transparency at university: a case for leadership. the performances of england and spain

Abstract

The research was caused by the fact that the European Union and other developed countries have shown concern with the participation of our peoples in politics. The fact that the technological revolution allows citizens a bigger and direct engagement in the building of our social, economic and political bodies must be added to the higher education levels that push citizens to ask for more and better public information and for higher levels of accountability on the part of public servants, including political figures. The approval of Spanish Law on Transparency, Access to Public Information and Good Governance proved to be a fine occasion to  test our universities and see if they share the mood of the times. Comparing Spanish universities in relation to transparency with the English universities, under the Law of Access to Information, for the last fifteen years, has been a way of testing international transparency standards at university levels and the will of their governing bodies to be part of a widely spread movement in favour of deeper accountability and participation. No other research of this sort has been produced either in Spain or in England.