Information sharing plays an important role in all of our life. From data we get information, from information we get to know about something. Ultimately, from the knowledge we have the wisdom. Information sharing is not an one-dimensional approach. It is a multi-dimensional process in which all the stakeholders share information with each other. We can refer the stakeholders here as the Government, Private Sectors, NGO’s and Citizens. All of them must share the information with each other.
Benefits of Information Sharing
The C of CAB model in the ethics is linked to information. Information sharing helps citizens understand rights, entitlements and obligations.
- It helps the government to plan, evaluate and develop in the context of its environment.
- It leads to integration of systems and better coordination.
- It also helps in taking informed decisions and saves time in emergency situations.
- It creates accountability of the government and reduces corruption.
- It builds trust and credibility among all organs of the government.
- Sharing information helps the government to become more ethical and transparent which leads to true participation of citizens in the government of the country.
However, for good governance it is important to strike a balance between sharing information and keeping it safe from those who wish to harm the country. In this regard, it is important that a country should create a national information strategy in which information should be acknowledged as a national asset that should be shared and protected when appropriate.
It tells us how information can lead to behavioral change and the development of perception. In this digital world, much of the information we receive through social media and the internet is part of the process of imposing an idea or belief. Even during the British period, we find a clear indication of this statement. The British used to show Britain as bigger than the Indian subcontinent in the world map. So that Indians can develop the notion of being ruled by a nation bigger than India.
Major Statements or Philosophies on Information Sharing
We can consider a quote regarding information in democracy. It is “In a democracy, authority arises not from armed force but from digital influence” . This quote shows the importance of technology and data. Information is an important aspect in establishing good relations and relations are one of the most important aspect of good governance.
The great German sociologist Max Weber has said, “The destiny of bureaucracy relies on three factors: the distribution of socio-economic power in society, the utilization of bureaucracy by the ruler, and the extent of information accessible to the public..”
According to Woodrow Wilson: “Corruption thrives in secrecy and avoids transparency”. This suggests that whenever there is secrecy corruption will flourish and when things are public and transparent there will be more honesty. It is also said in Jainism that right knowledge is the three gems.
Buddhism also talks about nirvana through knowledge. Kautilya also discussed information management system to deal with the problem of corruption. This gives us a glimpse of how important personalities have talked about the importance of sharing information.
Challenges in Data Processing and Policy Formation
The main function of the government is to collect data. Policies can be made only through data rights. Even after collecting a lot of data, there is a huge gap between policy making and ground reality. Because data is collected but not processed well. Highly centralized system is a hindrance in proper processing of data. Same thing happened in the case of Cuban missile crisis. In the 1960s, Russia deployed nuclear missiles in Cuba.
Although the CIA had this information they were not able to process this information due to the highly centralized system. This was a big mistake. Correct timing of processing and efficiency are also important. Like in India, there is no digitization of data here. Due to lack of these things, data is not being used to make appropriate policies. In the case of Indian farmers’ protests, if the government could have given proper arguments based on data and evidence, people would have also understood that the laws are good for the farmers. But the government was not successful in conveying this. Because they did not have data and evidence.
Data Security
Data security is also important. Governments duty is not only to give the data to responsible citizens but it also has to protect the data from enemies of the nation. Many rights are also associated with it. Right to Privacy Right to be forgotten Right to information. Data protection is also equally important.
In the case of Cambridge Analytica firm which used Facebook based data to manipulate the behavior of the people. Facebook has just sold the private data of its users to the Cambridge Analytica. In Aadhar scheme, the major concern was there that government is collecting all the data of people. What if this data gets leaked. In this digital world, mobile phones, bank account everything is operated with fingerprint and retina scans.
Recently the news came that the indian government is using a software Pegasus who spy on its own citizens. In the 1970’s, Watergate scandal is the same issue. The data collection with legitimate means or not is also a concern. We also have the official secret act of 1923 but it conflicts with Right to Information Act. Another perspective is of corona pandemic, that how the information and evidence helped the scientist helped to fight with the virus and develop a new vaccine.
Information sharing assures the power of people is always greater than the people in power.
Barriers to Information Sharing
Every organization has three aspects: structural, procedural and behavioral. Problems are there in each aspect.
- Traditional Bureaucracy Mindset: Traditional bureaucracy is there where secrecy is the main value and transparency is not that much encouraged. Still, the code of conduct rule in india both in all india services and the central civil services clearly tells us that civil servants can share information without the prior authority of the government.
- Absence of a clear value proposition: A clear value is proposition is missing. Lot of conflicts is there like between RTI and official secrets act. Lot of confusion regarding the which law should they follow in which circumstances.
- Lack of Leadership and Coordination Between Different Agencies: For example U. Sagayasas in 2009 voluntarily disclosed his assets. Press meetings which used to be earlier now has stopped. If the leader of the nation is maintaining the secrecy then how bureaucrats to be transparent.
- Lack of Infrastructure and Technology: Even the bureaucrats want to share the information they don’t know how to share it.
- Malpractices and Corruption: Wherever malpractices and corruption will be present in the system the system want to remain secret.
- Too much centralization: All the knowledge and power has been concentrated has been on the top.
- Lack of Demand and Awareness among People: In fact the people doesn’t even know how much information they are entitled to. They have developed the high tolerance towards the secrecy of the government.
- Information Sharing Needs Motivation, Time and Energy: These things are in the short supply in the government organization. Burden is also high, on an average 5000 RTI’s has been filed on daily basis.
- Privacy and Accountability: What will happen if the privacy of a person is breached. Who will be held accountable for this.
- Issue of Semantics: Whether the information is provided to a rural person in English language who is not much educated how he will be able to understand. In fact, google in 2020 said that they will invest 10 Billion dollars in semantics itself. So the data can be made available in local languages.
Overall there are lot of problems are there like structural problem, behavioral problem our work culture is bureaucratic. Information sharing is never included in the planning. Even there is an absence of communication plans.
How Information Sharing can be Improved?
All the above points should be tackled in reverse way. Proper clarification must be there on the values of the civil servants. RTI’s act shall be strengthened. More awareness should spread among the people. Proper infrastructure and training should be there. Privacy laws and National Information Strategy can be developed. We have to strengthen the whole system. We have to work on the all three aspects of the information sharing.
Important Terminologies of Information Sharing
- Information Governance: It includes laws, methods, standards and guidelines to manage and spread information.
- Breach of Confidence in Information Sharing: It happens in three ways. The confidential information which should not be shared is shared. So confidentiality was breached. Not sharing the information which is allowed to be shared and not shared. Sharing wrong, incomplete or deceptive information to manipulate the citizens.
Transparency in Governance
The end result is the transparency when the government starts information sharing with the citizens. In includes three things:
- Openness: Voluntary sharing of information.
- Communication: Providing information on demand
- Accountability: Holding a person or authority accountable in case of breach of confidence.
When these things comes together it means the system is transparent. It leads to ethical and participative governance. Together they will lead to good governance. The representative government becomes participative when they starts sharing the information with citizens. Transparency doesn’t mean the raw data would be there among the people. Rather than information or knowledge is provided.
In the case study of Vinod rai, it is seen that during his tenure as the CAG of india he appointed the media advisor. The role of this media advisor was to publishes the reports of CAG which was earlier used to get unnoticed. Secondly along with the bulky reports sharing he started also sharing the summaries of those. Raw data will actually lead to more opacity than the transparency. The information should be relevant, useful, accurate, accessible and timely for the people.
In regard to public services, transparency means that the holders of public office should be as open as possible about the decisions and actions they take. They should give reasons for their decisions. They should restrict information only when the wider public interest demands it. Overall, transparency implies openness, communication and accountability.
Simply making information available in public domain is not sufficient to achieve transparency. It should also be comprehensible, relevant, timely, accessible and accurate. Complete disclosure should also be not made because it can lead a threat to national security. Benefits of transparency would be same as the benefits of information sharing. Similarly the barriers to information sharing and the solution to information sharing would be same as challenges and barriers of transparency also.
Tools to Promote Transparency: Multiple things are done, like RTI Act, Citizens charter, Social Audit and E-Governance. The RTI Act and Citizens charter are in the syllabus of Ethics for the UPSC CSE.
FAQ’s
Here are some Frequently Asked Questions related to Information Sharing and Transparency in Government:
1. What is information sharing in governance?
Information sharing in governance is the process of sharing information between all the stakeholders such as government, private sector, NGOs and citizens.
2. What are the benefits of information sharing in governance?
Benefits of information sharing includes helping citizens to understand their rights , improving efficiency, integration and coordination, information based decision making, government accountability, reduces corruption, and credibility and trustworthiness.
3.What are the challenges of data processing and information sharing in policy making?
Challenges in data processing and policy making include the gap between data collection and effective policy making, problems in centralized systems, lack of digitization in some sectors, and difficulties in data-based credibility and policy communication to the public.
4. What are the main data security issues in information sharing?
In terms of data security, protecting the privacy rights of individuals, preventing data breaches and misuse, developing strong data protection laws and frameworks, raising doubts over actual data collection practices, and data handling practices ensuring accountability is involved.
5. How can information sharing be improved in governance?
Improving information sharing needs to be of the right description, clarify the values of civil servants, raise public awareness, require the right framework and training, develop privacy laws and a national information strategy.
6. What is the important terminology in information sharing?
Information governance underlies the methods, methods, standards and guidelines to be managed and disseminated. This includes breach of trust, breach of confidentiality, not sharing of information that is supposed to be known, and sharing of false, incomplete or fraudulent information to manipulate citizens.
7. What does transparency mean in governance?
Transparency means that holders of public office should potentially be more open about their decisions and actions. They should give reasons for their decisions. They should limit information only when public interest demands it. They should not follow the full disclosure approach. Because it could lead to a threat to national security.
