Today CoST Costa Rica and CoST Ukraine publish the first results from the implementation of the CoST Infrastructure Transparency Index (ITI) methodology. The ITI measures levels of transparency and the quality of processes related to public infrastructure at national and sub-national levels, to help stakeholders understand the relative strengths and weaknesses of the sector and help them strengthen these aspects.
As the ITI methodology sets out, a score is generated for a sample of procuring entities, which is then used to generate an Index that compares them. An overall score is also provided for the country or sub-country level. To generate these scores the ITI uses four dimensions with the first looking at the national or sub-national context and the remainder focussing on the procuring entities. They include: (i) the enabling environment for transparency (ii) processes and capacities to publish data (iii) ways of engaging citizens and (iv) information disclosure.
At separate events taking place today, CoST teams will present the results from the ITI implementation in Costa Rica and Ukraine respectively, and provide feedback on what these mean for the infrastructure sectors in both countries.
Enabling Environments
The Enabling Environment dimension was Costa Rica’s lowest scoring dimension (30.4 out of 100). The Enabling Environment relates to the legal and regulatory framework for transparency, and shows the impact that a strong regulations can have on transparency levels. Costa Rica’s lack of any formal requirement for procuring entities to disclose infrastructure project data for instance, had a sharp impact on the country’s overall score in this area, and the CoST Costa Rica team has recommended the creation of a formal disclosure requirement as a result.
Ukraine’s Enabling Environment score was the strongest area assessed as part of the ITI implementation. In particular, Ukraine’s access to information provisions – and sanctions over non-compliance with these mandates – is an area of strength, with procuring entities often providing and promoting access to information. However, issues exist regarding citizen engagement: this is the lowest dimension out of those assessed, due in part to the role played by procuring entities in procuring works and services as opposed to initiating projects and consulting citizens at this stage.
Meanwhile, Costa Rica’s strongest scoring dimension was Information Disclosure, which evaluates the amount of data and information disclosed by procuring entities on infrastructure projects according to the CoST IDS or the OC4IDS. However, areas of improvement remain for both countries with regards to disclosing data on key environmental and social provisions in the infrastructure project preparation stage, namely the environmental impact of projects and their impact on land and settlements. This will help ensure infrastructure is more resilient and responsive to community needs.
The implementation of the ITI in Costa Rica will mark the beginning of substantial improvements in transparency and increased knowledge around public infrastructure projects across the country. Efforts must be made to achieve a legal standard to ensure these improvements come to fruition
Daniel Garro Vargas, President of the CoST Costa Rica Multi-Stakeholder Group
Find out more
CoST countries including Ukraine and Costa Rica have begun to implement the ITI and over the coming months, Honduras, Sekondi-Takoradi (Ghana) and Uganda will publish their results and recommendations. Both CoST programmes are holding high-level events today where they will dive into the results of the ITI in their respective countries, with participation from key stakeholders including Ukraine’s Minister for Infrastructure, Mr Oleksandr Kubrakov. The events will explore what the ITI results mean for both infrastructure sectors going forward, with key recommendations and lessons to be learnt from the data.
Information relating to both events can be found below:
Costa Rica
Date: 14 June 2021
Time: 9am CST (5pm BST)
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If joining from a mobile please enter Meeting ID: 814 1734 7490 and Passcode: 552937
Ukraine
Date: 14 June 2021
Time: 12pm BST
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If joining from a mobile please enter ID: 827 3239 8589 and Password: 2021