West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), Indonesia have launched their first Infrastructure Transparency Index (ITI) highlighting progress in strengthening transparency in public infrastructure, while at the same time there are opportunities regarding how projects are delivered and monitored.

The ITI is a global tool developed by CoST to assess how transparent, participatory and accountable infrastructure systems are from planning through to delivery – and crucially making practical recommendations for improvement.

The findings show that NTB has built a strong enabling environment for transparency, including legal and policy frameworks. However, these are not yet translating into consistent public access to information on infrastructure projects which can be used for meaningful citizen engagement.

These gaps matter. Without accessible, complete information and opportunities for public oversight, it is harder to detect inefficiencies, prevent corruption, or ensure infrastructure meets people’s needs.

The report sets out clear recommendations to address these challenges, including:

• developing a Governor Regulation on public infrastructure data publication that mandates and encourages all Procuring Entities to publish infrastructure project data in line with CoST standards, including clear responsibilities for data provision, regular updates, and the use of digital platforms such as INTRAs

• creating a public infrastructure transparency portal where data is published across the entire project cycle (INTRAs); and

• increasing citizen engagement through mandating public consultations in infrastructure projects and promoting public use of data platforms.

“In NTB, the ITI has helped us clearly see where we are doing well and where we still need to improve, especially in making infrastructure information more accessible and meaningful for the public. It gives us practical direction to strengthen transparency and ensure that citizen participation has real impact.” Ahmad Muharror, Traffic Management Analyst, Department of Transportation, NTB and CoST NTB Manager.

This launch is part of CoST’s global ITI Week, where members around the world are publishing new assessments to drive improvements in infrastructure transparency and accountability.

For a short video on NTB’s ITI launch watch this: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/KsogDu4WNmM

For more information on ITI visit: https://www.infrastructuretransparencyindex.org/

The post Indonesia on path for transparent infrastructure shown by CoST Index appeared first on Infrastructure Transparency Index (ITI).

Panama has published their second Infrastructure Transparency Index score, showing strong growth from their first score.

The results reflect a strong foundation with Panama’s enabling environment highlighting a robust legal framework aligned with international standards, and increasing publication rates on infrastructure project data, showing major progress in the digitalisation of public procurement. Platforms such as PanamaCompra and PanamaenObras are helping make infrastructure data more accessible and easier to track across the project lifecycle.

But one of the most striking findings is that progress has not been driven by the size of budgets. Instead, the report shows that transparency is achievable through effective systems and institutional commitment. Entities with more moderate resources have outperformed others by adopting stronger accountability practices and making better use of available data.

This shift is particularly visible at the local level. Municipal governments have emerged as leaders in transparency, surpassing central government performance and demonstrating how decentralisation can support more responsive and accountable infrastructure delivery.

Despite this progress, challenges remain. While data availability has improved significantly, citizen participation continues to lag behind.This highlights a critical gap: making information public is not enough on its own — it must also be actively used.

Looking ahead, the focus is on turning transparency into accountability. Strengthening the use of platforms like PanamaenObras, improving internal data management systems, and promoting more active citizen oversight will be key to sustaining progress.

“The ITI has been a key tool for identifying concrete gaps in Panama’s infrastructure transparency ecosystem and turning them into actionable reforms. The ITI has not only improved the availability and quality of data but also strengthened coordination between institutions and increased accountability.” Aída Martínez Mórtola, CoST Panama Country Manager

Panama’s experience offers a clear message: transparency is not just about publishing more data, but about creating the conditions for that data to be used. As countries mark Infrastructure Transparency Index week, it stands as a compelling example of how progress can be achieved — and where the next efforts must be directed.

For a short video on Panama’s ITI launch watch this: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/5sDS3PLh_c8

The post Panama shows transparency gains are driven by systems, not spending appeared first on Infrastructure Transparency Index (ITI).

Kaduna in Nigeria launched their first Infrastructure Transparency Index (ITI) – a global tool developed by CoST to assess how transparent, participatory and accountable infrastructure systems are from planning through to delivery, and which crucially makes practical recommendations for improvement.

The scores reflect Kaduna’s strong progress on enabling environment and capacities and processes, particularly their regulatory framework and digital information tools (thanks to their new portal).

This Index also demonstrates opportunities for growth in citizen participation and information publication – including with project preparation and supervision and execution of contract implementation and procurement. The ITI made practical recommendations for future improvemenets including formalising data publication procedures across all ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) and establishing citizen engagement units at MDAs.

Muhammad Sani Kassim, CSO member of the Multi-Stakeholder Group said “Key learning points from this Index include co-creation principles with a good working relationship between government, civil society, private sector and other communities who benefits from these projects. The impact is our ability to take these key recommendations to improve and strengthen the systems for procurement.”

Click here to watch a short video by Kaduna on their ITI: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/OUIojIU8MZk

For more information on Kaduna’s ITI results: https://staging.infrastructuretransparencyindex.org/countries/

The post Kaduna’s first Infrastructure Transparency Index shows strength in enabling environment and capacities and processes appeared first on Infrastructure Transparency Index (ITI).

The State of Jalisco, Mexico, has published a new Infrastructure Transparency Index (ITI).

The findings show that Jalisco has a strong legal and institutional foundation for transparency, with positive examples of information being published across infrastructure projects.

At the same time, there are opportunities to build on this progress by strengthening how information is consistently published across all project stages, improving institutional capacity, and expanding how citizens engage with and use published infrastructure data.

The report also sets out clear recommendations to strengthen how information on infrastructure projects is published and used through improving data publication practices, strengthening institutional processes, and expanding opportunities for citizen engagement – all of which will lead to ongoing improvements in public infrastructure.

This publication is part of CoST’s global ITI Week, where members are publishing new assessments to drive improvements in infrastructure transparency and accountability.

Watch this short video about Jalisco’s ITI: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/b1CMlN5k2N4

Learn more about the ITI: https://www.infrastructuretransparencyindex.org/

The post Jalisco’s ITI highlights progress on transparent infrastructure appeared first on Infrastructure Transparency Index (ITI).

In a new impact publication we are delighted to showcase many national and sub-national governments have used our tool, the Infrastructure Transparency Index (ITI) as a tool for driving reform across the globe.

The ITI measures transparency across four dimensions. It has been implemented 20 times across 14 countries and can be applied by any region or government using our open-access resources.

In this impact case study publication, we provide a selection of case studies from Latin America, Africa and Asia that have shown key lessons including:

• identifying recommendations through an evidence-based process;

• showing data and transparency gaps between frameworks and tangible application;

• measuring progress over time.

Read the publication in English and in Spanish.

The post Diagnosis driving reform: ITI Impact Case Studies appeared first on Infrastructure Transparency Index (ITI).

Download

ITI manual English

June 22, 2026

CoST, The Infrastructure Transparency Initiative, has created and published an updated version of its Infrastructure Transparency Index (ITI) manual in English and Spanish. The ITI measures the level of transparency in public infrastructure and the quality of processes that enable transparency. As well as evaluating regional infrastructure transparency, this resource can be used to better understand and strengthen transparency in different institutions.

The updated manual reflects CoST’s increased experience in implementation of the ITI across several countries at a national and sub-national level, with international best practice. The manual includes the methodology and dimensions of the index and preparation and evaluation of the index. This includes considerations around the evaluation team and evaluation period, materials and logistics. The document also includes objectives of the ITI, such as tracking and promoting progress and peer learning, and principles, such as impartiality, accuracy and being informative.

The ITI has led to vital changes across world regions, such as increased data publication by internationally recognised data standards, such as the Open Contracting for Infrastructure Data Standard (OC4IDS); the creation of data platforms; improved policies and frameworks; increased social accountability, with improved engagement and training with residents and the media.

The manual supports the creation of an index, supporting comparative analysis of different procuring entities. This can be used outside of CoST’s membership.

For questions about implementing the ITI, please contact CoST@infrastructuretransparency.org.

CoST, the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative (CoST) a leading global non-profit improving transparency, participation and accountability in infrastructure to deliver quality infrastructure that improves lives and strengthens economies. Stay up to date with our latest work through our newsletter and our social media channels: LinkedIn, Instagram, X/Twitter and Facebook.

Download

ITI Manual Spanish

June 22, 2026

The post CoST’s new Infrastructure Transparency Index manual supports any region to drive infrastructure transparency appeared first on Infrastructure Transparency Index (ITI).

These results show significant improvements by CoST Costa Rica and their partners in the regulatory environment and in the availability of public information on infrastructure projects. Some of the biggest achievements included:

– Enabling environment: significant jump from 30 to 70 points thanks to regulatory improvements (Law 9986 and Law 10554).

– Dissemination of information: Costa Rica leads internationally with a score of 88.6 in this dimension.

– International comparison: Costa Rica achieves the highest score among the countries evaluated in infrastructure transparency.

The ITI tool evaluates four main dimensions: the enabling environment represented by the regulatory framework and national digital platforms; the capacities and processes that facilitate transparency in the institutions that carry out public works; inclusive citizen participation in the construction of public works; and the disclosure of information in the project cycle.

The results were generated by assessing 30 entities and 60 projects, representing 87% of the budget awarded in public works during the study period, which ensured a nationally representative picture.

“The results of the ITI are a key tool for the whole of Costa Rican society, because they allow us to identify with evidence where the progress and gaps are in the way public investment works are reported and managed. When data on infrastructure is available, understandable and published in a timely manner, citizens can exercise their right to be informed, participate and demand accountability. This translates into better public decisions, less risk of corruption and better results for communities.” said Marisol Castro González, Country Manager CoST Costa Rica.

Key recommendations for continued improvement are:

• strengthening the relationship between internal capacities and citizen participation;
• incorporating the data standard into SICOP their data platform or into a more citizen-friendly platform; and
• using the ITI results to promote institutional improvement plans and continuous training.

CoST Costa Rica will be building on this work.

You can read the full report, or an infographics summary on the CoST and ITI websites.

For more information about CoST Costa Rica can be found on their website or by emailing them at costarica@infrastructuretransparency.org. Follow them on social media: X/Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

CoST, the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative (CoST) is a leading global non-profit improving transparency, participation and accountability in infrastructure to deliver quality infrastructure that improves lives and strengthens economies. Stay up to date with our latest work through our newsletter and our social media: LinkedIn, Instagram, X/Twitter and Facebook.

The post CoST Costa Rica’s third Infrastructure Transparency Index reveals them as an international leader in dissemination of information appeared first on Infrastructure Transparency Index (ITI).

CoST Uganda published its second Infrastructure Transparency Index (ITI) results, highlighting an 11% improvement from the last index in 2021. Conducted from April to May 2024, the second ITI evaluated 30 selected procuring and disclosing entities encompassing 58 infrastructure projects in Uganda. This included projects on including transport, health, education, water, and energy, to provide a comprehensive view of transparency practices.

The launch of the results included a statement from CoST Uganda Champion, the Minister of Works and Transport, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala. The Ag. Engineer In Chief, Eng. Stephen K. Kitonsa read the statement on behalf the Minister.

The statement highlighted the government’s commitment to comply with international standards for measuring the processes and systems for delivering public infrastructure projects, and the government’s readiness to respond to public concerns on infrastructure development using the data published through these reports.

“As we celebrate this win, I appeal to all the respective Government entities, oversight bodies and non-state actors to take a keen interest in the recommendations, engage and hold us accountable to achieve the desired transformation in the sector.” statement by the Minister of Works and Transport, Gen. Edward Katumba Wamala.

This year’s assessment included 10 entities from the 2021 pilot index and 20 new procuring entities, with the collaboration of the Permanent Secretaries, heads of government departments and agencies, and the Chief Administrative Officers of ten sampled districts.

The International Transparency Index focuses on four critical areas of assessing infrastructure transparency levels: the enabling environment, capacities and processes for delivering public infrastructure projects, citizen participation, and information disclosure.

The results of the index highlight that Uganda’s national ITI score improved significantly, rising from 20.8% in 2021 to 32.26% in 2024, indicating progress in promoting infrastructure transparency. Key lessons observed in CoST members who have undertaken the index twice, is the that results from the previous ITIs were considered and addressed. In Uganda, the ITI results informed decisions to improve the drainage system across the divisions by the Kampala Capital City Authority, in West Lombok the results are used to inform planning, in Costa Rica, government developed a capacity building programme to enhance data publication, while in Panama the results informed government decision to revamp the procurement platform leading to publication of over 4,000 projects.

The improvements were underlined across all dimensions. Enabling environment evaluated the national context with its legal framework. In this case, Uganda increased from 41.4% (2021) to 43.50% (2024).

Capacities and processes assesses the strength of procuring entities’ procedures and capacities to publish information. For this scale, Uganda increased from 13.5% (2021) to 29.78% (2024).

The third dimension, Citizen participation, evaluates the consistency of procuring entities’ procedures and capacities to publish information. In this dimension, Uganda increased from 13.8% (2021) to 33.65% (2024).

The last dimension, Data publication assesses the amount of public infrastructure information published by procuring entities through projects life cycle, based on international standards, Uganda increased from 18.4% (2021) to 26.81% (2024).

The top performing institution in central government entities was the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) (80.26%), Ministry of Works and Transport (60.66%), and the Office of the President (55.23%).

On the other hand, the top performing in local governments was in Mpigi District (42.29%), Jinja District (40.97%), and Kabale District (40.27%).

The most improved performance was by Jinja District Local Government, which increased from 5.76% (2021) to 40.97% (2024)—this represents a remarkable upgrade of 35.21%—and National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC), which increased from 20.38% (2021) to 48.86% (2024), a significant advance of 28.48%.

Notable improvements, particularly at the local government level, suggest effective capacity-building efforts, and developments in central Government entities may be linked to donor-funded projects with transparency requirements.

CoST recognizes that leadership commitment and organizational culture play crucial roles in transparency advancements. For example, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) has been very supportive and a key recipient of CoST reports.

“The OPM uses CoST reports to inform the general government performance reviews, monitoring of government and donor funded projects resulting from recommendations from CoST reports and other players, the OPM included government funded projects to be reviewed as part of this process. The reports are used to inform discussions on the development committee that approves and appraises public investments, the committee sits every month.” Commissioner, Monitoring and Evaluation, Office of the Prime Minister.

Among other recommendations, CoST Uganda points out the necessity of developing detailed implementation guidelines for transparency policies and implementing a comprehensive transparency framework across project stages.

Furthermore, it suggests the Procurement Authority (PPDA) launches a capacity-building program and establishing a peer learning network, strengthening oversight bodies and introducing performance-based incentives and sanctions, and enhancing citizen engagement through user-friendly interfaces and public awareness campaigns.

CoST Uganda remains committed to promoting transparency and improving the management of public infrastructure. We encourage all entities to strive for continuous improvement and look forward to even greater progress in the next ITI assessment.

The second ITI, designed collaboratively based on international best practices and lessons learned, aims to provide stakeholders with high-quality information to promote transparency and enhance public infrastructure management. CoST Uganda urges stakeholders to disseminate the ITI results widely, facilitating follow-up on the implementation of recommendations.

The summary and comprehensive report is now available in our resources section

The post CoST Uganda ITI results reveal 11% improvement in improved Infrastructure Transparency appeared first on Infrastructure Transparency Index (ITI).

The ITI is an essential tool designed to measure transparency and quality in public infrastructure processes related to public infrastructure, promoting a more effective, inclusive and sustainable public infrastructure. In addition, the ITI seeks to enable international comparisons and increase accountability.

The ITI implementation process included the preparation of the evaluation team and establishment of criteria to select the sample of entities and projects to be evaluated; the evaluation of the four dimensions of the ITI (Enabling Environment, Information Publication, Capacities and Processes, and Citizen Participation); data processing; and the generation of results reports.

The public institutions evaluated include Mayors’ offices and municipalities (55%), Autonomous institutions (22%), Hospitals (9%), Ministries and central government (7%), Governors’ offices (4%), Public and autonomous companies (1%) .

In total, the invested money for the infrastructure projects evaluated, according to data from the Institute for Access to Public Information of El Salvador, was $ 473.9 million executed by 23 entities during the two years.

Results

The overall results of the ITI show there are many opportunities to improve transparency in public projects. The national score reached 36.77 points out of a possible 100.

The scores for dimensions 1 and 4 are similar: 54.80 and 56.90, respectively. The regulatory framework is linked to the publications of informal information and the national information platforms available.

Capacities and processes (14.17) and citizen participation (11.74) are the weakest components due to the low participation in completing the surveys.

Compared to other countries, the ITI average for El Salvador is lower than the international average. In the American continent, where the ITI has been implemented, only El Salvador and Ecuador are below the average.

Opportunities for improvement

Among the main weaknesses identified, the lack of training programs for the publication of information and low citizen participation, as well as the lack of feedback on the use of public information stand out.

This report underscores the urgent need to improve transparency in public infrastructure in El Salvador. By highlighting specific areas of weakness and providing comparisons with international standards, the analysis facilitates learning and continuous improvement.

It is also a call to action for all stakeholders to work together towards a more transparent and effective public infrastructure.

For instance, CoST El Salvador will send communication to all entities to motivate them to be part of training sessions so in the future they can apply their knowledge to improve their score and transparency practices.

It is intended to receive support from international cooperation to develop capacity building workshops at the local level and for key actors throughout the country. In this process academia will play a significant role.

Encouraging local and national regions to use the Infrastructure Transparency Index to publish and review infrastructure data to enhance accountability, participation and transparency is a key area of our work. The ITI is open to all – not just CoST members.

Download: ITI Report – El Salvador 2024

For more information, visit the Infrastructure Transparency Index (ITI) website: https://staging.infrastructuretransparencyindex.org/

The post Infrastructure Transparency Index assessed projects with value of $473 million across 43 projects in El Salvador appeared first on Infrastructure Transparency Index (ITI).

Amid the complexity of the policy context, tools can be developed to help establish a metric of transparency in the infrastructure sector. In recent years, Ecuador has faced an unstable political climate, with protests, changes of authorities, early elections, insecurity, and violence. These elements cannot be excuses for poorly managing public resources and not providing the right transparency mechanisms to citizens.

In this way, within the framework of the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative, CoST Ecuador commissioned their first Infrastructure Transparency Index (ITI). The Index whose results were published in the city of Quito on February 27, 2024, in the attendance of 30 representatives of the private sector, civil society, government, and academia, was developed over a period of six months.

The ITI included 60 infrastructure projects spanning 30 institutions. The methodology for selecting projects was prioritized according to their type, sector, amount of contracting and impact. The institutions evaluated correspond to: the State Administration, public companies of the executive function, Decentralized Autonomous Governments (GAD) and public limited companies with public participation that developed projects between 2017 and June 2022.

The budget for the procurement processes for infrastructure projects corresponding to the sample of contracting entities was USD 3,204,109,319.21; and the total budget of the 60 processes selected in the sample, of USD 493,314,062.28, which represents 15.40% of the total procurement processes for infrastructure projects during the study period.

Conceived collaboratively and based on international best practices and lessons learned, the Infrastructure Transparency Index provides stakeholders with quality information that fosters transparency and drives improvements in public infrastructure management. In this sense, with an overall score of 27.65, Ecuador has abundant room for improvements in infrastructure transparency at the national level.

Specifically, the ITI allows us to provide a metric on transparency in Infrastructure in the country based on four dimensions (Facilitating environment, Capacities and processes, Citizen participation and Information dissemination), which through a group of indicators and sub-indicators tells us the situational topography of the country on the matter.

The country’s result in the Facilitating Environment indicator was 28 points out of a maximum of 100, with the Latin American average being 46.5 and the global average being 43, which generates significant concern on the part of civil society organizations, the private sector, and the government, on the need for concerted and unceasing efforts for advocacy on increased infrastructure transparency, participation, and accountability.

Regarding Capacities and processes – with a score of 13.68 – it is inferred that, although there is a basic understanding and digital capabilities present, these are not robust enough to ensure effective and transparent management of infrastructure projects.

The work that has to be done is arduous, mainly in the dimension of Citizen Participation, in which a score of 13.99 out of 100 was obtained.

This metric allows us to organize the CoST implementation strategy in the country at the national and local level. It also allows and provides relevant data to decision makers to strengthen democratic mechanisms in the Public Infrastructure sector.

The Disclosure analysis reveals some progress in transparency in project identification and the acquisition of construction contracts. However, there is much room for improvement in project preparation, construction contract implementation, and supervision contract procurement. In this sense, the ITI granted a score of 32.79 in this dimension.

It is important to measure the implementation of infrastructure transparency commitments, using the tools that the Infrastructure Transparency Initiative uses to strengthen infrastructure governance. These national level experiences help inform experiences and lessons across the Latin America region and the CoST members globally. He pointed out with concern on the worrying situation in terms of citizen participation across the region.

Recommendations derived from the report include considering a comprehensive approach to strengthen management capacities and processes, improve citizen participation and increase information dissemination to achieve a higher level of transparency in this critical sector.

Likewise, it suggests ensuring the effective implementation and updating of digital tools for the dissemination of information, such as the OCDS (Open Contracting Data Standard) and the development of projects in the Geographic Information System (GIS) to latest tools such as the Open Contracting for Infrastructure Data Standard (OC4IDS).

It also points out the importance of updating and reinforcing legislation for public infrastructure projects and implementing a robust monitoring and evaluation system, that allows measuring the progress and effectiveness of policies and practices of transparency in the infrastructure sector.

This task was possible with support from the CoST International Secretariat, led by David Zamora; the Datalat research team, under the coordination of Eng. Julio López, with the support of Lisette Zambrano and Ana Aguilera; as well as the Multisectorial Group of CoST Ecuador, made up of the following organizations: Fundación Ciudadanía y Desarrollo (FCD), Fundación Vinicio Ayala, IAEN, SERCOP, Quito Honesto, Ministry of Transportation and Public Works, College of Civil Engineers of Ecuador and the College of Civil Engineers of Pichincha.

More details about the results of the Infrastructure Transparency Index Ecuador 2024 can be consulted on the portal: www.infrastructuretransparencyindex.org and at www.costecuador.org

The post Infrastructure Transparency Index 2023 and Ecuador’s challenges to make public infrastructure processes more efficient and transparent appeared first on Infrastructure Transparency Index (ITI).