus, we state that most RPPS has given due importance to the RPPS Pro-Management Manual, specifically regarding the accomplishment of the goal of providing more transparency to the relationship between the insured and society.

Quality of accounting information: study on the public transparency portal of Rio Grande do Norte

The objective of this article is to analyze the quality of accounting information on the portal of the executive power of the Public Transparency of Rio Grande do Norte, from descriptive, documentary, quantitative research, with application of the theoretical, legal and social model (TLS) adapted with the use of the Analytical Hierarchical Process (AHP) technique to consider the importance of the criteria used in the portal. It was concluded that the evaluation of the Portal do RN, was 38.90 in the Active Transparency Dimension, 10.79% in Usability and Accessibility, Content and Overview Dimension with 10.19% and Passive Transparency Dimension with a maximum value of 8 %, obtaining an overall average rating of 67.22%. Thus, this study seeks to contribute with a view to adequate compliance with legal requirements regarding access to information, through a multi-criteria scientific model.

O GRAU DE TRANSPARÊNCIA ATIVA, PASSIVA E GLOBAL NOS MUNICÍPIOS PRODUTORES DE PETRÓLEO DA BACIA DE CAMPOS/RJ - 2021

This research aims to analyze transparency - active, passive and global - in oil producing municipalities in the Campos Basin/RJ. Before, however, we discussed the concepts of transparency and access to information, as well as the specificities of these processes, with regard to the public sector. The empirical analysis was based on the indicator “Escala Brasil Transparente 360º” (CGU, 2019). The results indicate that no municipality in the Campos/RJ Basin fully applies the LAI requirements. With regard to active transparency, the main deficiencies are related to the accountability of expenses and information on administrative contracts and public services. With regard to passive transparency, the delay in responding to users and the poor quality of responses are the great findings.

Are governments complying with transparency? Findings from 15 years of evaluation

How well do governments comply with their own transparency statutes? Alarmingly, answers to this question are in short supply because of patchy comparative data. This study begins to address this gap by analyzing an exhaustive compilation of 265 transparency compliance evaluations (i.e. audits) authored by NGOs, academics, and government oversight authorities across Latin America between 2003 and 2018. Aggregating data on patterns of evaluation and public sector compliance with transparency statutes, we find modest increases in compliance over time, strikingly low compliance with passive transparency compliance (i.e. governmental responses to citizen requests) at the local versus national levels of government, and significantly higher compliance scores when government oversight agencies act as evaluators. Our data also reveal worrying gaps in evaluation efforts. Evaluators tend to focus far more on active transparency (i.e. website-based disclosure) than passive transparency, more on national level governments than subnational governments, and preponderantly on the executive as opposed to legislative or judicial branches of government. Textual analyses show that education is the most evaluated policy theme, with financial policies and social services close behind. In presenting the first large-scale cross-national assessment of transparency compliance, the current study brings to light trends in the effectiveness of transparency regimes and patterns of transparency evaluation across Latin America.

Políticas de cotas nas instituições federais de ensino do Rio Grande do Sul: avaliação da transparência ativa e passiva

Neste texto apresenta-se resultados de um estudo que teve como objetivo analisar a transparência ativa e passiva da informação relacionada às políticas de cotas nos sites das instituições federais de ensino superior do Rio Grande do Sul. Para realizar a coleta e análise dos dados nos sites na transparência ativa utilizou-se o método de análise de conteúdo. Para a coleta e análise dos dados da transparência passiva foram elaboradas três perguntas e enviadas para as instituições federais de ensino superior pelo e-sic. Os resultados da análise da transparência ativa e passiva da informação referente às políticas de cotas indicam que as dez instituições federais de ensino superior disponibilizam informações sobre as políticas de ingresso, matrícula e permanência de estudantes nessas instituições de forma clara e acessível, procurando atender à Lei de Acesso à Informação.Palavras-chave: educação pública; lei de aceso à informação; checklist.

Política de Acesso à Informação nas Capitais Nordestinas: Análise do cumprimento da LAI pelo Poder Executivo Municipal

The general objective of this research was to verify whether the executive power of the northeastern capitals comply with the Law on Access to Information (LAI) in their virtual sites. The method used was quantitative and qualitative with exploratory-descriptive design, through documentary research and bibliographic research, having as an instrument an observation form with the requirements determined by law. The data collection took place in the virtual sites of the city hall and the data were submitted to documentary analysis. The results found indicate that: seven of the nine municipalities surveyed efficiently meet more than half of the requirements established by the law for access to information; having as main difficulty the grouping of requirements related to the formatting of virtual sites, with only two of the eight items having been fully met by most capitals; as to passive transparency, legal regulation and accountability requirements, five of the seven items were in compliance with the law on most of the sites surveyed. In view of the results, it can be inferred that the virtual sites are in compliance with most of the requirements listed by LAI, responding positively to the research question. However, for greater compliance with the law, greater attention should be paid to the organization, security, integrity and accessibility of virtual sites; have information in non-proprietary, open and machine-readable formats; and with sufficient clarity and conciseness to promote conditions of inference to citizens seeking access to information of interest.

Transparency on COVID-19 pandemic: an evaluation of Brazilian municipalities

This work aimed to understand how Brazilian municipalities have been disclosing information on the novel Coronavirus pandemic. Starting from a representative sample of urban and rural municipalities according to Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) typology, it analyzes active and passive transparency aspects based on the search for information on institutional websites and responses to requests for access to information. Next, it presents descriptive statistics for the collected data, identifying the transparency profile of data related to the virus in the municipalities. It was possible to observe problems related to the quality of the information provided and a very low rate of responses to the information access requests. With regard to data on expenses and revenues to fight Coronavirus, most municipalities make this information available due to the approval of the Law 13,979/2020, exemplifying the importance of legislation to guide the municipalities and of legal factors on the transparency levels observed in the analyzed case. Also, it finds that the studied municipalities show a high rate of use of social networks to disseminate information related to COVID-19.

As plataformas de informação dos poderes estaduais brasileiros contribuem para a construção da transparência passiva?

The objective of the article was to investigate the contributions of the information platforms of the branches of governments of Brazilian states to build passive transparency. A descriptive study was carried out, through documentary research, with a predominantly qualitative approach. The object of investigation comprises the executive, legislative and judicial branches of governments of Brazilian states. The data were collected in February 2017 using the structured observation technique, through a protocol for recording information. The data obtained were analyzed using the descriptive analysis technique. The indicators for evaluation of the platforms were ‘communication’, ‘login and receipts’ and ‘barriers’, and they presented different configurations in each of the branches. In terms of ‘communication’ and ‘login and receipts’, in general, the state executive branch received better scores compared to the judiciary and legislative branches. On the other hand, the indicator ‘barriers’, was better evaluated in the judiciary and legislative branches. From the results obtained, it is not yet possible to confirm whether the platforms of the executive, judicial and legislative branches of the Brazilian states contribute to build passive transparency.

A metric for the measurement of passively transparent behavior in communication chains

In this paper, we present a method for empirically measuring the extent to which social institutions actively cooperate in the provision of public information. The method described here allows researchers to collect accurate empirical data corresponding to specific items of requested information to produce presentable meta-data on the information collection process. The data are extracted from communication chains and generated by tracking each unitary item of requested information in an item chain. After describing the data collection process and how the data are indexed using a three-figure tag, we explain how the collected data can be used to produce aggregated passive transparency ratings for institutions across content topics and for content topics across institutions. The article ends with a discussion of the social value of using transparency data, and the benefits that might be derived from institutional and content-specific passive transparency ratings.

Panorama da transparência passiva e da regulamentação da Lei de Acesso à Informação a partir da Escala Brasil Transparente (EBT) nos municípios do COREDE Missões

O presente artigo objetiva investigar a regulamentação da Lei de Acesso à Informação (Lei 12.527/2011) e a realidade da transparência passiva nos 25 municípios integrantes do COREDE Missões, em seus portais eletrônicos, por meio da aplicação da Escala Brasil Transparente (EBT). A pesquisa classifica-se como descritiva, de abordagem quantitativa. A partir dos dados coletados foi comprovado que apenas 28% do total dos municípios investigados (Caibaté, Cerro Largo, Giruá, Porto Xavier, São Paulo das Missões, São Luiz Gonzaga e São Nicolau) regulamentaram a LAI por instrumento legal (Lei ou Decreto) e que 36% foram considerados pouco transparentes na forma passiva. A partir desses e outros achados, apresenta-se um diagnóstico da atual situação da transparência na gestão pública municipal no âmbito do COREDE Missões, permitindo aos cidadãos conhecer melhor o ambiente onde vivem e investem, a fim de que consigam refletir sobre a eficiência na gestão pública e a suficiência ou não das informações disponibilizadas, para assim poder intervir no processo de formulação de políticas públicas que possam auxiliar no desenvolvimento regional.

Are Governments Complying with Transparency? Compiled Findings from 15 Years of Evaluation

How well do governments comply with legal transparency obligations? Alarmingly, no good answers to this basic policy question exist because of patchy comparative data on transparency compliance. This study presents an initiative to address this gap. Analyzing an exhaustive compilation of 265 transparency evaluations (i.e. audits) authored by NGOs, academics, and governmental oversight authorities across Latin America between 2003 and 2018, we aggregate data on patterns of evaluation and public sector compliance with transparency obligations. Overall, data indicate modest increases in compliance over time. Most relevant for policymakers and scholars, however, are the gaps in evaluation efforts illustrated by the data. Evaluators tend to focus far more on active transparency (i.e. website-based disclosure) than passive transparency (i.e. governmental responses to citizen requests), more on national level governments than subnational governments, and preponderantly on the executive as opposed to legislative or judicial branches of government. Textual analyses show that education is the most evaluated policy theme, with financial policies and social services close behind. Finally, data reveal that governmental oversight agencies assign significantly higher compliance scores in evaluating subject agencies than non-governmental evaluators. In presenting the first large-scale cross-national assessment of transparency compliance, the current study brings to light trends in the effectiveness of transparency regimes across Latin America, as well as patterns and limitations of transparency evaluation.

Transparência passiva, formalismo e os poderes estaduais brasileiros

The article presents the results from the study that aimed to investigate the attendance of the executive, legislative and judicial branches of Brazilian states government, towards the legal demands for availability of information to society, by means of passive transparency. The empirical object included 27 state governments, 27 legislative councils and 27 courts of justice. The research is descriptive, operationalized by a documental research, with a qualitative approach. In order to collect the data, an information request was sent to the three branches and was analyzed through the technic of documentary analysis. In the analysis of passive transparency in the Brazilian states government branches, the majority of the states presented better results in their executive branch, if compared to the judiciary or legislative. On the other hand, there have been those who seemed to face difficulties in the attendance of information demands. This detachment between imposed transparency to the governmental entities and its effective accomplishment is highlighted in literature as being a characteristic of formalism.

Aplicabilidade das leis de transparência e acesso à informação: uma análise em portais de transparência nas três esferas de poder no Estado do Amapá

O conjunto de Leis que consolidam o processo de transparência implica na obrigação dos órgãos públicos tornarem acessíveis as informações produzidas e relacionadas ao desenvolvimento de suas atividades e deixá-las disponíveis a todos. Neste artigo buscou-se acompanhar a implantação da Lei de Acesso à Informação e o grau de aderência dos órgãos, através de seus sites oficiais, observando à efetividade do acesso à informação pública, esta pesquisa empregada no âmbito do Estado do Amapá, compreendendo as três esferas de poder e seus órgãos. O referido trabalho tem a sua importância em virtude da relevância do tema acerca da transparência pública no Amapá. O estudo está estruturado em metodologia baseado na análise da Transparência Ativa e Passiva, através de um instrumento analítico proposto pelos pesquisadores aos portais estudados, sob o olhar das Leis de Acesso à Informação e da Transparência. Teve como objetivos verificar se os portais estão em consonância com a legislação de transparência e ainda propor recomendações que subsidiem futuramente as instituições pesquisadas. concluiu-se que o acesso à informação pública ainda não está devidamente implementado nos órgãos públicos dos poderes, deixando de contribuir para um desenvolvimento de uma gestão pública, participativa, responsável e transparente, fundamental para pleno exercício da democracia no Estado do Amapá.Palavras-chave: Lei de Acesso à Informação Pública. Portal da Transparência. Controle Social.Link: https://agora.emnuvens.com.br/ra/article/view/720

Lei de acesso à informação e comissão de ética: como esses discursos se cruzam?

Diante de casos de agentes que confundem interesses públicos e privados, surge a necessidade de enfrentamentos a essa confusão. Possuindo esse intuito, a efetivação do direito de acesso à informação destaca-se como um mecanismo que contribui para tanto. Também há a atuação de instituições, dentre elas, as comissões de ética. Partindo dessa justificativa, este trabalho tem por objetivo verificar como as comissões de ética do Executivo Federal se apropriam dos princípios e medidas da Lei de Acesso à Informação - LAI (Lei n. 12.527/11). Metodologicamente, faz-se revisão bibliográfica acerca do conceito de direito à informação, relacionando-o à democracia, accountability, liberdade de expressão, observando-se o contexto internacional (convenções e outras leis de acesso), para se adentrar na LAI do Brasil e seus princípios. Em seguida, mune-se da técnica da análise de contexto institucional para explicar a criação das comissões de ética no Brasil, sua evolução e sistema de funcionamento. Possuindo essa base, busca-se responder a questão central (i) analisando-se o site da CEP (verificando o cumprimento da LAI em transparência ativa); (ii) enumerando-se alguns casos de pedido de acesso (transparência passiva) direcionados às comissões e; (iii) entrevistando servidor da Comissão de Ética Pública da Presidência. Como resultados, percebe-se esse cruzamento de discursos ao constatar que o site da CEP cumpre a LAI, pedidos são respondidos, CEP possui o dever de punir servidores e de, sendo parte da administração pública, divulgar suas informações, obedecidas as regras de sigilo enquanto investigações não se concluem.

In search of transparency for EU law-making: Trilogues on the cusp of dawn

Who controls the information that is part of the EU legislative processes and is the process as a whole under control? This article explores the legal framework and the applicability of that framework to evolving informal practices by the three key institutions (EP, Council, Commission) involved in the EU legislative process. Given the legislative deadlock on an updated transparency regulation, there are challenges relating to the opacity of Council and Member State positions, legal advice and the so-called four-column documents, which are used to map out progress in interinstitutional negotiations. Currently, the institutions themselves keep control and adopt the relevant rules as a matter of internal (or interinstitutional) working arrangements. We argue that when the institutions exercise legislative functions they are in fact exercising highly political functions that define the fundamental policy choices of the Union’s action. This requires not only passive transparency in the form of access to documents but also proactive transparency by the institutions themselves.

Forest Governance without Transparency? Evaluating state efforts to reduce deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon

AbstractOver 60% of the Amazon basin is contained within nine federal Brazilian states. How transparent are state‐level governments about implementing and enforcing deforestation reduction policies? Advocates and officials can only influence forest conservation outcomes to the extent that they have information about the actions – the inputs and outputs – of front‐line local actors. Leveraging a recently adopted freedom of information (FOI) law, this paper evaluates how well governments comply with website‐based disclosure requirements (active transparency), and how effectively they respond to FOI requests (passive transparency) on the implementation and enforcement of deforestation reduction policies. By focusing on how subnational administrations disclose accountings of forest governance – the inputs and outputs of governance – the current study complements an already extensive body of scholarship on central government monitoring of forest cover – the transparency of outcomes. Comparing our results with an original database of transparency evaluations from Brazil, we find extremely low levels of compliance with FOI obligations. We do find, however, that government agencies possessing electronic FOI platforms, which help applicants send requests and appeals and accompany responses, fare better than those without. This and other findings have implications for the design of transparency systems, while global results speak to the policy challenges of federalism, especially dilemmas of subnational policy enforcement. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment

TRANSPARÊNCIA NA GESTÃO PÚBLICA: APLICAÇÃO DA LAI NO MUNICÍPIO DE CASCAVEL SOB A ABORDAGEM DA TEORIA CONTINGENCIAL

This work aimed to evaluate the actions taken by the municipal public administration of Cascavel to effectively comply with the Law on Access to Information - LAI (Law 12,527 / 2011), regarding active and passive transparency, under a Contingency Theory approach. This study was classified as descriptive, case-study and qualitative, using semi-structured interviews. In addition, the LAI Social Questionnaire (TCE / PR, 2014) published by this Court was used as the basis. The municipality of Cascavel does not fulfill an LAI, is classified in 35o of 69 municipalities of the ranking, presenting a degree of transparency of 28.02%. The Contingency Theory was used to observe its influence on the implementation of LAI. It was observed that the contingency factors, strategy and technology, are more evident in the development of the law. However, it is necessary to observe a reality of each municipality, which seeks a balance between variables, but that is essential for the variables of strategy and strategy.

Realidade da transparência passiva em prefeituras dos maiores municípios brasileiros

O presente estudo teve por objetivo investigar a realidade da transparência passiva de prefeituras dos maiores municípios brasileiros. Foram considerados maiores municípios aqueles com população superior a 100.000 (cem mil) habitantes, totalizando 283 (duzentos e oitenta e três). Empreendeu-se um estudo descritivo, por meio de pesquisa survey, com abordagem qualitativa e quantitativa. Do total de prefeituras, 220 (duzentas e vinte) (77,74%) foram consideradas intransparentes: em 11 (onze) (3,89%) prefeituras os portais não permitiram o envio da solicitação, enquanto para 209 (duzentas e nove) (73,85%) prefeituras este envio foi possível, porém não houve retorno satisfatório. Já 63 (sessenta e três) (22,26%) prefeituras foram consideradas transparentes, pois o envio da solicitação ocorreu e o retorno foi considerado satisfatório. O descumprimento da lei ocorreu na maioria dos municípios, seja por problemas no portal, seja em razão de problemas no retorno às solicitações em que o envio foi possível.

Review of passive transparency in Brazilian city councils

The goal of this study is to investigate compliance with the requirements of passive transparency in city councils of Brazilian municipalities with populations greater than 300,000 inhabitants. The research is descriptive, operationalized by a survey with predominantly qualitative approach. The data collected from 79 city councils were analyzed using the descriptive analysis technique. Three groups were identified in the city councils analyzed: first, city councils to which it was not possible to submit the request for information; second, city councils to which the request for information was submitted, but there was no reply or the response was insufficient; and third, city councils to which the request for information was submitted and there was satisfactory response. The scenario shows little passive transparency before the technological apparatus was available. There are city councils that violate a series of legal provisions regulating the transparency of government actions. The study stands out for diagnosing the current situation of passive transparency in the city councils of the largest Brazilian municipalities, revealing how the law, in general, can be violated, and not taken seriously.