Challenges and opportunities to strengthen democratic governance, accountability, and transparency through access to information laws: guidance note

The main purpose of the Guidance Note is to provide a basic description of the existing trends, challenges and opportunities in AILs, as well as highlight areas of program/policy opportunities and recommend feasible policy approaches. Rather than being prescriptive, the Guidance Note focuses on the processes involved, in order to identify useful lessons for those currently building and strengthening AILs or contemplating doing so. No judgment is made of the quality of the experiences, as many AILs are still works in progress. By examining and analyzing (based on secondary information available) the policy and implementation processes pursued in cases drawn from around the world, the Guidance Note hopes to contribute to a policy dialogue on institutional reform, generally, and on transparency and accountability, specifically, thereby enhancing the potential for success of future democratic governance reform efforts.