From Open Data to 'Open Policy Making' | Natural Resource Governance Institute

"For transparency in the extractive industries to lead to improved policy making in resource-rich countries, information must be relevant, timely and used constructively. New work at the Natural Resource Governance Institute (NRGI), supported by a core grant from Omidyar Network, is aimed at transforming transparency into open data, and in turn, developing new models of “open policy making” that harness newly available data.

Transparency for the oil, mining and gas industries is becoming a reality as a result of two global initiatives, one mandatory and one voluntary. Several major jurisdictions, such as the EU and Canada, have implemented “mandatory disclosure” legislation that requires extractive companies to report on their payments to governments. And the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has just adopted strong rules to implement the Dodd-Frank Act’s provision to require the same...."