Public administration online transparency: Defining the information itens to disclose from a citizens#039; perspective

摘要

eGovernment initiatives have been progressively influenced by an emphasis on open government. In this context, it is particularly relevant the online availability of data which would allow citizens to make public officials accountable for their actions (transparency for accountability). One important issue concerning online transparency assessment is to know which data should be made available in public sector entities web sites in order to facilitate the accountability process. In general, research literature selects such required data according to legal requirements and international standards (such as those from public sector accounting), thus not taking into consideration the requirements of ordinary citizens as ultimate recipients of accountability related information. To close this gap, and considering the role of journalists as information brokers, a qualitative content analysis was performed on news from three Portuguese newspapers published in a month period. The analysis resulted in the identification of a set of relevant information items for public debate concerning the actions of public officials, from a journalistic point of view. This set of items might be used not only as a baseline for conducting public entities online transparency assessment exercises, but also to guide the development of new integrated platforms aiming at facilitating citizens' access to transparency for accountability data.