The Open Government Partnership is an international initiative that provides a platform for reformers inside and outside governments around the world to develop reforms that “promote transparency, empower citizens, fight corruption and harness new technologies to strengthen governance”. This article provides an update on where things are at with the OGP process and argues for...

Last year Sense about Science asked Sir Stephen Sedley, a former judge in the Court of Appeal and a new trustee of Sense about Science, to undertake an inquiry into the scale and significance of non-publication of government-commissioned research. Sir Stephen found out that: The UK government spends around £2.5 billion a year on research...

The Charter of Budget Honesty Act 1998 (the Charter) outlines arrangements under which the Secretaries to the Treasury and the Department of Finance (the Secretaries) may be requested to cost election commitments during the caretaker period prior to a general election. The Charter also allows for the Secretaries to jointly issue written guidelines recommending approaches...

Access to open government data in Australia is economically important, as confirmed by multiple theoretical and empirical studies, with varying estimates of its net positive benefit. Some of these benefits include new data-driven products and services, increased operational efficiency in both the public and private sectors, and improved engagement from the public. Key industry players...

As part of the National Innovation and Science Agenda, the Australian Government has today released its Public Data Policy Statement. This formalises the Government’s commitment to open data and data-driven innovation. Access to and use of the data that is collected by Commonwealth Government entities, referred to as ‘public data’, has the potential to stimulate...