Article
In this study, Archon Fung and Stephen Kosack assess the current state of transparency initiatives across the globe. Honing in on interventions with a focus on “transparency for accountability”—which show mixed results—they develop a framework of five “worlds” that helps account for the variation in outcomes.
With the existing research literature yielding mixed results on the effectiveness of transparency interventions, Archon Fung, Director of Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation and
Winthrop Laflin McCormack Professor of Citizenship and Self-Government and Stephen Kosack of the University of Washington offer a review of the state of transparency initiatives across the globe.
Fung and Kosack center their focus on the area of “transparency for accountability,” which aims to offers a “tool for dealing with increasingly practical and specific concerns of government performance.” In an analysis of 16 studies, the authors find that the success of transparency programs is greatly influenced by social context, with interventions more likely to achieve their goals when “information is clearly understandable and salient to citizens” and recommend “a clear course of action.”
Article
A summary of the March 30, 2026 event that welcomed Gerrit von Zedlitz to present on new and less-studied forms of targeted transparency—how they work, when they emerge, and whether they actually make a difference.
Feature
The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School, has announced the launch of a new Program on Democracy and the Informed Public, a major initiative designed to strengthen democratic governance by improving how people access, understand, and use essential information.
Commentary
In this paper, Mary W. Graham, co-director of the Center’s Transparency Policy Project, explores the unintended information inequities that weaken the nation’s vital health and safety alerts. By examining three policies — wildfire alerts, drinking water reports, and auto safety recalls — she suggests common sources of inequality problems and steps policy makers are taking to remedy them.
Article
A summary of the March 30, 2026 event that welcomed Gerrit von Zedlitz to present on new and less-studied forms of targeted transparency—how they work, when they emerge, and whether they actually make a difference.
Feature
The Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard Kennedy School, has announced the launch of a new Program on Democracy and the Informed Public, a major initiative designed to strengthen democratic governance by improving how people access, understand, and use essential information.
Commentary
In this paper, Mary W. Graham, co-director of the Center’s Transparency Policy Project, explores the unintended information inequities that weaken the nation’s vital health and safety alerts. By examining three policies — wildfire alerts, drinking water reports, and auto safety recalls — she suggests common sources of inequality problems and steps policy makers are taking to remedy them.
