I participated in a webinar today hosted by the World Bank in association with the International Ombudsman Institute. The focus was on on the role of the ombudsman in advancing Open Government based on my research on ombudsmen, principally in Latin America – but applicable to other democratic settings.   In a nutshell: ombudsmen can be Information-Brokers, Advocates, Amplifiers and Consensus-Builders for Open Government.  The powerpoint is available here.

We often associate the ombudsman with Sweden and advanced democracies, they can now be found in very diverse political systems, from South Africa to Indonesia to Peru and Poland.  It is important not to underestimate the potential challenges which open government advocates encounter in weakly institutionalized or are sometimes referred to as new democracies.  These ombudsmen operate in settings where formal rules – particularly at the local sub-national level – are often contested, changed, and routinely violated.  In turn, in political systems which have limited experience of liberal democracy, public officials may view election to political office more as implying responsibility, than accountability.

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I participated in a roundtable at the World Bank on 25 March 2014 sponsored by the Global Partnership for Social Accountability, the Nordic Trust Fund and the International Ombudsman Institute.  The roundtable brought together ombudsmen representatives, academics, civil society experts and World Bank staff.  The discussion and, in particular, the Q & A offers an insight into what promises to be an important new component to World Bank thinking on project implementation and service delivery.

The summary of the roundtable can be found here.

A full video of the panel is also available here.

And I will be participating in a World Bank-Open Government Partnership webinar on 16 March 2014, more details here.

My report on the ongoing merger of the Irish Equality Authority and Human Rights Commission has been published by the Policy Institute at Trinity College Dublin.  This policy report was prepared as part of a research project entitled ‘Bridging the Divide: Matters to be taken into account with respect to the integration of functions of national equality bodies and national human rights institutions in the European Union’, generously funded by the UK-based Nuffield Foundation and led by Neil Crowther and Colm O’Cinneide. This research offers an indepth contextual account of the merger process and is intended to contribute to public debate on the proposed Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC).

The research addresses the central question: how to merge two separate bodies into one agency without putting domestic equality and human rights in jeopardy. It evaluates the conduct of the merger process by Minister Alan Shatter and the viability of the proposed IHREC. Findings are based on extensive investigation and consultation with over 40 merger stakeholders in government, state bodies and civil society.

The full report can be downloaded here: Bridging the divide: the Merger of the Irish Equality Authority and Human Rights Commission