Increasing transparency at the local level has come to be recognised as an important element in tackling some of the challenges to sustainable development. Transparency improves governance because it enhances citizen participation, fosters greater accountability and helps combat corruption. This second publication in the Urban Governance Toolkit Series produced by the United Nations Human Settlement Programme and Transparency International outlines a set of tools for building transparency in local governance.
Recently, the focus of efforts to enhance transparency has shifted from national to local level. The four major forces shaping cities today – urbanisation, globalisation, decentralisation and democratisation – are putting local governments under increasing pressure to deliver more benefits to citizens. Against this background, the quality of urban governance can mean the difference between cities that are prosperous and inclusive and those characterised by decline and social exclusion. Transparency offers a strategic entry point for promoting good urban governance and encouraging public participation. Times of major transition, such as now, tend to create perverse incentives that reward corruption. Thus there is a pressing need for systems to expose and prevent corrupt behaviour. This toolkit proposes a variety of methods to support transparency, together with examples of their practical implementation. It also contains a directory of existing initiatives developed by agencies that work on governance.
The issue of transparency is approached from two starting points: improving urban governance and minimising the negative impact of corruption. Ways in which transparency can enhance democracy include:
- Poor transparency at the local level increases the exclusion of poor and marginalised citizens and limits their access to resources and opportunities. Conversely, access to information can empower them.
- Transparency can help build trust between civil society and local government and improve the responsiveness of urban authorities. This will support greater engagement by citizens and the private sector.
- By promoting better access to information, transparency improves the accountability of all actors to development goals and each other.
- Corruption can be tackled by activities to enhance transparency and accountability at the local level. These can be developed within ‘local integrity systems’ that involve all stakeholders.
The toolkit proposes a governance approach to promoting transparency at local level. It sets out a framework of five strategies, around which the recommended tools are grouped. These are:
- Assessment and monitoring. Here the focus is on understanding the types and scale of corruption and the degree of transparency. Activities create a baseline for measuring improvements and raise public awareness.
- Access to information. This encompasses measures to improve stakeholders’ access to information so that they can participate more effectively in decision-making.
- Ethics and integrity. Ethical behaviour helps build transparency and inclusiveness. These tools clarify what is expected from various actors.
- Institutional reforms. This strategy includes streamlining and simplifying administrative procedures, as well as innovations to promote participation and accountability.
- Targeting specific issues to build transparency. Issues such as public services can be focal points for positive change, but are also vulnerable to corruption. This area will be developed in future editions of the toolkit.
