Accountability and Public Adminstration Concepts, Dimensions, Developments

While many EU Member States conduct extensive public information campaigns, Central and Eastern European countries have difficulty finding the resources to do so. EU information and promotion campaigns preceding referendums in Austria and Nordic applicant countries cost millions of dollars. Many campaigns in Central and Eastern Europe have been made possible by foreign grants provided by the European Union, United Nations agencies and other donors. Care must be taken when developing a public information campaign, especially on a controversial or divisive issue, to avoid exposing the government and administration to accusations of spouting propaganda. 11 This is especially true given the nature of “government information” in Central and Eastern Europe between the end of World War II and 1989. 7. Researching & Assessing Public Opinion Another common function of GIOs is measuring and evaluating public opinion. Reviewing correspondence and comments received by telephone, conducting polls, distributing questionnaires, holding public hearings and roundtable discussions, and organising focus groups can yield useful information regarding public perceptions, needs and desires. Feedback generated through these various methods helps political leaders to shape public policies more in tune with the public’s priorities, and aids GIOs in determining what kind of information is of interest to what groups of people, and how they would like to receive such information. Such feedback should not be seen as a substitute for formal consultation procedures on proposed legislation and policy ideas. These procedures are not normally managed by GIOs. In early 1998, the polling firm, Baltic Surveys, carried out a national survey to determine opinions of Lithuania’s general public and the country’s elite on the privatisation process. The project, sponsored by the Phare Programme, identified the two groups’ views on what sectors should be sold and which ones should remain in state hands. The survey results are being used by Lithuanian authorities to prepare and execute a public 11 A recent public opinion poll in Estonia revealed a widespread perception that information being made available on European integration is one-sided (Saar Poll cited in Brooke Donald, “Estonia’s Euro-Indifference,” The Baltic Times, 14-20 October 1999, p. 1). 159