Owen Barder's piece on aid transparency was featured in the Public Service Review.
From the Article
The Centre for Global Development’s Owen Barder explains why aid transparency can
strengthen donor confidence and tackle the inefficiencies hindering the flow of funding…
We expect that the next big thing will be a bigger
version of the last big thing. What we don’t
expect, yet what is most likely, is that the next
big thing won’t look important to us at all – until it’s so
important that we can’t ignore it.” Brian Eno, Prospect, 26th
November 2010.
When journalists asked for details of British MPs’
expenses, few imagined it would lead to the resignation of
the Speaker of the House of Commons and the biggest
turnover of MPs since World War II.
Many lessons have been learnt from the expenses scandal,
among them: moving to transparency is difficult, but
nobody seriously doubts its value once attained; the public
wants to be shown, not told; and the prospect of
transparency is enough to change behaviour and attitudes.
If there are any doubts about the potential of
technological changes in the way we communicate and
share information to change our society, consider
Facebook. At one level, it is just a website. But it has
changed our personal, public and political space.
Read the Article
