Transparency and accountability in municipalities: an analysis of 40 year evolution in Portugal

Autor: Lourenço, Rui Pedro, Sá, Patrícia Moura e, Jorge, Susana
Přispěvatelé: Universidade do Minho
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2016
Předmět:
Popis: This chapter reviews the main transparency-related initiatives that have been developed and implemented in the local government context in Portugal, over the last 40 years. A critical discussion on these landmarks allowed concluding that, in order to be effective in what concerns transparency and accountability, initiatives need to combine administrative and legal reforms with automatic data disclosure, embedding reporting mechanisms in already existing processes, and incorporating frameworks to regularly monitor the results. Another major recommendation could finally be derived from this analysis: it is necessary to put in place a comprehensive set of principles regarding transparency mechanisms, to be included, at a very early stage, in every Public Administration innovation programme. Transparency should be a concern when developing such programmes, as it is efficiency and effectiveness.
This work has been partially supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT), under project grant PEst-OE/ EEI/UI308/2014 (INESC Coimbra) and national funds awarded by the FCT to the Research Center in Political Science (UID/CPO/0758/2013), University of Minho.
Databáze: OpenAIRE