This document summarizes an audit of government websites in Russia to evaluate how well they meet transparency requirements. It describes how an online platform called the Infometer system was created to facilitate the audit. Experts use the system to evaluate websites against legal standards and provide recommendations. Government officials can then use the system to receive feedback, improve their sites, and increase their openness ratings over time. Audit results from 2013-2014 showed participation from over 1,000 officials and significant increases in average openness levels for sites whose managers consulted with experts on the Infometer system. The practice demonstrates that regular audits and cooperation between experts and officials leads to greater government transparency online.

1. Audit of Government
Bodies’ Official Websites:
A Way to Governmental
Transparency

2. Obligation for all governmental and
municipal bodies, courts, and other
organizations to maintain their websites
Technical and substantive requirements
to government bodies’ official websites
and to information placed at its
Responsibility for abuses of information
access legislation requirements
Federal Law #8-FZ from February 9, 2009
On Providing Access to Information on the Activities of
Government Bodies and Bodies of Local Self-Government
Federal Law #262-FZ from December 22, 2008
On Providing Access to Information on the Activities of
Courts in the Russian Federation
Other Normative Acts
•Departmental acts of different levels
(federal, regional, municipal)
•Acts of collegial expert bodies
(Open Government)
Legal Regulation
of the Right to Information in Russia

3. How much do official websites in
Russia meet legislative and expert
requirements?

4. What Is Ensued
Dialog between experts
and officials in charge of
website maintenance
Growth of informational
openness for official
websites
What We Have Made
An IT solution for website audit
and for communication
(the Infometer system)
A mathematical model for
measuring an official website’s
openness level
What Was There
Experts for governmental
openness
High competitive spirit
between government
agencies seeking for being
the best
Extension of requirements
to official information
resources

5. Virtual workspace for experts
Communication space for experts and
responsible officials for joint efforts on
website improvement
Automatic calculation of openness
level rates and their changes
Access for evaluation scores and final
ratings to all interested persons
The Infometer System:
A Web Platform for Expert Audit

6. How the Infometer Works
Publication of Ratings
and Analytical
Materials
Remote Consulting
Register in the system and get
familiar with valuation scores
Follow expert proposals, argue
against scores, ask expert
questions
Raise position of their website
in the rating
Experts:
Evaluate official websites for a
list of parameters derived from
actual requirements
Develop proposals for bringing a
website in line with the
requirements
Consult officials in charge of
website maintenance and filling
Officials in Charge of Websites:
Website Evaluation

7. Infometer Results
For 2013-2014
Total Number
of audited official websites
Number of Officials
registered in the infometer system
Average Informational Openness Level
for official websites whose officials in charge took
part in consultations with the Infometer experts
3886 4220
992 888
Grew by
25%
in 3 weeks
Grew by
36%
in 4 weeks
2013 2014

8. Our Practice Proves That:
Audit efficiency much depends on will of officials in charge of
website maintenance to cooperate with the Infometer project
Regular systematic audit is more efficient than an one-time audit
action
Even officials not interacting with the Infometer project experts are
attentively tracking changes of their websites’ position in the
informational openness rating

9. Thanks for Your Time!
www.infometer.org

10. Thanks for Your Time!
www.infometer.org