This document summarizes a research study on transparency in local government financial transactions and budgeting. The study examines three Texas cities - Houston, South Padre Island, and Bandera - representing a large city, small city, and very small town. The research team collects both qualitative and quantitative data on how each city shares information on budgets, meetings, and financial reports. Findings and recommendations from studying the transparency efforts in each city will be reported. The goal is to investigate how local governments inform the public about spending and budgeting processes.
The document summarizes a research study conducted by a group of MPA candidates on the transparency efforts of three Texas local governments: Houston, South Padre Island, and Bandera. The study examines how each local government shares information on financial transactions and their municipal budget with the public. It describes the methodology used, including analyzing communications methods, budgets, reports, and transparency measures of each city. The document also provides highlights of findings for each city studied and their transparency efforts.
Closed or Inclusive Process: How State Actors View the Contribution of Non-St...paperpublications3
This document discusses state actors' perceptions of non-state actor contributions to public policy processes in Kenya. It provides background on the evolution of public policy frameworks in Kenya from the 1960s to present. While processes were initially closed, reforms in the 1990s and 2010 constitution have gradually opened them to include non-state actors. The document uses a power relations framework to analyze relationships between state and non-state actors. It identifies different types of policy spaces (closed, invited, claimed), levels of power (local, national, global), and forms of power (visible, hidden, invisible) that shape inclusion and influence in public policy.
Legilative and institutional trajectories for interfacing the research policy...Costy Costantinos
This document discusses challenges and opportunities for strengthening the connection between research, policy, and practice in Africa. It notes that historically, African states have exercised tight control over citizens, undermining civil society. While governments have undertaken reforms to improve public sector performance, challenges remain. The paper analyzes strengths, weaknesses and opportunities in research, policy and practice linkages. It argues that institutional transformation, responsive structures, committed leadership, and public participation are needed to better connect research, policy, and solutions for sustainable African development.
This document summarizes a journal article that discusses ways to evaluate the effectiveness of federal advisory committees. It provides background on the Federal Advisory Committee Act and the issues it aimed to address regarding transparency and oversight of advisory committees. The article argues that more accurate data is needed to properly assess the productivity and impact of advisory committees. It recommends that agencies provide feedback to committees on their recommendations and that best practices be identified to improve committee functions. An amendment to the Act may be required to give the GSA authority to collect additional useful data.
Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM) hired Public Sector Consultants (PSC) to outline strategies that the State of Michigan can implement to help its regions and cities achieve their economic and urban development goals. The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program substantively
shaped and contributed to this project under the auspices of the Brookings-Rockefeller Project on
State and Metropolitan Innovation, which works to present fiscally responsible state policies and practical, metropolitan-led solutions that leaders can use to create the next American economy.
Working together on this effort, PSC and Brookings have focused on state-level interventions that
will support and empower metropolitan areas in their ongoing economic and urban revitalization efforts. This strategy recognizes that much of the heavy lifting regarding urban and metropolitan revitalization must be done at the local level, and that there is an abundance of work focused on
local urban revitalization efforts. This strategy is intended to build on those efforts, and make
recommendations regarding what the state (and other stakeholders) can do at both the state and metro-specific level to help urban metropolitan areas achieve their prosperity goals.
Corruption is an issue that is affecting many countries in the world, and there are several approaches that have been found to effective depending on the other external factors. The Unites States has several anti-corruption approaches that were invested in countries of interest such as Afghanistan; however, these have failed dismally. The US government has spent over $70 million in different sectors that was intended to support anti-corruption initiative through the government, law enforcement, and journalists. However, there were several reports that were released indicated the lack of preparation and the strategic flaws in the approach taken by the United States. Afghanistan still poses a security risk to the United States, and public funding towards reconstruction of the country should take an evidence based approach that considers effective mechanisms applies in similar regimes. This paper evaluate the current framework of the procurement to preventing corruption by the United States and evidence based mechanisms by organizations that havebeen resistant to corruption.
OECD Forum on Financing Democracy and Averting Policy Capture - AgendaOECD Governance
Forum to investigate the influence of money on public policies and to find ways of preventing policy capture by narrow private interests. http://www.oecd.org/gov/ethics/financing-democracy-and-averting-policy-capture-forum-2014.htm
A data-driven report chronicling the pubic engagement of Osun State Governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, with Osun citizens in 2019 across digital and offline communication media
The document summarizes a research study conducted by a group of MPA candidates on the transparency efforts of three Texas local governments: Houston, South Padre Island, and Bandera. The study examines how each local government shares information on financial transactions and their municipal budget with the public. It describes the methodology used, including analyzing communications methods, budgets, reports, and transparency measures of each city. The document also provides highlights of findings for each city studied and their transparency efforts.
Closed or Inclusive Process: How State Actors View the Contribution of Non-St...paperpublications3
This document discusses state actors' perceptions of non-state actor contributions to public policy processes in Kenya. It provides background on the evolution of public policy frameworks in Kenya from the 1960s to present. While processes were initially closed, reforms in the 1990s and 2010 constitution have gradually opened them to include non-state actors. The document uses a power relations framework to analyze relationships between state and non-state actors. It identifies different types of policy spaces (closed, invited, claimed), levels of power (local, national, global), and forms of power (visible, hidden, invisible) that shape inclusion and influence in public policy.
Legilative and institutional trajectories for interfacing the research policy...Costy Costantinos
This document discusses challenges and opportunities for strengthening the connection between research, policy, and practice in Africa. It notes that historically, African states have exercised tight control over citizens, undermining civil society. While governments have undertaken reforms to improve public sector performance, challenges remain. The paper analyzes strengths, weaknesses and opportunities in research, policy and practice linkages. It argues that institutional transformation, responsive structures, committed leadership, and public participation are needed to better connect research, policy, and solutions for sustainable African development.
This document summarizes a journal article that discusses ways to evaluate the effectiveness of federal advisory committees. It provides background on the Federal Advisory Committee Act and the issues it aimed to address regarding transparency and oversight of advisory committees. The article argues that more accurate data is needed to properly assess the productivity and impact of advisory committees. It recommends that agencies provide feedback to committees on their recommendations and that best practices be identified to improve committee functions. An amendment to the Act may be required to give the GSA authority to collect additional useful data.
Business Leaders for Michigan (BLM) hired Public Sector Consultants (PSC) to outline strategies that the State of Michigan can implement to help its regions and cities achieve their economic and urban development goals. The Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program substantively
shaped and contributed to this project under the auspices of the Brookings-Rockefeller Project on
State and Metropolitan Innovation, which works to present fiscally responsible state policies and practical, metropolitan-led solutions that leaders can use to create the next American economy.
Working together on this effort, PSC and Brookings have focused on state-level interventions that
will support and empower metropolitan areas in their ongoing economic and urban revitalization efforts. This strategy recognizes that much of the heavy lifting regarding urban and metropolitan revitalization must be done at the local level, and that there is an abundance of work focused on
local urban revitalization efforts. This strategy is intended to build on those efforts, and make
recommendations regarding what the state (and other stakeholders) can do at both the state and metro-specific level to help urban metropolitan areas achieve their prosperity goals.
Corruption is an issue that is affecting many countries in the world, and there are several approaches that have been found to effective depending on the other external factors. The Unites States has several anti-corruption approaches that were invested in countries of interest such as Afghanistan; however, these have failed dismally. The US government has spent over $70 million in different sectors that was intended to support anti-corruption initiative through the government, law enforcement, and journalists. However, there were several reports that were released indicated the lack of preparation and the strategic flaws in the approach taken by the United States. Afghanistan still poses a security risk to the United States, and public funding towards reconstruction of the country should take an evidence based approach that considers effective mechanisms applies in similar regimes. This paper evaluate the current framework of the procurement to preventing corruption by the United States and evidence based mechanisms by organizations that havebeen resistant to corruption.
OECD Forum on Financing Democracy and Averting Policy Capture - AgendaOECD Governance
Forum to investigate the influence of money on public policies and to find ways of preventing policy capture by narrow private interests. http://www.oecd.org/gov/ethics/financing-democracy-and-averting-policy-capture-forum-2014.htm
A data-driven report chronicling the pubic engagement of Osun State Governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, with Osun citizens in 2019 across digital and offline communication media
Corruption and Election in Conflict Northeast Indiainventionjournals
Democracy largely depends on the modus operandi of electioneering practices. Most of the politicians usually adopted various techniques and strategies to get their ends beyond electoral integrity. One or either form of corrupt practices appears widely in India’s northeast too which greatly demeans democracy. In the backdrop of various demands of different ethnic-based insurgencies, elections are also conducting in regular interval in this India’s Northeast. This study is based on quantitative and empirical methods through SPSS interpretation. Sources of data were mainly from structured questionnaire collected on the basis of random sampling method from electorates of India’s northeast. In contemporary, many insurgent groups have been interfering in the elections since they entered peace dialogue with government of India. This paper attempts to analyse corrupt practices and modus operandi of electioneering practices. Majority of electorates were also on the whims of perpetrators. The state of democracy in India’s northeast is clear example of flawed democracy where elections are in servitude.
This document discusses the concept of good governance and its pillars. It defines governance as the decision-making process and implementation of decisions. Good governance means operating in a participatory, accountable, transparent, and consensus-based manner to advance citizens' rights and public interests. The key pillars of good governance discussed are: rule of law, participation, transparency, accountability, responsiveness, equity and inclusion, effectiveness and efficiency, and strategic vision. Good governance ensures fairness, empowerment, and efficient public service delivery through balancing these pillars.
1) The document analyzes the hypothesis that higher levels of political contributions to state campaigns increases the number of bills signed into law.
2) Analysis of data from 10 states initially found some correlation between contributions and bills signed in 4 Southern states, but broader analysis of all 50 states was less conclusive and found no significant correlations.
3) Problems with incomplete and inconsistent data across states made proper comparison difficult, and many unaccounted factors could also influence the number of bills passed. The hypothesis that overall contributions drive legislation volumes was not proven.
This paper presents an empirical justification of participation of common people in different factors of administration through the policy of decentralization. The background structure of the paper mainly based on the developing country oriented social structure. Through this paper, we can also understand the heterogeneity in the administrative structure. Under this differentiate structure this paper tries to understand the extent of participation of the common people in the administrative decision. In the conclusion part, here in this paper, we try to define the term “Citizen Participation” through the idea of redistribution of administrative power among the civic society for getting an affluent society.
This document summarizes a report about Americans' use of government websites and online services. Some key findings include:
- 82% of internet users looked for information or completed a transaction on a government website in the past year. Common activities included looking up policies, services, downloading forms, and renewing licenses.
- 40% of online adults accessed government data online regarding topics like stimulus spending and campaign contributions.
- 31% of online adults use tools like social media, email and video to get information from government agencies.
- High-income, educated internet users are more likely to engage with government services online.
Good governance is an indeterminate term used in the international development literature to describe how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources. Governance is "the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented)".[1] The term governance can apply to corporate, international, national, local governance[1] or to the interactions between other sectors of society.
The concept of "good governance" of ten emerges as a model to compare ineffective economies or political bodies with viable economies and political bodies.
The political state and public administration reforms required for brazilFernando Alcoforado
The document discusses the need for political, state, and public administration reforms in Brazil. It argues that the current system is not truly democratic and elections are controlled by wealthy economic groups. It proposes establishing a network state to better integrate federal, state, and local governments. A new constituent assembly is needed to construct a new democratic political and administrative system based on ethics and development for all citizens. Key reforms include replacing the presidential system with a parliamentary system, empowering voters to remove elected officials, and allowing citizens to vote on important issues through plebiscites.
This document summarizes a study on the experiences of women working in Ghana's informal sector regarding tax collection. The study found that while 95% of women surveyed pay taxes regularly, 57% do not feel well informed on why they pay taxes and over 50% do not see their tax money going towards public services or projects. The tax system is not seen as fair or inclusive for these women. The document analyzes these findings and makes recommendations for making the tax system more responsive, accountable and fair in order to strengthen the relationship between citizens and the state.
Bureaucracy and Corruption in Nigeria: Implications for Buhari’s Change AgendaAJHSSR Journal
The issue of corruption has taken the front burner in public discourse in Nigeria. This is
particularly because of the leadership that emerged in the country from the 2015 general elections concluded in
April same year. The emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari as the country‘s President has made the issue
of corruption to resonate with a deafening intensity as the fight against corruption became the major item on the
campaign promises of the All Progressive Congress (APC), the current ruling party in the country. This paper
addresses the issue of corruption in Nigeria‘s bureaucracy and its implications for the change mantra of the
Buhari civilian administration. The paper adopts a qualitative method and relied on secondary sources of data. It
also adopted the theory of anomie and the contradictions of bureaucracy as a theoretical framework. It defines
bureaucracy and corruption, gives an overview of bureaucratic corruption and highlights its implications on the
Buhari‘s change agenda. It discusses in great detail the implications of the corruption in the bureaucracy on the
sustenance and consolidation of democracy as well as the change agenda of the Buhari government and
highlights such issues as poverty and underdevelopment, negative impacts on productivity and efficiency, the
deprivation of the citizenry of the benefits of good governance and the much needed dividends of democracy
among others.It argues that if the bureaucracy in Nigeria is not purged of all corrupt tendencies it will be
impossible for it to drive the much needed change necessary for democratic consolidation and recommends the
need to strengthen the anti-corruption agencies, making accountability and transparency an article of faith,
addressing the issues of salaries and wages, thorough investigation and prosecution of corrupt public officials as
well as a reorientation of Nigerians on the need to avoid corrupt practices. It is hopeful that this study will lend a
voice to the current war against corruption and assist the anti corruption agencies in their fight against the
menace in the civil and public service.
Regional index of parliamentary transparency poder ciudadanoPoder Ciudadano
The document describes the creation of a Regional Index of Parliamentary Transparency (RIPT) to analyze and compare the levels of transparency and access to information in the legislatures of Argentina, Chile, and Guatemala. It establishes the project objectives, methodology for creating the index, and criteria for evaluation, which includes four dimensions: administrative management, legislative management, work of legislators, and congressional consultants. The results of applying the index to the three countries are also presented.
Open and transparent government – Liberal Party of Canada - October 2017paul young cpa, cga
- The document discusses open and transparent government, analyzing promises and policies of Justin Trudeau's Liberal government in Canada since 2015.
- It examines areas where the Liberal government has failed to deliver on promises of transparency, such as appointing officials without disclosure, withholding information from access to information requests, and gagging government scientists from speaking publicly.
- The document also analyzes broken election promises on transparency and issues like carbon tax disclosure, and how Canada has slipped in international rankings of economic freedom and press freedom in recent years under the Trudeau government.
This document discusses political party financing and its implications in Malawi. It notes that political parties rely on various sources of funding, including government funding allocated based on election results, membership contributions, donations from anonymous individuals and organizations, and payments from businesses. However, it expresses concerns that without proper regulation, this funding can be abused and lead to corruption. The document calls for reforms such as enacting legislation to regulate political party financing and establishing independent oversight of the process.
This document provides an overview of Pakistan's Citizen Feedback Monitoring Program, which was launched in 2008 in Jhang district to reduce petty corruption in public services. The program involved district officials calling citizens on their cell phones to get feedback on the quality of services received. It was later expanded province-wide in Punjab with help from Zubair Bhatti, the original creator of the program. The expansion faced challenges such as finding long-term management and scaling up to reach thousands of citizens daily. However, with political support from the Chief Minister, Bhatti was able to pilot an expanded model using automated calls and text messages to collect feedback from across Punjab.
Three Personal Ways to Connect Students to Christericafrogner
What if you could connect your freshmen with a community to meet their needs and fears about college before they step foot on campus (aka. Cru)? What if you could teach your students to be real and intentional in sharing Christ's love with their friends through Instagram and Snapchat? What if your team showed up on your International Summer Mission with hundreds of interested students ready to engage? Hear practical examples of what God's already doing!
Las Colinas, located in Irving, Texas, is a major corporate community home to companies like ExxonMobil and Nokia. It offers a progressive business climate and amenities. Plans include a new light rail connecting Las Colinas to Dallas and the airport, as well as parks and other developments. The area aims to continue growing as a premier corporate address through improving transportation and recreational opportunities.
Catholic parishes need to move beyond simply setting up websites and waiting for the faithful to come to us. We have to reach out to people where they live (as Jesus did)! Inbound Marketing provides a set of tools the allow you to tap into your existing network of active parishioners to reach out to Catholics who don't regularly come to church (which is MOST of them!).
Corruption and Election in Conflict Northeast Indiainventionjournals
Democracy largely depends on the modus operandi of electioneering practices. Most of the politicians usually adopted various techniques and strategies to get their ends beyond electoral integrity. One or either form of corrupt practices appears widely in India’s northeast too which greatly demeans democracy. In the backdrop of various demands of different ethnic-based insurgencies, elections are also conducting in regular interval in this India’s Northeast. This study is based on quantitative and empirical methods through SPSS interpretation. Sources of data were mainly from structured questionnaire collected on the basis of random sampling method from electorates of India’s northeast. In contemporary, many insurgent groups have been interfering in the elections since they entered peace dialogue with government of India. This paper attempts to analyse corrupt practices and modus operandi of electioneering practices. Majority of electorates were also on the whims of perpetrators. The state of democracy in India’s northeast is clear example of flawed democracy where elections are in servitude.
This document discusses the concept of good governance and its pillars. It defines governance as the decision-making process and implementation of decisions. Good governance means operating in a participatory, accountable, transparent, and consensus-based manner to advance citizens' rights and public interests. The key pillars of good governance discussed are: rule of law, participation, transparency, accountability, responsiveness, equity and inclusion, effectiveness and efficiency, and strategic vision. Good governance ensures fairness, empowerment, and efficient public service delivery through balancing these pillars.
1) The document analyzes the hypothesis that higher levels of political contributions to state campaigns increases the number of bills signed into law.
2) Analysis of data from 10 states initially found some correlation between contributions and bills signed in 4 Southern states, but broader analysis of all 50 states was less conclusive and found no significant correlations.
3) Problems with incomplete and inconsistent data across states made proper comparison difficult, and many unaccounted factors could also influence the number of bills passed. The hypothesis that overall contributions drive legislation volumes was not proven.
This paper presents an empirical justification of participation of common people in different factors of administration through the policy of decentralization. The background structure of the paper mainly based on the developing country oriented social structure. Through this paper, we can also understand the heterogeneity in the administrative structure. Under this differentiate structure this paper tries to understand the extent of participation of the common people in the administrative decision. In the conclusion part, here in this paper, we try to define the term “Citizen Participation” through the idea of redistribution of administrative power among the civic society for getting an affluent society.
This document summarizes a report about Americans' use of government websites and online services. Some key findings include:
- 82% of internet users looked for information or completed a transaction on a government website in the past year. Common activities included looking up policies, services, downloading forms, and renewing licenses.
- 40% of online adults accessed government data online regarding topics like stimulus spending and campaign contributions.
- 31% of online adults use tools like social media, email and video to get information from government agencies.
- High-income, educated internet users are more likely to engage with government services online.
Good governance is an indeterminate term used in the international development literature to describe how public institutions conduct public affairs and manage public resources. Governance is "the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented)".[1] The term governance can apply to corporate, international, national, local governance[1] or to the interactions between other sectors of society.
The concept of "good governance" of ten emerges as a model to compare ineffective economies or political bodies with viable economies and political bodies.
The political state and public administration reforms required for brazilFernando Alcoforado
The document discusses the need for political, state, and public administration reforms in Brazil. It argues that the current system is not truly democratic and elections are controlled by wealthy economic groups. It proposes establishing a network state to better integrate federal, state, and local governments. A new constituent assembly is needed to construct a new democratic political and administrative system based on ethics and development for all citizens. Key reforms include replacing the presidential system with a parliamentary system, empowering voters to remove elected officials, and allowing citizens to vote on important issues through plebiscites.
This document summarizes a study on the experiences of women working in Ghana's informal sector regarding tax collection. The study found that while 95% of women surveyed pay taxes regularly, 57% do not feel well informed on why they pay taxes and over 50% do not see their tax money going towards public services or projects. The tax system is not seen as fair or inclusive for these women. The document analyzes these findings and makes recommendations for making the tax system more responsive, accountable and fair in order to strengthen the relationship between citizens and the state.
Bureaucracy and Corruption in Nigeria: Implications for Buhari’s Change AgendaAJHSSR Journal
The issue of corruption has taken the front burner in public discourse in Nigeria. This is
particularly because of the leadership that emerged in the country from the 2015 general elections concluded in
April same year. The emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari as the country‘s President has made the issue
of corruption to resonate with a deafening intensity as the fight against corruption became the major item on the
campaign promises of the All Progressive Congress (APC), the current ruling party in the country. This paper
addresses the issue of corruption in Nigeria‘s bureaucracy and its implications for the change mantra of the
Buhari civilian administration. The paper adopts a qualitative method and relied on secondary sources of data. It
also adopted the theory of anomie and the contradictions of bureaucracy as a theoretical framework. It defines
bureaucracy and corruption, gives an overview of bureaucratic corruption and highlights its implications on the
Buhari‘s change agenda. It discusses in great detail the implications of the corruption in the bureaucracy on the
sustenance and consolidation of democracy as well as the change agenda of the Buhari government and
highlights such issues as poverty and underdevelopment, negative impacts on productivity and efficiency, the
deprivation of the citizenry of the benefits of good governance and the much needed dividends of democracy
among others.It argues that if the bureaucracy in Nigeria is not purged of all corrupt tendencies it will be
impossible for it to drive the much needed change necessary for democratic consolidation and recommends the
need to strengthen the anti-corruption agencies, making accountability and transparency an article of faith,
addressing the issues of salaries and wages, thorough investigation and prosecution of corrupt public officials as
well as a reorientation of Nigerians on the need to avoid corrupt practices. It is hopeful that this study will lend a
voice to the current war against corruption and assist the anti corruption agencies in their fight against the
menace in the civil and public service.
Regional index of parliamentary transparency poder ciudadanoPoder Ciudadano
The document describes the creation of a Regional Index of Parliamentary Transparency (RIPT) to analyze and compare the levels of transparency and access to information in the legislatures of Argentina, Chile, and Guatemala. It establishes the project objectives, methodology for creating the index, and criteria for evaluation, which includes four dimensions: administrative management, legislative management, work of legislators, and congressional consultants. The results of applying the index to the three countries are also presented.
Open and transparent government – Liberal Party of Canada - October 2017paul young cpa, cga
- The document discusses open and transparent government, analyzing promises and policies of Justin Trudeau's Liberal government in Canada since 2015.
- It examines areas where the Liberal government has failed to deliver on promises of transparency, such as appointing officials without disclosure, withholding information from access to information requests, and gagging government scientists from speaking publicly.
- The document also analyzes broken election promises on transparency and issues like carbon tax disclosure, and how Canada has slipped in international rankings of economic freedom and press freedom in recent years under the Trudeau government.
This document discusses political party financing and its implications in Malawi. It notes that political parties rely on various sources of funding, including government funding allocated based on election results, membership contributions, donations from anonymous individuals and organizations, and payments from businesses. However, it expresses concerns that without proper regulation, this funding can be abused and lead to corruption. The document calls for reforms such as enacting legislation to regulate political party financing and establishing independent oversight of the process.
This document provides an overview of Pakistan's Citizen Feedback Monitoring Program, which was launched in 2008 in Jhang district to reduce petty corruption in public services. The program involved district officials calling citizens on their cell phones to get feedback on the quality of services received. It was later expanded province-wide in Punjab with help from Zubair Bhatti, the original creator of the program. The expansion faced challenges such as finding long-term management and scaling up to reach thousands of citizens daily. However, with political support from the Chief Minister, Bhatti was able to pilot an expanded model using automated calls and text messages to collect feedback from across Punjab.
Three Personal Ways to Connect Students to Christericafrogner
What if you could connect your freshmen with a community to meet their needs and fears about college before they step foot on campus (aka. Cru)? What if you could teach your students to be real and intentional in sharing Christ's love with their friends through Instagram and Snapchat? What if your team showed up on your International Summer Mission with hundreds of interested students ready to engage? Hear practical examples of what God's already doing!
Las Colinas, located in Irving, Texas, is a major corporate community home to companies like ExxonMobil and Nokia. It offers a progressive business climate and amenities. Plans include a new light rail connecting Las Colinas to Dallas and the airport, as well as parks and other developments. The area aims to continue growing as a premier corporate address through improving transportation and recreational opportunities.
Catholic parishes need to move beyond simply setting up websites and waiting for the faithful to come to us. We have to reach out to people where they live (as Jesus did)! Inbound Marketing provides a set of tools the allow you to tap into your existing network of active parishioners to reach out to Catholics who don't regularly come to church (which is MOST of them!).
Finstem’s Florizel Villas are fully furnished designer Villas with world class amenities offering five star services that provide a lifestyle that is relaxing and luxurious. It enables friends and family to holiday together indulging in extravagance with concierge services. Adorned with latest design of modern architecture, these luxury Villas are available at attractive prices with an assured return. It is also lavished with all the modern facilities and amenities to cater the needs and requirements of the buyers. Giving you a remarkable architectural landmark in residential land development, Finstem Developers fulfill the demands of buyers and investors who are looking for Luxury Villas at an aspiring location. Revitaslize your body and soul; treat yourself with the music of twittering birds, an aura of serenity and freedom at the most awaited destination near the Silicon Valley of India. These Villas also come with a Rental Advantage for your benefit. You can enjoy the Luxurious of a Villa alongside rental investment benefits.
Ison Homes is a building company with over 30 years of experience that offers personalized service, comprehensive quotations, and fixed rate contracts. They aim to respond quickly, start work within 10 days of approvals, guide clients through every step of construction, and complete homes on or before scheduled dates. Ison Homes uses high quality products and tradespeople and guarantees on-time and on-budget completion, offering damages for delays.
This document certifies that Oleksandr Serhiiovych Detistov was conferred the academic degree of Candidate of Chemical Sciences by the V.N. Karazin Kharkiv National University. The diploma was issued according to the decision of the Supreme Certifying Commission of Ukraine dated September 26, 2012. The notary certifies that the translation of the document from Ukrainian to English was performed by the translator Yuliia Volodymyrivna Kharytonova.
KKB CommDev Model (2004) [Compatibility Mode]Ketiboa Blay
This document outlines a conceptual framework for community development. It discusses gathering baseline data about the community's geography, resources, population, livelihoods, infrastructure, and local government. It also involves asking critical questions about the community's key livelihoods and infrastructure needs. The framework then establishes objectives, strategies, actors, and an investment program to coordinate resource procurement, deployment, tracking, and evaluation in order to improve communities' socio-economic, socio-cultural, socio-environmental, and politico-psychological needs through changes that benefit the target population.
Understanding How open data could impact resource allocation for poverty era...Open Data Research Network
"A research poster presented as part of the Exploring the Emerging Impacts of Open Data in Developing Countries project at the Research Sharing Event in Berlin, 15th July 2014. For more see http://www.opendataresearch.org/emergingimpacts/"
The document summarizes Minnesota's efforts between 2011-2015 to implement a pay-for-performance social financing program through a state bond initiative as authorized by the 2011 Minnesota Pay for Performance Act. Key points:
1. The Act authorized $10 million in state bonds to fund social services, with payments made only if providers met performance targets, generating savings for the state.
2. An oversight committee was tasked with implementation but faced challenges selecting services and faced risk-aversion.
3. After 4 years of planning, no agreements were finalized and the program was not implemented as intended by the legislation.
Open Data Fueling Innovation - Kristen Honeyscoopnewsgroup
The document discusses the United States' leadership in open government and open data initiatives. It provides details on programs like the Open Government Initiative, Open Government Partnership, and open data policies. It then highlights the impact of open data across various federal agencies and programs, including examples in international development, finance, agriculture, education, health, precision medicine, and policing. Open data is fueling innovation and improved government services.
This document discusses concepts and tools related to social accountability and participatory public expenditure management. It defines social accountability as an approach that relies on civic engagement where citizens and civil society organizations directly or indirectly exact accountability. Some key social accountability mechanisms mentioned include participatory budgeting, public expenditure tracking, citizen monitoring, and advocacy campaigns. The document also provides examples of these tools being implemented successfully in various countries like participatory budgeting in Porto Alegre, Brazil and public expenditure tracking surveys in Uganda.
Achieving Compliance and Transparency in the Public Sector IP finalMichael Gandy
The document discusses the challenges facing government agencies in achieving compliance with transparency and public records mandates. It outlines the growing expectations for digital services, rapidly increasing data volumes, and low public trust. Meeting compliance requirements is difficult with limited resources. The solution proposed is to standardize and automate document workflows using litigation management software. This allows efficient searching, reviewing, redacting and reporting on public records requests while protecting sensitive data. LexisNexis offers tools like LAW PreDiscovery and Concordance that can help agencies better manage compliance.
Public Participation - Lorena RIVERO DEL PASO, MexicoOECD Governance
This presentation was made by Lorena RIVERO DEL PASO, Ministry of Finance & Public Credit, Mexico, at the 14th CESEE SBO meeting held in Zagreb, Croatia, on 24-25 May 2018.
This document discusses how transparent and accountable public finance practices can improve governance and reduce poverty. It provides 6 examples of ways this occurs, such as improving fiscal discipline and access to credit markets. A case study from the Philippines is described where the education department partnered with civil society groups to monitor the textbook procurement process, reducing costs and corruption and improving delivery of textbooks to schools. The conclusion states that transparent oversight of public resources by governments working with citizens can significantly improve management and distribution of those resources.
This document discusses how transparent and accountable public finance practices can improve governance and reduce poverty. It provides 6 examples of ways this occurs, such as improving fiscal discipline and access to credit markets. A case study from the Philippines is described where the education department partnered with civil society groups to monitor the textbook procurement process, reducing costs and corruption and improving delivery of textbooks to schools. The conclusion states that transparent oversight of public resources by governments working with citizens can significantly improve management and distribution of those resources.
Reflection on the work of Global Integrity in 2016 including how we have implemented our strategy as well as how we are putting adaptive learning into practice
Accounting For Trust In Governmental Reporting Research ReportKate Campbell
This research report summarizes a study investigating how to enhance user trust in UK governmental reporting. It identifies the changing landscape of governmental reporting users to include expert intermediaries in addition to non-expert citizens and politicians. The study aimed to learn more about user needs by conducting interviews and examining accessibility, understandability, and risk reporting practices. Key findings indicate users want improved data accessibility and understandability. The report provides recommendations for digital strategies and cooperation with stakeholders. It also recommends enhancing risk reporting practices to build user trust by clearly presenting risks, standardizing formats, and linking risks to plans and priorities. Overall, the report examines how to improve governmental reporting as a communication tool for building trust between government and users.
Open for Business: How Open Data Can Help Achieve the G20 Growth TargetAntonio Sánchez Zaplana
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Open Data for better health service delivery - Fabrizio Scrollini (Latin Amer...mysociety
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CHHS Open DataFest - 3.14.16 - Day One Morning SessionsMichael Kerr
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BOYD - OAS Fellowship Report - Nov 2015Jaimie Boyd
The Organization of American States' Fellowship on Open Government aims to empower the next generation of public policy leaders in the Americas by connecting them through a network focused on modern governance trends like open government. The inaugural fellowship included 24 fellows from 16 countries who participated in online courses, seminars in the US and Mexico, and developed open government projects. It aimed to strengthen open government practices around transparency, civic participation, and cross-sector collaboration to support democratic governance and public administration modernization across the Americas.
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PAFF 6304: Public Budgeting & Finance / Fall 2015, Module One
The document discusses information security and privacy in the public sector. It outlines key concepts like availability, confidentiality, privacy, and integrity of public information. It also discusses information security, ensuring data integrity, confidentiality and availability. The document then examines information privacy and policy instruments like legal/regulatory, economic, technical and information policies to enhance security. It identifies challenges like safeguarding sensitive data, protecting IT systems, and ensuring leadership credibility. The document concludes with recommendations for implementing secure and transparent government through effective policies, procedures, organizational structures and security programs.
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Based on the Blueprint Architectural Design of the City of Weslaco's Multiprotocal Label Switching Fiber Network. A joint team effort between the Weslaco IT Department and SmartCom of McAllen.
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This document analyzes how e-government is used as a unit of governmental transparency. E-government uses internet technologies to make it easier for citizens and businesses to interact with government. It allows for open data, public information, and citizen engagement through websites, social media, email and texting. This gives citizens access to public records through acts like the Freedom of Information Act and the Public Information Act. E-government services are accessible anytime through computers and smart devices, allowing 24/7 access to government data and services.
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This document discusses how governments can use social media and information and communications technology to provide public information. It defines social media and common platforms used, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Issuu and LinkedIn. It also defines ICT as technologies that allow communication through devices and networks. The document concludes that following open data guidelines ensures transparency and that social media and ICT help engage citizens and provide real-time access to government information on various devices.
This document contains Epifanio R. Garcia's final grades for the Summer 2015 Module 2 term. It shows that he is pursuing a Master of Public Administration degree and received a grade of B in PUBA 6306 Past, Present and Future and an A in PUBA 6311 Formulation of Public Policy. His current term GPA was 3.5 and his cumulative GPA across 30 credit hours is 3.3.
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DI SEGUITO SONO PUBBLICATI, AI SENSI DELL'ART. 11 DELLA LEGGE N. 3/2019, GLI IMPORTI RICEVUTI DALL'ENTRATA IN VIGORE DELLA SUDDETTA NORMA (31/01/2019) E FINO AL MESE SOLARE ANTECEDENTE QUELLO DELLA PUBBLICAZIONE SUL PRESENTE SITO
Jennifer Schaus and Associates hosts a complimentary webinar series on The FAR in 2024. Join the webinars on Wednesdays and Fridays at noon, eastern.
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https://www.youtube.com/@jenniferschaus/videos
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Jennifer Schaus and Associates hosts a complimentary webinar series on The FAR in 2024. Join the webinars on Wednesdays and Fridays at noon, eastern.
Recordings are on YouTube and the company website.
https://www.youtube.com/@jenniferschaus/videos
Food safety, prepare for the unexpected - So what can be done in order to be ready to address food safety, food Consumers, food producers and manufacturers, food transporters, food businesses, food retailers can ...
A Guide to AI for Smarter Nonprofits - Dr. Cori Faklaris, UNC CharlotteCori Faklaris
Working with data is a challenge for many organizations. Nonprofits in particular may need to collect and analyze sensitive, incomplete, and/or biased historical data about people. In this talk, Dr. Cori Faklaris of UNC Charlotte provides an overview of current AI capabilities and weaknesses to consider when integrating current AI technologies into the data workflow. The talk is organized around three takeaways: (1) For better or sometimes worse, AI provides you with “infinite interns.” (2) Give people permission & guardrails to learn what works with these “interns” and what doesn’t. (3) Create a roadmap for adding in more AI to assist nonprofit work, along with strategies for bias mitigation.
1. A STUDY OF LOCAL GOVERNMENTAL TRANSPARENCY
Financial Transactions & the Municipal Budget
PRACTICUM RESEARCH STUDY
PUBA 6320: Fiscal Administration
Summer 2015, Module I, June 16, 2015
Dr. George Atisa
Group 6 Authors
E. Rey Garcia – Project Leader
Melissa Ipina, Howard Clayton, Xavier Hinojosa
Tuesd
2. PUBA 6320: Fiscal Administration
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Intentionally Left Blank
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract …………………………………………………………………………………….. 3
Introduction …………………………………………………………………………………. 4
Background …………………………………………………………………………………. 6
Literature Review …………………………………………………………………………… 7
The Research Team …………………………………………………………………. 7
Criteria ………………………………………………………………………………. 7
Empirical Data Collection …………………………………………………………... 8
Reporting ……………………………………………………………………………. 8
Transparency Measures ……………………………………………………………... 9
Methodology ……………………………………………………………………………….. 10
Organizational Methodology ……………………………………...……………….. 10
Communications Methods …………..………………………………………………14
The Case Studies …………………………………………………………………….15
Houston, TX …………………………………………………………………15
Performance Measurement ……………………………………….... 16
Statistical Analysis …………………………………………………..17
South Padre Island, TX ……………………………………………………...18
Statistical Analysis ………………………………………………..…19
Bandera, TX ………………………………………………………………....20
Statistical Analysis …………………………………………………..20
Findings and Recommendations ………………………………………………………….....21
Bibliography …………………………..…………………………………………………… 22
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Final Research Study – A Study of Local Government Transparency
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ABSTRACT
This study researches, investigates and reports how local government agencies share their
financial transactions and municipal budget process with the community, media, and other arms
of the government. The research team has focused on three Texas cities: Houston, South Padre
Island, and Bandera. These local governments are categorized as a: (1) City, (2) Town, or (3)
Place or Village.
5. PUBA 6320: Fiscal Administration
Final Research Study – A Study of Local Government Transparency
Group 6: E. Rey Garcia, Melissa Ipina, Clayton Howard, Xavier Hinojosa
Practicum Research Study
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INTRODUCTION
In todays United States government there is an ever growing distrust and weakening of
our democracy’s efficiency and effectiveness. Transparency provides information and promotes
accountability for citizens about what their government is doing and what they are funding.
Transparency provides consistent openness which allows others to access information that is key
to an organizations processes and strategies. Some people may ask what “transparency” is and
why is it important. Government transparency allows the taxpayer to research and hold
government elected officials accountable for how they spend money at all levels of government.
In the last decade, transparency has become increasingly important as citizens become ever more
distrustful of the federal government. The public has demanded for greater visibility into all
government decisions especially those that involve tax dollars, while also calling for higher
levels of accountability. Mistrust in our governmental leaders has reached an all-time high, with
only 34 percent who say they trust the government. Much of this mistrust has come from
governmental leaders providing misleading information when it come to the budget. The public
also lacks trust in our government leaders and their ability to be ethical and honest, this stems
from the thought that once elected, public officials act in self-interest. Transparency not only
means demonstrating that decisions are fact based, but that the information that is obtained is
accurate and is distributed with efficiency through the use of technology. The main purpose of
our research is to investigate how local governments share their municipal budgets with
communities and the public sector. The study will focus on three local government agencies and
will examine the transparency efforts and methods used by each agency to inform the community
6. PUBA 6320: Fiscal Administration
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and public of budget meetings, budget workshops, city council meetings, agendas, minutes,
financial reports, web, social media, and other forms of communication to keep the community
and public informed of FY Budget.
7. PUBA 6320: Fiscal Administration
Final Research Study – A Study of Local Government Transparency
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BACKGROUND
Today’s Internet-savvy citizens are engaged with their government and this means clear,
credible information from the government and its business. The communication must be easily
accessible via information services, such as web and social media. Transparency originates from
Open Government, E-Government and Gov 2.0; connecting citizens with the government,
fostering openness, collaboration, and an efficient public sector through public data.
1) Open Government is defined by the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development) as “the transparency of government actions, the accessibility of
government services and information, and the responsiveness of government to new
ideas, demands and needs.”
2) E-Government is defined by the World Bank as “the use by government agencies of
information technologies that have the ability to transform relations with citizens,
businesses, and other arms of government. These technologies can serve a variety of
different ends: better delivery of government services to citizens, improved
interactions with business and industry, citizen empowerment through access to
information, or more efficient government management. The resulting benefits can be
less corruption, increased transparency, greater convenience, revenue growth, and/or
cost reductions.”
3) Gov 2.0 is defined by Gartner Research as “the use of Web 2.0 technologies, both
internally and externally, to increase collaboration and transparency and potentially
transform the way government agencies relate to citizens and operate.”
8. PUBA 6320: Fiscal Administration
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Literature Review
This literature review explains and summarizes all sources as they pertain to local
government agencies and their transparency efforts when it comes to sharing financial
transactions and the municipal budget with the local community, media, and other arms of the
government. The study uses a mixed approach of both qualitative and quantitative research
methods and therefore allows for the reshuffling of information, alternative interpretations, and
the progression of the study.
The Research Team
This study consists of a research team of four professional MPA candidates who study,
review, analyze, and report on three Texas government agencies and the transparency efforts and
methods used to keep the public informed on the financial transactions and the municipal budget.
Criteria
The research team studied three types of local government agencies and based it on the
following criteria: (1) Bigger cities, which have a population of 6,000 or more; (2) Smaller
cities/towns/places/villages, which have a population between 1,000 and 6,000; and (3) Very
small towns and villages, which have a population of 1,000 or less. The three cities selected for
this study are:
• Houston, Texas – A bigger city with a population of 2,160,821.
• South Padre Island, Texas – A smaller city with a population of 2,896.
• Bandera, Texas – A very small town with a population of 856.
9. PUBA 6320: Fiscal Administration
Final Research Study – A Study of Local Government Transparency
Group 6: E. Rey Garcia, Melissa Ipina, Clayton Howard, Xavier Hinojosa
Practicum Research Study
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Empirical Data Collection
Empirical data findings are evident in this study. The data being collected and reviewed
from all three local government agencies follows state mandated actions and recommendations,
ordinances and compliances as posted by the State of Texas and other supporting organizations.
Reporting
After studying each local government agency, the research team presents a report of all
findings and recommendations. The research team uses a mixed approach of both qualitative and
quantitative processes to gather both statistical and informal data to report on the transparency
efforts and methods of the agencies being studied.
10. PUBA 6320: Fiscal Administration
Final Research Study – A Study of Local Government Transparency
Group 6: E. Rey Garcia, Melissa Ipina, Clayton Howard, Xavier Hinojosa
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Transparency Measures
Most government agencies are taking measures to strategize processes such as
accountability of all financials, develop approaches and methods to report revenue, and
standardized or state mandate practices, and actions to ensure ethical budgetary practices and the
trust in the leaders.
1) Government Accountability – Agencies are gradually holding themselves accountable
to the community of all their financial transactions.
2) Actual Method – Agencies are moving towards implementing accounting methods to
report revenues on the income statement. Under the cash basis of accounting, revenues
are reported on the income statement when the cash is received. Under the accrual basis
of accounting, expenses are matched with the related revenues and/or are reported when
the expense occurs, not when the cash is paid. The result of accrual accounting is an
income statement that better measures all budgetary expenses.
3) Standardization – Agencies are gradually standardizing by following state mandated
recommendations, and developing and implementing standardize information systems to
communicate information by working together with Information Technology and
Communications departments.
4) Actions / Results – Agencies that are taking action and implementing transparency are
quickly noticing the results are a well-kept community, trust in the leadership, and builds
values, integrity and ethical practices of the public service officials.
5) Citizen Engagement – Agencies are using social media and the Internet to engage and
collaborate with their citizens.
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Methodology
OrganizationalMethodology
Agencies that adopt organizational methodology practices, recommendations and
standards can focus more on the tasks of leading, innovating and delivering products and
services, while improving efficiency and performance. Below are eight key organizations who
help agencies administer transparency by recommending, educating and awarding, rating, or
monitoring governmental financials and transparency efforts and methods.
Texas Comptroller’s Office
www.Texastranparency.org
Agencies are adapting the transparency efforts as posted on the Texas Comptroller of
Public Accounts' Texas Transparency website www.texastransparency.org, which provides
detailed information about state spending, downloadable datasets and reports, links to local
government transparency efforts, and general information about the state budget process.
American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC)
www.alec.org
Through the adaptation of the Local Government Transparency Act, ALEC requires that
a unit of local government or school district having an annual budget equal to, or more than,
$500,000 must maintain and post on its website for the current calendar or fiscal year, as the case
may be, and the 4 years immediately before that calendar or fiscal year.
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Texas Municipal League (TML)
www.tml.org
TML provides a forum in which city officials can study municipal issues, network with
their counterparts from across the state, meet with vendors who provide services and products to
cities, hear from speakers who have timely and important information, and exchange ideas. It
offers participating agencies open government training, certification, transparency and leadership
recognition awards.
Texas City Managers’ Association (TCMA)
www.tcma.org
TCMA offers leadership
development, advocacy for a Council-
Mayor form of government, education
and training on uniformity and
consistency, and membership allows
access and collaboration with other
agency professionals and social media
which allows for better citizen
engagement and current information.
TCMA recognizes and awards agencies that become more transparent.
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International City Managers’ Association (ICMA)
www.icma.org
ICMA advocates that a transparent governance means that government officials act
openly, with citizens’ knowledge of the decisions the officials are making. Availability of
information on government policies and actions, a clear sense of organizational responsibility,
and an assurance that governments are efficiently administered and free of systemic corruption
are important components of transparent governance.
ICMA educates and offers the tools like Performance Measurement to help local
government agencies become more transparency by helping build the flow of adequate
information, strong civil society, effective and transparent financial management systems, and
procurement regulations that keep the bidding process fair and open. (Reform, Ethics & Code
Enforcement, Open Budget and Procurement Process, Citizen Involvement or Services
Delivered. ICMA has developed an approach and methodology based on five elements that are
critical to success:
1) Political will at the highest levels of leadership
2) Integrity in local government systems
3) A culture of information sharing
4) Continuous monitoring and evaluation
5) The promotion of an ethic of public service
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International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS)
www.ipsas.org
IPSAS offers agencies standardized accounting practices and accrual-based standards
used for the preparation of general purpose financial statements by governments and other public
sector entities around the world. These standards aim to enhance the quality, consistency, and
transparency of public sector financial reporting.
Bond Ratings (Moody’s, Fitch, Standard & Poor)
www.moody.com / www.fitch.com / www.standardandpoor.com
Local governments hire bond rating companies like Moody’s, Fitch and Standard & Poor
to review their municipal finances, governance and management. When a rating company awards
a high bond rating, this means that the budget is stable and predictable, thus making it safer for
conducting business with the local government.
National Association of Government Web Professionals (NAGW)
www.nagw.org
NAGW offers government agencies affordable membership, networking, and a national
conference that provides education and awards the best city websites with the prestigious
Pinnacle Award – This award is selected by the board members and judges teamwork, content,
organization, design, performance, accessibility, standards, and interactivity.
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Communications Methods
Local government agencies are implementing information technology methods to
communicate information to the public, such as the Internet, cloud computing, mobile and smart
devices, social media apps, mobile web, local access channel, instant messaging systems, and
other forms of communications systems to keep the community informed of their financial
activity.
The Case Studies
The research team carefully studied, analyzed and reported the transparency efforts and
initiatives of three local government agencies of Texas (Houston, South Padre Island, and
Bandera). The team conducted a statistical analysis and reviewed each city’s communications
sources used to collaborate information with the public, budget documents and reports accessible
to the community, and organizational hierarchy and management style of each agency.
16. PUBA 6320: Fiscal Administration
Final Research Study – A Study of Local Government Transparency
Group 6: E. Rey Garcia, Melissa Ipina, Clayton Howard, Xavier Hinojosa
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Local Government Transparency P a g e | 15
Houston, TX
www.houstontx.gov
Fiscal / Financial Responsibility
The City of Houston receives an A- or 88 points for
transparency. With a population of 2.1 million, it has established
an eGovernment Center dedicated to making more services
available online through the tools and information offered via the
web 24 hours. From a financial point of view, the city has
adopted five priorities to ensure “Fiscal Responsibility”. For
more information go to http://www.houstontx.gov/mayor/Fiscal-
Responsibility.
1) Jobs and Sustainable Development
2) Public Safety
3) Infrastructure
4) Quality of Life and
5) Fiscal Responsibility
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Group 6: E. Rey Garcia, Melissa Ipina, Clayton Howard, Xavier Hinojosa
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Performance Measurement
The City of Houston has implemented a Performance Improvement Portal, a division
which partners with City departments to identify opportunity, eliminate waste, and provide
internal consulting services. It offers the following methods to measure performance:
Performance Reporting via Publications
Open Data & Civic Innovation – Accessible information to the public.
One Houston - Adopt simple, cost-saving measures to employees’ life.
Improvement Projects – Offers training and improvements for employees.
Lean Six Sigma Program – Offers Six Sigma Methodologies training.
Strategy - Actions using performance measures to track progress.
18. PUBA 6320: Fiscal Administration
Final Research Study – A Study of Local Government Transparency
Group 6: E. Rey Garcia, Melissa Ipina, Clayton Howard, Xavier Hinojosa
Practicum Research Study
Local Government Transparency P a g e | 17
Statistical Analysis
The research team conducted an analysis of the City of Houston’s, communication
sources, budget documents, and organizational structure. The initial hypothesis: larger cities with
higher budgets are capable of allocating more money, time and efforts into transparency in their
municipal budgets. True: Houston had the highest weighted score of 88/100.
19. PUBA 6320: Fiscal Administration
Final Research Study – A Study of Local Government Transparency
Group 6: E. Rey Garcia, Melissa Ipina, Clayton Howard, Xavier Hinojosa
Practicum Research Study
Local Government Transparency P a g e | 18
South Padre Island, TX
www.myspi.gov
The City of South Padre Island, Texas receives a B or 66 points for transparency. SPI,
takes pride in their transparency and community involvement by allowing members of the local
community to get involved in the following boards and committees:
1) Board of Adjustments
2) Board of Ethics
3) Convention and Visitors Advisory Board
4) Convention and Visitors Transition Board
5) Development Standards Review Task Force
6) Economic Development Corporation
7) Historical Preservation Committee
8) Keep SPI Beautiful Committee
9) Parks, Recreation & Beautification Committee
10) Planning and Zoning Commission
11) Shoreline Task Force
20. PUBA 6320: Fiscal Administration
Final Research Study – A Study of Local Government Transparency
Group 6: E. Rey Garcia, Melissa Ipina, Clayton Howard, Xavier Hinojosa
Practicum Research Study
Local Government Transparency P a g e | 19
Statistical Analysis
The research team conducted an analysis of the City of South Padre Island’s communication
sources, budget documents, and organizational structure. The initial hypothesis: smaller cities
with a smaller budget
are less capable of
allocating funds, time
and efforts into
transparency in their
municipal budgets.
South Padre, with a
limited budget received
a weighted score of
66/100.
21. PUBA 6320: Fiscal Administration
Final Research Study – A Study of Local Government Transparency
Group 6: E. Rey Garcia, Melissa Ipina, Clayton Howard, Xavier Hinojosa
Practicum Research Study
Local Government Transparency P a g e | 20
Bandera, TX
www.cityofbandera.org
The City of Bandera, TX receives a C+ or 66 points for transparency. According to Texas
Transparency or www.texastransparency.org, the City of Bandera is taking measures to educate
the leaders, employees, and community on eGovernment and transparency. Such methods
currently in place are:
1) Recent Bond Election
2) Tax-Support Debt
3) Comprehensive Annual Budget Report
Statistical Analysis
The research team conducted
an analysis of the City of
Bandera’s communication
sources, budget documents, and
organizational structure. The
initial hypothesis: a city with a
very small budget and staff is
less capable of allocating funds,
time and efforts into transparency
in their municipal budgets.
Bandera received a weighted score of 66/100.
22. PUBA 6320: Fiscal Administration
Final Research Study – A Study of Local Government Transparency
Group 6: E. Rey Garcia, Melissa Ipina, Clayton Howard, Xavier Hinojosa
Practicum Research Study
Local Government Transparency P a g e | 21
Findings and Recommendations
The research team concludes this study by reporting findings and making
recommendations. The study shows
that in order to compete with other
municipalities, local governments,
regardless of size, have to educate the
leadership, staff, and community on
transparency. By being an open
government the city gains trust and
credibility of their leaders and elected officials. To achieve the transparency of communication,
agencies should make their information:
Portable and Expandable– Information should be portable and allow for
expansion and must be accessible via mobile web, smart devices and apps.
Reusable Technology – Using existing technologies to communicate your
information to the public.
Support and Collaboration – By collaborating and engaging with the community,
trust and ethics are built and credibility and support of the leadership.
Provide Training of EGovernment – Agencies have the option of using the many
trainings and certification programs offered by organizations like TML, ICAM
and NAGW.
23. PUBA 6320: Fiscal Administration
Final Research Study – A Study of Local Government Transparency
Group 6: E. Rey Garcia, Melissa Ipina, Clayton Howard, Xavier Hinojosa
Practicum Research Study
Local Government Transparency P a g e | 22
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