Transparent Government Inspections: Using the Internet to Strengthen Civic Competence?

Abstract

Transparency of government inspections enables citizens to pressure companies and public organizations into behaving according to their demands. This paper reports an empirical study into the effects of the increased transparency of inspection services on civic competence. Civic competence is defined as a citizen’s ability to accomplish public tasks. The study indicates that, although citizens make little use of inspection data and civic competence is not strengthened, transparency does stimulate organizations to score better on performance indicators and comply with legislation. (Paper presented at European Conference on E-Government (ECEG2005), Antwerp, June 2005.)