Right to Information : Identifying Drivers of Effectiveness in Implementation

A Right to Information (RTI) system aims to increase the transparency of government by providing regular and reliable information to the public and facilitating appropriate and relevant use of that information. This paper presents findings from a study on the drivers of effectiveness in right to information implementation. It is based on a qualitative synthesis of 12 country case studies on implementation processes: Albania, India, Jordan, Mexico, Moldova, Peru, Romania, South Africa, Thailand, Uganda, United Kingdom, and the United States. This produced a conceptual mapping of four domains of RTI implementation that encompass the drivers of effectiveness. These domains are (1) enabling conditions, (2) demand for information, (3) institutional capacity, and (4) oversight. They encapsulate the legal and civic environment in which RTI is implemented, the demand and supply of information, oversight of the RTI process through monitoring and enforcement, as well as transformative factors such as collaborative practices and technological initiatives. The domains and related drivers are meant to serve as both a guide to the development of implementation strategies, as well as a heuristic for understanding the dynamism and interdependence of implementation components