TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
AIS Newsletter May 2018
Open Albanian Local Government Contracting Money and Power, assets of members of the Council of Ministers declared for 2017Findings about Conflicts of Interest of Electoral Donors
Open Albanian Local Government Contracting
Portal Through this portal, the Albanian Institute of Science (AIS) promotes and implements the Open Contracting Standard The information is extracted from closed and non-consistent formats published by Government authorities. Making such data open and user friendly, AIS provides an information mechanism about procurement procedures, and for such procedures to be monitored and scanned. Through a RedFlag algorithm , the portal helps with identifying and evaluating cases when competitiveness and equality in tenders are affected. The open contracting standard promotes competitiveness and contributes to deterring corruption.
Money and Power, assets of members of the Council of Ministers declared for 2017
Monitoring assets, influence, and economic interests is a process that increases the integrity of high-level public officials. The Money and Power Section under the Spending Data Albania portal enables the public to learn about asset declaration. Such data are not yet accessible through official databases. Considering public monitoring equally important to institutional monitoring, AIS published the data regarding assets declared by the members of the Council of Ministers for the fourth year . The data refer not only to the amount of incomes, but to the economic interests of the members of the Council of Ministers as well. This makes it possible to monitor whether their policymaking is related with any tax regimes or institutional practices serving certain individual interests.
Findings about Conflicts of Interest of Electoral Donors
In the framework of its Monitoring Conflict of Interest for Electoral Donors Project, AIS has processed data for 66 donors of the electoral subjects running in the 2017 elections. The number of declared donors is much smaller than perceived by the public. The financing of electoral subjects remains an issue with indications and facts making the public perceive it as a phenomenon involving money generated through informal or criminal activities. The current Electoral Code provides for situations, where donation can be made in exchange for certain material interests or influence. AISr monitoring report identified two cases constituting a violation of the law. AIS has also drafted some proposed amendments to the law, which are submitted to the Parliamentary Ad Hoc Committee on Electoral Reform.
TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND CIVIC ENGAGEMENT
AIS Newsletter March 2017 Municipality of Divjaka cooperates with AIS on its transparency program for 2017 Hackathon Albania 2017, the marathon of intelligence and creativity in TiranaMoney and Power, what are the economic interests of District Chief Prosecutors 
Municipality of Divjaka cooperates with AIS on its transparency program for 2017
The Municipality of Divjaka in cooperation with AIS established Open Spending and Open Budget instruments. The budget tables for 2017 were visualized in an open data format, making it easier for everyone to trace, understand, and reuse information. In addition to its table of incomes and expenditures, the municipality visualised also its budget by its administrative units as part of its Transparency Program. Municipalities are required by law to develop their Budget Transparency Programs.PLGP/USAID Albania in cooperation with AIS had already provided the municipalities of Korça, Elbasan, Fier, Lushnjë, Berat, and Kuçova with instruments for open expenditures and budgeting.
Hackathon Albania 2017, the marathon of intelligence and creativity in Tirana
HackaThonAlbania, the marathon of intelligence and creativity, took place on 24 and 25 Mars by AIS and the Embassy of the Kingdom of theNetherlands as the co-organizers. Fifty young people from Albania and Kosova worked for two days for innovative solutions through applications, visualizations, and maps. In the end, eight groups managed to finalize eight useful projects. More transparency, good governance, and better public services were the topics selected by the working groups. The first prize of Euro 500 euro was awarded to TraficGenius group of four members. Our partners in organizing this event included also Open Data Kosova, ICTS Media, and Oficina .
Money and Power, what are the economic interests of District Chief Prosecutors
Data regarding assets and annual incomes of 22 District Chief Prosecutors were analyzed to identify their potential interests and economic connections. The prosecutors’ self-declarations are published under the Money and Power section, and the analysis is published as a separate article on Open Data AlbaniaSimilar analysis is done earlier for high-level judges, MPs andMayors The monitoring of their incomes and their comparison with their salaries, as well as the identification of any potential economic interests is important and timing on the eve of the ‘vetting’ process in the justice system.Money, Government and Politics is implemented by AIS in the framework of the MATRA for Rule of Law program supported by Embassy of the Netherlands in Albania
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