Problem statement
Empowering citizens and strengthening the capacity of society to participate in the national polity is essential to creating an effectively functioning democracy in present-day Lithuania.
Currently, one of the main barriers to the empowerment and strengthening of civil society in Lithuania is the existing divide between government and society – the inaccessibility of government and popular distrust of government institutions. This was documented by an exhaustive Civil Society Institute (CSI) research study on the state of Lithuania’s civil society.[1] Another research study by CSI and the Centre for Strategic Studies came to a similar conclusion. It found hostility toward the state remaining from Soviet times and a lack of popular trust in democratic political institutions.[2] In addition, Eurobarometer and World Values Survey (1990 – 2006) data rank Lithuania toward the bottom among European countries on trust in parliament and political parties. An exceedingly low trust in governmental institutions is corroborated by Transparency International (TI) research. The Lithuanian Map of Corruption created by TI Lithuania reveals that a vast majority of Lithuanian residents, based on their personal experience, believe that governmental institutions are very corrupt[3]. Meanwhile, the TI Corruption Perceptions Index ranks Lithuania, together with the Republic of South Africa and Kuwait, 44th among 146 countries.
Moreover, according to this data the divide between government and society – the inaccessibility of government and popular distrust of democratic political institutions – is still growing. In spite of this there are almost no adequate measures taken by government to reduce this divide. If the present trend continues and no respective means are taken, it is very possible that this existing divide will threaten the key principles of the democracy or even cause its erosion. Therefore it is necessary to take immediately means to narrow this divide and encourage a dialogue between society and governmental institutions. The results of the aforementioned studies make it apparent that in order to empower Lithuanian civil society it is essential to make Lithuanian governmental institutions more accessible.
Newness of research
Until now, as outlined above, research in Lithuania has documented only citizens’ perceptions of governmental institutions, and government has commissioned studies on the administrative capabilities of the civil service. But research has not yet focused on the interaction of society and government. Governmental institutions have not yet been evaluated on the aspect of accessibility to citizens in Lithuania.
General goals of the project
The ultimate goal of this project is to make governmental institutions more accessible, more transparent, more open and more accountable to society; to empower citizens; and to strengthen the dialogue between society and government at both national and local levels.
Tasks of the project
To collect data and to analyze existing statutes regulating the processes of informing the public about public expenditures and regulating opportunities for citizens to participate in the decision-making process; to examine existing access to governmental institutions;
To prepare methodological guidelines for improving access to governmental institutions; to propose ways of informing society about public expenditures; to propose means for involving the public in the political and administrative decision-making process on issues important to society; to create a system model providing information about public expenditures as well as a decision-process model that includes public consultations;
To prepare recommendations on improving public-expenditure information, its accessibility to citizens and how the information is presented, also to prepare recommendations on improving the decision-making process; to present these recommendations to politicians, public officials and the public; in cooperation with the National Audit Office, Seimas and Government of the Republic of Lithuania, to apply these recommendations and models and strive to implement them.
General concept of the research
The government accessibility research will consist of two general parts. The first part will cover the quality and transparency of information about the use of public finances and its accessibility to citizens. The second part will encompass the research on access to the political and administrative decision-making process.
In the first part – the research on the information about public finance – we will seek to instil in the public the understanding that money spent by government institutions is, in the first instance, money belonging to them as taxpayers. By encouraging the society’s interest in how this money is spent, by informing the public about the use of public funds, by making public the detailed reports of government institutions and encouraging government to provide information when requested by citizens, we will demonstrate how government accountability can be improved. In this way a foundation will be laid for developing public trust in governmental institutions. When citizens know what government does and how it spends their money, they will be more likely to become interested and involved in public affairs.
The second part of the research is intended to explore concrete opportunities for citizens to participate in political and administrative decision-making. In this part, we will analyze what possibilities citizens have to get involved actively in making the most important public decisions, by which we mean those decisions that are of most significance to society, or most costly, or having long-term consequences.
Expected results of the project
As a result of the project, government institutions will become more accessible and open to citizen participation in the public policy process. In addition, the insularity of government will be diminished and society will be less alienated from government. Information on how government works and makes decisions and how citizens can play a role will empower civil society. An ongoing dialog between society and government will build trust in government institutions.
At the present time, it is very important that Lithuanian governmental institutions learn how to provide public expenditure information to citizens and empower them to take part in decision- making on important issues. It is also important that citizens become motivated to become actively involved in public policy and that appropriate channels for participation exist. Achieving these goals would go a long way to reducing the current divide between government and citizens.
The Governmental Accessibility Project is supported by the Foundation Open Society Institute (OSI-ZUG).
[1] Rūta Žiliukaitė, Ainė Ramonaitė, Laima Nevinskaitė, Vida Beresnevičiūtė, Inga Vinogradnaitė, Neatrasta galia: Lietuvos pilietinės visuomenės žemėlapis (Undiscovered Power: Map of the civil Society in Lithuania). Vilnius: Versus Aureus, 2006. [2] Mantas Adomėnas, Arūnas Augustinaitis etc (ed.), Lietuvos tauta: būklė ir raidos perspektyvos (Lithuanian Society: Analysis of the Situation and Development Prospects). Vilnius: Versus Aureus, 2007. [3] Transparency International Lietuvos skyrius, Lithuanian Map of Corruption 2001-2005. Vilnius, Eugrimas, 2006.