Search

This study examined the use of data from a transparency portal in media coverage of a high-profile case of alleged public procurement irregularities in Spain. Access to Twitter API was used to identify relevant URLs related to this issue. It was found that direct links to a portal were of low relevance, and most of the linked documents did not even mention the availability of data from a portal. Qualitative analysis revealed that the most frequent topics were the use of portal data as an authoritative argument to endorse information, the statement that the portal did not contain sufficient information for journalistic purposes, and the absence of data on third parties involved in public procurement. It is recommended that governments promote the existence of Portals and make media outlets aware that providing links to original data is beneficial for their reporting. In addition, linked open data should be used to ensure accuracy and transparency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Budget visualization tools facilitate the communication of complex technical information. In this paper, the main technical, individual and organizational factors that affect its implementation and use is analysed. Through a questionnaire survey data have been collected from those responsible for the adoption and maintenance of the two principal web applications in 34 Spanish regional and local governments. Findings show that these tools have some users but that their main target are not citizens but specific groups, mainly media and political groups. Its adoption is neither a budgetary nor technological problem. The impulse for adoption is mainly political, with the focus on financial and budgetary transparency but sometimes also on participatory transparency or micro-transparency. Finally, a serious risk of governance generated by the lack of clear transparency and accountability strategies in the administrations is detected, as well as an absence of operational procedures to adapt to the changing budgetary structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the features of Spanish local governments that influence the degree of their voluntary reporting of financial information on the Internet. Following an agency theory approach, we propose five hypotheses regarding the relationship between voluntary financial disclosure and the size, leverage, capital investment, political competition and press visibility of a local authority. The empirical application of these hypotheses shows that size, capital investment and political competition are positively associated with the degree of online reporting. We also found a negative and significant relationship between press visibility and voluntary financial disclosure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]