FEDERAL TRANSPARENCY AND PUBLIC GOVERNMENT INFORMATION ACCESS ACT (FTPGIAA)

José Luis Marzal RuizFederal Institute of Access to Public

Information and Data Protection (IFAI)

April 2013

Mexican Federal Transparency Act Goals

• Expedite procedures for everyone to access public information in federal government archives.

• Facilitate a transparent public administration through widely known government information.

• Guarantee personal data protection.

• Foster public accountability.

Information Access Procedure under Mexican Transparency Act

Citizen sends an

information request through

INFOMEX

Federal government secretary or

agency receives the information

request and answers it

Citizen receives the response

and analyzes it

YES

END OF PROCEDURE

NO

Citizen appeals filed thru

IFAI

IFAI’s Plenary resolves revoking,

modifying or confirming

the response given by federal

government secretary or

agency

Federal government secretary or

agency follows IFAI’s

Plenary resolution

and delivers information requested

Does the citizen agreewith the response?

Data Systems

• Since Mexican Federal Transparecy Act was put in place, requests to access public information or personal data, as well as their correction, were registered in an electronic information system (INFOMEX). Responses to information requests were also made through INFOMEX.

• A “case management” system was developed for contesting appeals, filed to IFAI, to government responses and notifying IFAI’s Plenary resolutions to citizens.

• A website, known as “Federal Government Obligations of Transparency Website” (POT) was implemented to make it possible to federal government secretaries and agencies to load compulsory information.

Electronic Information System (INFOMEX)

• Electronic tool through which citizens practice their right to access public information. INFOMEX system registrates and follows up information requests responses. Legal basis for INFOMEX are article 6 of the Mexican Political Constitution and the Federal Transparency Act.

Federal Government Obligations of Transparency Website (POT)

POT discloses:

• Compulsory information federal government secretaries and agencies shall publish, without the need to make an information request.

• Information regarding federal public management, as well as the use of government resources.

• Information publishes shall be clear and complete, ensuring quality, veracity, timeliness and reliability.

FTPGIAA

Implementation

OperationCompliance

Successes and problems

Information Monitoring and Analysis Cycle

Systems development (data collection mechanisms)

Information analysis and

indicators design

Rules and guidelines

Indicators monitoring

Law reform proposal

TRANSPARENCY AND

ACCOUNTABILITY

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Responses to Information Requests (RSI)

Put in place in 2009, it aims to encourage federal government secretaries and agencies to

improve the responses they give to citizens.

Alignment to Law of Criteria, and IFAI’s Plenary Resolutions and their Behavior (A3C)

Put in place in 2004, it is to identify the performance of federal government secretaries and

agencies aligning to IFAI’s criteria and their compliance, with times and ways established

by Law, as well as notifying IFAI’s Plenary resolutions.

Obligations of Transparency (ODT), under article 7 of Federal Transparency Act

Put in place in 2004, indicates effectiveness percentage of compulsory information

publication by all federal government secretaries and agencies in the Federal Government

Obligations of Transparency Website (POT) with standard digital format and internet

navigation.

Service Offered by Liaisons Units (AUE)

Put in place in 2004, measures --under a mystery shopper scheme-- the infrastructure of

federal government secretaries and agencies’ liaison units and assesses the level of

service in face-to-face information requirements.

Indicators System

Regarding the response to citizen’s informaton request:

- Does it answer all the questions?- Are its elements conguent?

- Does it state the name and charge of the official who is responsible of the information provided?

- Was it delivered within the time established by Law?

Responses to Information Requests (RSI) Indicator

Electronic Information System (INFOMEX)

Expedite procedures for everyone to access public

information in federal government archives

Foster public accountability

FTPGIAA’s Mechanisms and Indicators

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Responses to Information Requests (RSI) Indicator

• Statistical tool used for evaluating the quality of the responses given to citizens’ information requests.

• It is calculated using a sample (with a confidence level of 95%) of federal government secretaries and agencies’ responses of the former semester (January-June or July-December).

• Although monitoring is permanent, rating is done every six months. The scores are officially communicated to the Information Committees of federal government secretaries and agencies.

Alignment to Law of Criteria, and IFAI’s Plenary Resolutions and their Behavior (A3C) Indicator

• Analyzes the behavior of contesting appeals filed to IFAI in which IFAI’s Plenary resolved to modify or revoke government responses given to citizens’ information requests.

I. Trend

Component

• Evaluates the degree of alignment of federal government secretaries and agencies aligning to IFAI’s Plenary criteria.

II. Alignment to Criteria

Component

• Calculates the compliance with times and ways established by Law of IFAI’s Plenary resolutions.

III. IFAI’s Plenary Resolutions Compliance Component

Are the 17 sections governed under article 7 of Federal Transparency Act published? Is all data established by Law

presented in each of the 17 sections?

Is infomation published updated? Is it consistent within the 17 sections?

Obligations of Transparency (ODT) Indicator, under article 7 of Federal Transparency Act

Federal Government Obligations of Transparency Website (POT)

Expedite procedures for everyone to access public

information in federal government archives

Foster public accountability

FTPGIAA’s Mechanisms and Indicators

Public Policy Adjustment Indicators

Problem: 53% of IFAI’s Plenary modifying or revoking resolutions, in which citizens appealed to responses given by federal government arguing lack of the requested information, were not followed by secretaries or agencies. The information denials were justified under article 42 of Mexican Transparency Act which states:

“Secretaries or agencies shall only deliver the documents found in their archives. Right to access to information will be accomplished when the existing documents are put at citizens’ service for consultation in the place where they are located; and also by giving citizens the possibility to photocopy, get certified copies or any other mean of duplication.”

Proposal: Mexican Transparency Act amendment to force institutions to produce and to deliver the information under their field of action, regardless if it is or not found in their archives.

Source Actual condition

Proposed solution

All the involved agents

Amendment of articles 24 and 25 of Mexican Transparency Act to set in 20

working days the deadline for responding information requests (access to public information or

personal data, as well as its correction)

Feed-back

Liaison units and IFAI’s

secretariats and main

offices

Discussion meetings to identify the current situation and its causes, and

evaluate different alternatives to problem solving

Information analysis and

problem identification

Official deadlines statistics

Persistent delay in the responses to access to personal data requests,

which response is due in 10 working days

Data collection INFOMEX Data bases with information requests and its responses

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Specific problem solution proposal: Responses deadlines

Source Actual condition

Proposed solution

All the involved agents

- Creation of an electronic tool to publish the compulsory information

- - Change of the evaluation procedures

- Implementation of a warning alert based on responses due dates

Feed-back

Compliance evaluation of

the 17 sections of article 7 of

Mexican Transparency

Act

Definition of problem cause and origin, and its possible solution

Information analysis and

problem identification

Federal government

secretaries and agencies

websites, as well as POT

- - There were several electronic platforms for information publishing

- - Institutions updated information just before the evaluation period

- - Information published was inconsistent within the different

sections

Generic problem solution proposal: POTO

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Source Actual condition

Proposed solution

All the involved agents

Amendment of Mexican Transparency Act to broaden out the compulsory

information scope

Subject identification Statistical reports

Statistical reports analysis in which it was evident that there were increasing

information requests with subjects not obliged in the 17 sections of article 7 of

current Mexican Transparency Act (travel allowances, résumés, public relations

expenses, information specific to judicial power, etc.)

Data analysis

Information requests subjects and 17 sections of article 7 of Mexican Transparency Act published at POT

Subjects of information requests identification and hits at POT 17 sections

Data collection

INFOMEX and POT

Data bases with information requests and POT hits

Accountability FosteringO

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