OII Politics and the Internet Seminar Series

The Future is Open: why Transparency will be the most important public policy of our time

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Governments and public services around the world are beginning to recognise the power of transparency – in Mongolia, publication of public contracts has driven the mafia out of mineral mining, in India it has reduced the incidence of welfare fraud, in England it is improving the quality of hospital care and reducing the number of patients who die avoidably. But transparency – the act of opening up government to citizens and sharing the power of information – is hard and politically controversial. What is the difference between transparency and treason? What does it mean for us and our Internet society? Tim Kelsey, former Transparency Tsar for the British Government and now National Director for Patients and Information at NHS England, makes the case.