Transparency in the 21st Century: The Role of Records in Achieving Public Access to Information, Protecting Fundamental Freedoms and Monitoring Sustainable Development

A reliable and accessible evidence base is vital for all aspects of transparent and open government, particularly in an age of propagation of fake news and misinformation. Now more than ever, we need reliable facts about government decisions and actions for public accountability and economic and social development. Unless digital data and documents are created in the first instance, and then managed and protected as reliable evidence, they cannot serve the ends of transparency, openness and accountability, nor can they be used to track progress on goals for sustainable development.