Peru : Methodology

Two main products have been developed within the framework of the project: the Report Card at the national level, and the Report Card commonalities. The latter identifies and analyses those indicators which are common to all GTF countries. The methodology followed in these two processes is outlined below.

Perú Report Card

In Perú, DAR has produced a comprehensive Report Card Matrix. The first step of this process comprised the development of a conceptual framework covering the key issues of transparency and the right to information, governance and governability. These aspects were later analysed within the context of the forest sector. This in turn resulted in the development of criteria, indicators and specific matrixes. This was followed by a workshop in which public institutions validated the transparency indicators.

The process involved ample theoretical debates within the DAR team, which multidisciplinary nature has enriched the results.

A total of five matrixes were produced, each gathering data around five main topics:

compliance with the Law on Transparency and Access to Information of public institutions with competencies on the forest sector;
compliance with the Law on Transparency and Access to Information of other public institutions;
the level of participation in the forest sector,
the availability of the relevant information for the management of forests; and
the implementation of the Perú-US Free Trade Agreement.

The assessment of each of these issues is carried out following two main steps:

Monitoring the transparency sections of the websites of all the public institutions with competencies on forests. A total of 15 relevant official institutions have been identified so far.
Submitting requests of information to such institutions. This is done through sending letters with the aim to assess the level to which information is provided in a timely manner as the law establishes.

Information gathering started in September 2009 and ran until December 2009. Such information was consolidated into a single document with consistent format, style and reference sourcing. An electronic copy of the document was then sent to Global Witness.

The workshop report, plus all the letters sent to the relevant public institutions, as well as the responses, are available on the DAR's project website.

Finally, in January 2010, and prior to its publication on the website, the Report Card and its consistency is subject to a final review by DAR. This includes the review of information which required updating, methodological precision and presentation of results.

Report Card Commonalities

The development of the Report Card Commonalities is the result of the joint effort of all of DAR’s forest team and other DAR personnel. The process started with an analysis of the baseline document provided by Global Witness: the type of questions asked, the kind of information requested and the sources where this information is located were all discussed and assessed. The team then distributed the work among themselves so all answers to the questions could be provided. Two key stages were the focus of the work at this point: firstly, the research aimed at gathering the information, and secondly the consolidation of such information and its adaptation to meet the format of the matrix. Information gathering was carried out on the second half of September 2009. This comprised several different approaches depending on the type of information needed. For example, extensive analysis of laws, reviews of transparency-related institutional websites, experts’ assessments and consultations with government officials were all carried out as part of this process. Finally, some of the information collected for the National Report Card for December was also used to update the Report Card Commonalities.