Monitoring - 2012: Informational Openness Rating for Top Regional Executive Bodies

From April till early June 2012, the FIF performed the sixth annual monitoring cycle for official websites of top executive bodies of the 83 Russian Federation subjects.

The monitoring subject was compliance of the websites’ contents with requirements provided by a number of legal normative acts, including the Russian FOI law, Federal Law #184-FZ “On General Principles for Organization of Legislative (Representative) and Executive Government Bodies of the Russian Federation Subjects”, and other acts of federal and regional level.

Average informational openness rate of top regional executive bodies’ official websites was 43.85% before the online communication period, and increased up to 48.82% after it. However, this means that 51.18% of the data that top regional executive bodies should publish online according to legislative requirements remain inavailable for their official websites’ readers.

The online communication period¹ lasted from May 14 till June 4, 2012. 61 officials from top executive bodies of 45 regions (54% of their total number) opted to ЕХМО informational system. Really, officials from 29 regions left 371 comments in EXMO. They asked FIF experts questions, argued against their websites’ initial assessment scores, and/or informed our experts on amendments made at the websites – that can lead to re-calculation of scores.

Over top executive bodies of 29 regions whose officials take real participation in the communication, informational openness level increased from 48.99% before online communication to 63.2% after it.

Upon monitoring completion, the 2012 informational openness rating² for top regional executive government bodies was calculated.

Top 10 of 2012 informational openness rating² for top executive government bodies of the Russian Federation subjects

For last two years, we observe obvious positive trend of top regional executive bodies’ informational openness growth (from 32.83% in 2010 to 38.03% in 2011, and to 48.82 in 2012).

Against general openness growth background, specific “leaps” of informational openness cound be highlighted in 2012.

2012 “Leaps” in Informational Openness of Top Regional Executive Bodies

Conclusions

The following problems are revealed within the 2012 informational openness monitoring for top executive government bodies of the Russian Federation subjects.

1. On January 10, 2009, the Federal Law #273-FZ from Dec 25, 2008 On Corruption Counteraction came into force. It obliges top regional executive bodies to publish information on incomes, properties, and property liabilities of their staff. However, only 77% regions publish any data of that kind. Regional governments and administrations use different ways to restrict public access to information of staff members’ and their families’ incomes and property.

2. Information on current activities of top regional executive bodies is published as fragmentary, badly structured messages. For example, only 50% bodies publish announces of their meetings; 10% – reports presented at the meetings; 11% – shorthand, audio and/or video records of meetings; 15% – minutes of meetings. Only 9 bodies of 83 publish procedures for citizens’ and civil groups’ participation in their meetings.

3. Only 44 of 83 bodies publish reports on their activities disclosing their goals and objectives for near future and allowing to evaluate achieved and planned results.

4. Activity plans are also often hidden: only 53% bodies publish their work plans, 41% – lawmaking activity plans, 43% – meeting schedules.

More detailed monitoring results are available in Russian.

Primary data and detailed results can be found in the EXMO system (in Russian).

¹ The regulations for online communication between FIF experts and monitored bodies officials are available here (in Russian).

² The monitoring methodology is available here (in English).