IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/p/sol/wpaper/2013-375369.html
   My bibliography  Save this paper

Evaluating transparency policy in Belgium: A citizen science assessment of FOI implementation at the municipal level

Author

Listed:
  • Giovanni Esposito
  • Lorenzo Cicatiello
  • Vincent Mabillard
  • Giuseppe Lucio Gaeta

Abstract

This research evaluates the effectiveness of FOI policy implementation in Belgian municipalities, using citizen science methodologies for data collection and interpretation. The results reveal significant variations in compliance across regions, with larger municipalities demonstrating greater responsiveness to FOI requests from citizens. A critical finding is the hesitant response of administrations to inquiries from citizens known for their transparency expertise, indicative of a widespread defensive administrative stance towards FOI requests within Europe. The study proposes policy reforms, increased support for smaller municipalities, and efforts to modify administrative culture towards a more transparent handling of citizens’ FOI inquiries. These recommendations are designed to enhance the implementation of FOI policies, promoting increased transparency and accountability within public administration, and encouraging an environment of openness in line with democratic governance principles.

Suggested Citation

  • Giovanni Esposito & Lorenzo Cicatiello & Vincent Mabillard & Giuseppe Lucio Gaeta, 2024. "Evaluating transparency policy in Belgium: A citizen science assessment of FOI implementation at the municipal level," Working Papers CEB 24-011, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    • Handle: RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/375369
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://dipot.ulb.ac.be/dspace/bitstream/2013/375369/3/wp24011.pdf
    File Function: Full text for the whole work, or for a work part
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. repec:bpd:articl:v:1:y:2018:i:2:jbpa.12.34 is not listed on IDEAS
    2. Bernard Hoekman & Hugo Rojas-Romagosa, 2022. "EU Trade Sustainability Impact Assessments: Revisiting the Consultation Process," Journal of International Economic Law, Oxford University Press, vol. 25(1), pages 45-60.
    3. Vincent Mabillard & Nicolas Keuffer, 2022. "Does freedom of information contribute to more open administrations? An empirical analysis of the link between active and passive forms of transparency," International Review of Public Administration, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 27(1), pages 55-72, January.
    4. Cicatiello, Lorenzo & De Simone, Elina & Mascio, Fabrizio Di & Gaeta, Giuseppe Lucio & Natalini, Alessandro & Worthy, Ben, 2024. "Response, awareness and requester identity in FOI law: Evidence from a field experiment," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 220(C), pages 12-30.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Francois, Joseph & Hoekman, Bernard & Manchin, Miriam, 2022. "Pursuing Environmental and Social Objectives through Trade Agreements," Papers 1377, World Trade Institute.
    2. Alexandra Molitorisová & Ciarán Burke, 2023. "Farm to fork strategy: Animal welfare, EU trade policy, and public participation," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 45(2), pages 881-910, June.
    3. Žuffová, Mária, 2024. "Applying Text-as-data Methods to Information Requests: A Novel Approach to Study Different Political Phenomena," OSF Preprints 8p5e6, Center for Open Science.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:sol:wpaper:2013/375369. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Benoit Pauwels (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/cebulbe.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.