If they want to prevent corruption, state institutions must publish data in open and easily accessible format

There is no direct correlation between the openness of the institutions and their budgets. There is no correlation between the openness of the executive bodies and the openness of the ministries they are part of… This is what the results of the all-encompassing empirical research present, on the basis of the Index of Openness as part of USAID’s Civic Engagement Project and the National Endowment for Democracy show. The project has been implemented by the Metamorphosis Foundation in cooperation with the partners from the NGO regional network – Accountability, Technology and Institutional Openness Network in SEE – ACTION SEE.

“The mechanisms for carrying out the monitoring and reporting, as well as the regular reports, are very important for the implementation of the new policies and for providing positive results,” said Qendresa Sulejmani, Metamorphosis Foundation’s Program Director.

During the online event yesterday she presented the results of the research and stressed that the web pages of various state institutions are legitimately most used tools for interaction and accountability by the general public. They should be used effectively for reporting about all aspects of the given institutions’ authorities.

On the other hand, the institutions’ focus has to be put on proactive publishing, using the most open available format.

Erik Janowsky, USAID’s Representative in the Republic of North Macedonia – RNM, addressed the attendees at the event and stressed that the US government is supporting central and local efforts for strengthening the transparency and accountability mechanisms that will fight the corruption and at the same time strengthen country’s progress.

He lauded Metamorphosis Foundation’s work and said it is of key importance, since it builds bridges between the civil society and the institutions, taking steps towards progress.

According to Maja Lazarova, the National Program Officer at OSCE, the openness indexes will improve only if the whole society makes a joint effort.

The National coordinator responsible for good governance and transparency, Robert Popovski, stressed the previously accomplished activities by the Government among which are the tool for financial accountability and the tool for open data, as one of the most positive activities conducted by the current government.

The complete research can be seen here.