This is being sent to several listservs. Apologies if you receive it more 
than once.

PRESS RELEASE
9 November 2000
Information for Accountability Workshop Workbook and Sourcebook
are now available
The International Records Management Trust, Rights and Records Institute is 
pleased to announce the availability of the Workbook and Sourcebook for the 
Information for Accountability Workshops. These can be downloaded from: 
http://www.irmt.org/index2.html
The Danish Trust Fund for Governance, administered by the World Bank, and 
the Westminster Foundation for Democracy provided funding for these tools.
What is an Information for Accountability Workshop?
The workshops provide government officials with a methodology to identify 
and respond to citizens' legitimate demands for information about 
government programmes. The aim is to encourage the public sector to educate 
citizens about what is information is publicly available and how they may 
obtain it, but also what is not and why not. Workshops provide a starting 
point for the Government to determine what kind of information it needs to 
demonstrate accountability to citizens and, therefore, which information 
systems are most critical to allow transparency of public services. 
Ultimately, the availability of more information should enhance the 
public's confidence in government.

Why is a workshop needed?
One measure of good government should be the development of a clear and 
well-established consultative process that involves the input of citizens 
at various stages. For this to occur there must be open channels of 
communication and a free flow of relevant information; this includes 
knowing what information is available, how to obtain it and how to appeal 
to government if information is withheld.
Citizens know they can ask their elected officials to answer their queries. 
However, they also know that obtaining a response from government regularly 
requires perseverance, grit and courage. In an environment where informa  
tion is withheld there will be inevitable tensions and mistrust; citizens 
can feel that government is somehow responsible for their misfortunes. The 
aim of the workshop is to increase access to information in order to 
develop a more informed civil society and provide the means for greater 
participation in government.

Who will it serve?
The workshop is designed to bring together senior government officials and 
members of legislature and civil society organisations to discuss the 
problems of access to information. Organs of civil society are entitled to 
know the business of government because government is mandated to take 
actions on behalf of citizens. In turn, Government will benefit from 
increased participation by gaining broad-based support for programmes and 
reforms.

How can the Workbook be used?
The Information for Accountability Workshops methodology is made available 
in the Workbook, the companion volume to this Sourcebook. The two should be 
used in tandem.
The workbook provides the reader with tools for holding a successful 
Information for Accountability Workshop to facilitate improvements in 
access to public sector information.
WHO?: The workbook identifies the types of people that should participate 
in the workshop. The aim is to bring together members of the government, 
the legislature and representatives of civil society and the media. The 
discussion will be structured to allow the expectations and misconceptions 
on both sides to be identified. The workbook describes the type of people 
who should be involved and the roles they play in government and society.
HOW?: The workbook provides practical instructions to help you plan and run 
a successful Information for Accountability Workshop. Help given includes 
step-by-step guidance on forming a planning committee, setting up the 
workshop, identifying participants and developing the workshop programme. 
It also provides advice on raising the profile of the workshop with appr  
opriate publicity measures and obtaining funding.

How can the Sourcebook be used?
The sourcebook should be used in conjunction with the workbook. It makes 
available the most relevant background information gathered in developing 
the methodology and running pilot workshops. We hope this information will 
be of use to those who wish to run their own workshops or to make some 
other contribution in this area.

What is the Rights and Records Institute and what on-going support can it 
provide?
The Rights and Records Institute is an operating division of the 
International Records Management Trust. The Institute's mission is to 
empower developing country governments to manage recorded information in 
support of citizens' rights and to make public service delivery more 
efficient, cost effective and transparent. The International Records 
Management Trust is a legally registered charity with six trustees. It 
works on a non-profit, cost recovery basis. The Trust was established to  
 define and facilitate the introduction of methodologies for managing 
records as a core part of the business of government and to work toward 
articulating the significance of the records profession to public 
officials.
The Institute will be pleased to provide support to organisations wishing 
to use the materials but can only do so if there are funds to cover the 
costs. For instance, it can help to adapt materials to different country 
contexts, work with organisers to facilitate the setting up of workshops, 
and advise organisers on selecting participants and case study materials.

What is the relationship to Transparency International?
Transparency International (TI) is a not-for-profit, non-governmental 
organisation, established to highlight corruption internationally and 
through its national chapters. It seeks to address corruption through 
international and national coalitions that encourage governments to 
establish and implement effective laws, policies and anti-corruption pro  
grammes. TI works to strengthen public support and understanding for 
anti-corruption programmes and enhance transparency and accountability in 
international business transactions and in public administration.
The Trust takes sole responsibility for the contents of the workshop 
programme, but it co-operates with TI and its national chapters. There is a 
natural relationship between the Trust and TI because transparency is 
reliant upon open access to information and records. Specifically, the 
workshop approach is derived from a methodology developed by TI and the 
broad design for the Information for Accountability Workshops was agreed 
between the Trust and TI and select national chapters.
___________________________________________________________________________ 
If you want to know more about the Information for Accountability 
Workshops, please contact:
Piers Cain
Director
Rights and Records Institute
International Records Management Trust
12 John Street
London WC1N 2EB, UK
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7831 4101
Fax: +44 (0) 20 7831 7404
Email: [log in to unmask]
http://www.irmt.org






%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%