The Transparency Policy Project studied how public disclosure systems can be designed to support important policy goals in society through public engagement. Research shows that well-designed transparency systems can reduce health and safety risks, strengthen governance, encourage public participation, and discourage corruption by motivating organizations—such as banks, hospitals, companies, and governments—to increase their performance and accountability. However, transparency efforts often fail when information is confusing, incomplete, or poorly presented, as seen with issues like unclear nutrition labels or outdated water safety data. These failures can waste resources and even increase risks.
The project also explored a new generation of “participatory transparency” in which the internet enables citizens to share experiences about issues like product defects, medical errors, unsafe workplaces, and ineffective public services, creating collective knowledge that can help improve safety and services for everyone.
The program published the book, “Full Disclosure”, co-authored by the three co-directors of the Transparency Policy Project.
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Big brands keep the reputation and the profits — so who’s actually on the hook when labor laws get broken? David Weil’s “fissured workplace” theory has an answer, and it’s not the one regulators have been using.
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Archon Fung and Elena Fogotto describe a new Commonwealth Fund–supported project examining whether smartphones, apps, and wearables can create a better model of transparency: one where patients not only access information but generate and share their own health data through platforms like Smart Patients and patient-powered research networks. The project will study these platforms’ features, how they empower patients, and whether their benefits reach all users or mainly the tech-savvy.
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Wouldn’t it make sense to find out—before applying for a job in a dangerous industry—which firms have a safe track record and which don’t? The Obama administration thought so and proposed an online system for accessing workplace safety data. The Trump administration disagreed, delaying it indefinitely—a decision that raises injury risk for thousands of workers.
David Michaels and David Weil argue that OSHA-driven transparency can push dangerous employers to improve: making injury data public would likely “nudge” them into better protecting their workers.
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Archon Fung argues that American democracy is eroding because everyone—campaigns, politicians, journalists, social media platforms, and citizens—pursues narrow self-interest instead of protecting it. He points to attack ads, gerrymandering, policy that favors the wealthy, “fake news,” and low voter turnout as evidence.
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A new OSHA rule, taking effect in 2017, will require large employers and those in high-risk industries to electronically report injury and illness data. Elena Fagotto argues the added transparency will help employers benchmark safety performance and let OSHA target its limited inspection resources more effectively.
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The FDA’s new nutrition labels will more clearly show added sugar, calorie counts, and realistic serving sizes, and are being praised by health advocates as key to fighting obesity. However, Elena Fagotto argues these improved labels may not actually help the people who need them most.
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The U.S. Government has been hiding secrets — and handing us the files to catch it. Mary Graham discusses two rival books, one wild truth: the same Cold War decades that built America’s secrecy machine also sparked the fight for FOIA, honest food labels, and the public’s “right to know.” Turns out secrecy and sunlight grow side by side.
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Transparency isn’t magic: menu calorie counts and credit card disclosures actually change behavior, but sex offender registries and privacy policies often backfire or go ignored — the difference is whether people have real choices and the information is presented simply, argue Elena Fagotto and Archon Fung.
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In a landmark 2013 Science piece, David Weil, Mary Graham, and Archon Fung coin “targeted transparency”: the idea that governments can hit big policy goals — safer cars, healthier menus, cleaner factories — simply by forcing companies to disclose the right information at the right moment. It’s worked before (think fuel-economy stickers), but the authors warn it can just as easily backfire into empty paperwork. So when does sunlight actually change behavior, and when is it just noise?
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Archon Fung’s “Infotopia” imagines a society where accurate, abundant information actually helps people make better choices as consumers and citizens — and offers a roadmap for building an information environment that truly serves both individual welfare and democracy.