Transparency International Latvia (Delna), in collaboration with the Norwegian and Lithuanian Transparency International (TI) chapters, will present the latest Transparency Index of Local Authorities (TILA) on Friday, November 8, from 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. , in an online format. Experts will discuss the report’s findings, a comparative analysis of municipalities in Norway and Latvia, progress since 2021, and the methodology used. Experts from TI’s Ukraine chapter will also participate to share their experiences analyzing urban transparency, including cities near the front lines.
Event Language: English. Please see the programme attached.
Register here by November 7 ->.
Each year, the volume of information published on Latvian municipal websites about decision-making, council structure, municipal budgets, and financial expenditures, including public procurements, municipal enterprises, public participation, anti-corruption, and ethics, increases. While last year only Riga received a high score (at least 29.5 points out of 40), this year there are 12 municipalities achieving high scores. Joining Riga are the municipalities of Alūksne, Ādaži, Bauska, Cēsis, Madona, Mārupe, Preiļi, Ropaži, Talsi, Valmiera, and Daugavpils city.
Delna’s analysis suggests that a municipality’s size does not necessarily determine the transparency of its website content. The understanding and commitment of responsible individuals to provide user-friendly information online play an essential role. Many indicators can be easily improved (e.g., archives of council members and commission members, budget visualizations), as these aspects do not change weekly yet allow residents easy access to critical municipal information.
To improve municipal transparency, Delna urges municipalities to expand information on citizen participation opportunities, such as public consultations, attendance at council meetings, involvement in advisory councils, submission of collective proposals, participation in budgeting, and resident councils. Publishing archives in an easily accessible format can also enable residents to better understand the history of processes or decisions and draw conclusions about their long-term effectiveness.
“Since 2021, Delna has annually evaluated the transparency of Latvian municipal websites. We appreciate municipalities’ responsiveness and engagement in promoting transparency, continuously expanding the range of information published on their websites. However, there are still areas where the volume of published information remains insufficient—especially in the sections on anti-corruption, ethics, and mechanisms for public participation,” emphasizes Delna’s researcher and project manager, Diāna Kazina.
The 2024 Transparency Index of Local Authorities evaluates all Latvian municipalities and includes a comparison with 10 Norwegian municipalities. The full report is available here ->.
Each municipality has received a detailed individual assessment. For more detailed results, please contact ti@delna.lv.
For additional information: Jēkabs Kārlis Rasnačs, Project Manager at Transparency International Latvia – Delna, +37129216268, jekabs.rasnacs@delna.lv.
This press release has been produced with the financial support from the Nordic Council of Ministers. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of the coordinators of this project and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Nordic Council of Ministers.
