Accountability and Transparency
We strive for more openness and accessibility of public data. We demand more accountability and transparency from public authorities. We expose bad practices and propose improvements.
The public's mistrust of politics and democratic institutions and low voter turnout are the consequences of decades of closed, non-transparent and non-inclusive institutional decision-making processes. If people do not have access to public data or if this data is scattered and disorganised, they cannot effectively monitor the functioning of the state, which perpetuates the existing power dynamics.
To transform the public from passive recipients to attentive observers of political processes, which is fundamental to democracy, they need straightforward access to these processes. We must demand that decision-makers provide unrestricted and timely access to public information in plain language, machine-readable and open formats and disseminate it proactively.
That is why at Danes je nov dan" we are looking for systemic solutions to improve the transparency and openness of public administration. At the same time, we are developing mechanisms to monitor the work of public institutions and open source tools to increase their transparency, which are also widely used by other organisations. We are dedicated to transforming raw data into understandable information through visualisations. We also conduct presentations and educational events on the implementation of civic tech and participate in public debates on the importance of data openness.
The installation of the local version of Parlameter in the Trbovlje municipality was carried out in cooperation with the municipality, which greatly facilitated the opening of their data. Parlameter Trbovlje helps monitor various aspects of the municipality's work by collecting, analysing, structuring and visualising data in a user-friendly way. Citizens now have easy access to information on the attendance of councillors at meetings, the number of questions asked and their voting behaviour. It is also possible to analyse the activities of the individual municipal clubs. All information is presented in the form of embeddable cards that can be easily published or shared on other websites.
1. April 2024
As part of the international project Regional Openness Index, coordinated by the regional network of non-governmental organisations, Action SEE, we analysed the transparency of the National Assembly of the Republic of Slovenia. The analysis compared four factors: Transparency, accessibility, integrity of MPs and efficiency of the National Assembly. Once again, the National Assembly proved to be the second most open in the region. While this is encouraging, there is still room for improvement. In the previous period (2020), the biggest problem was the integrity of MPs. This time, efficiency received the lowest rating.
29. November 2023
Open Books for Municipalities is a free application designed to enhance residents' trust in municipal operations through seamless proactive financial transparency. Simply input the data, and the application efficiently organizes and presents it in a user-friendly, easily understandable format. This empowers municipalities to significantly improve budget transparency without requiring programming expertise and with minimal time investment.
1. November 2023
The installation of the local version of Parlameter in the Medvode municipality was carried out in cooperation with the municipality, which greatly facilitated the opening of their data. Parlameter Medvode helps monitor various aspects of the municipality's work by collecting, analysing, structuring and visualising data in a user-friendly way. Citizens now have easy access to information on the attendance of councillors at meetings, the number of questions asked and their voting behaviour. It is also possible to analyse the activities of the individual municipal clubs. All information is presented in the form of embeddable cards that can be easily published or shared on other websites.
1. November 2023
Asset detector is an online application we developed for Oštro as part of their research project. With the help of the application, the public can gain access to the assets of politicians, high-ranking officials and their families. Since the available data on the assets of Slovenian officials is unclear, the application relies on the methods of investigative and data journalism. The Oštro team first took on the assets of ministers.
14. June 2023
Open books is an open-source application designed for NGOs who strive for greater financial transparency. Using an intuitive and user-friendly interface, NGOs can enter their data and upload files, which the tool then organises and presents in a clear and concise manner. The application generates graphs and tables, calculates ratios (such as highest vs. lowest salary, or the amount of state funds received versus the amount paid in taxes), and lists details about current projects. Public trust is a crucial currency for NGOs, so it is worth making an effort to ensure it. We’ve done the effort as we developed this free tool, and now it is up to the NGOs to make use of it.
4. May 2023
This is a free handbook that was developed as part of the project "My Municipality: A Transparent and Open Local Government", supported by the ACF Program in Slovenia. The handbook is intended for local authorities and officials who aim to create better conditions for active public involvement in decision-making at the local level. It is divided into three chapters, namely Transparency, Accessibility, and Participation. Each chapter is further divided into subchapters that explore legal frameworks, potential solutions, guidelines, specific recommendations, and numerous examples of both domestic and international best practices. The handbook is freely available online and can serve as both an initial step and a practical tool for opening municipalities to their residents.
16. December 2022
The installation of the local version of Parlameter in the Ajdovščina municipality was carried out in cooperation with the municipality, which greatly facilitated the opening of their data. Parlameter Ajdovščina helps monitor various aspects of the municipality's work by collecting, analysing, structuring and visualising data in a user-friendly way. Citizens now have easy access to information on the attendance of councillors at meetings, the number of questions asked and their voting behaviour. It is also possible to analyse the activities of the individual municipal clubs. All information is presented in the form of embeddable cards that can be easily published or shared on other websites.
1. December 2022
The Lendava Parlameter is a collaboration with the local media outlet Lendavainfo and represents the third installment of our versatile data disclosure tool for municipalities. Parlameter assists users in monitoring various aspects of the municipal council's operations by collecting, analyzing, structuring, and visualizing data in a user-friendly manner. Residents now have easy access to information about the presence of council members at sessions, the number of questions they have asked, how they voted, and the amount of words they have spoken during sessions. It is also possible to analyze the functioning of individual municipal clubs, for example, in terms of their internal (dis)unity. As Parlameter users are already accustomed to, all information is presented in the form of cards that can be easily shared or embedded on their websites.
17. November 2022
At Danes je nov dan, we have been promoting the introduction of participatory budgeting and the local level for a long time, so we used the occasion of local elections to campaign for it. Before the elections, we contacted all the mayoral candidates, inquiring about their position regarding participatory budgeting. We organized all the acquired information on a website, where voters could check which candidates committed to introducing participatory budgeting in their municipality in case of victory.
15. November 2022
In the municipality of Hrastnik, we completed the second installation of the municipal version of Parlameter. Unlike the City of Ljubljana, the Hrastnik municipality actively participated in the process, making the data disclosure process even easier. Parlameter assists users in monitoring various aspects of the municipal council's operations by collecting, analyzing, structuring, and visualizing data in a user-friendly manner. Residents now have easy access to information about the presence of council members at sessions, the number of questions they have asked, how they voted, and the amount of words they have spoken during sessions. It is also possible to analyze the functioning of individual municipal clubs, for example, in terms of their internal (dis)unity. As Parlameter users are already accustomed to, all information is presented in the form of cards that can be easily shared or embedded on their websites.
6. October 2022
The Ljubljana City Parlameter is the first municipal version of the Parlameter tool, which was initially created to monitor the work in the National Assembly. Parlameter assists users in monitoring various aspects of the municipal council's operations by collecting, analyzing, structuring, and visualizing data in a user-friendly manner. Residents now have easy access to information about the presence of council members at sessions, the number of questions they have asked, how they voted, and the amount of words they have spoken during sessions. It is also possible to analyze the functioning of individual municipal clubs, for example, in terms of their internal (dis)unity. As Parlameter users are already accustomed to, all information is presented in the form of cards that can be easily shared or embedded on their websites.
18. January 2022