IRIM started implementing the ‘Empowering CSO for Improved Government Digital Transparency’ project financed by Innovation for Change in May 2019.

Innovation for Change (I4C) was initiated by Counterpart International for citizens and organizations to defend and strengthen civic space. The network currently has more than 200 civil society organizations in six regional, connected hubs in Africa, the Middle East, and North Africa, Central Asia, East Asia, South Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean. The network supports and provides grants and capacity building activities to innovational ideas of civil society organizations.

IRIM became a member of the Innovation for Change Central Asian Hub initiative in 2017. Since September 2018, IRIM has been working as a board member of the network.

The project aim is to develop an assessment tool for CSOs to monitor government digital transparency that will enable active monitoring and recommendations for the government. In order to do this, the IRIM team will improve and re-invent our assessment tool of the ‘Transparency in Websites of Government Agencies’ Monitoring’ project.

The following are the planned activities to undertake for the project:

1. To identify the specific needs of the in government digital transparency of Central Asian countries and review existing assessment tools and initiatives of the relevant field;
2. The developed draft assessment tool will be tested in Kyrgyzstan. IRIM will partner with a CSO in Kyrgyzstan by organizing training workshop and conducting an assessment with the CSO;
3. The draft assessment tool will be improved in accordance with the feedback of the pilot and presented to a workshop that will be held in Central Asia. The assessment tool and manual will be improved in accordance with the feedback received from the workshop participants;
4. To publicize the assessment report and research results and article based on the project experience.