Clear and Transparent Information? On the work schedules of Public Officials of the Madrid City Council

Authors

  • Raquel Valle Escolano Universidad de Valencia
  • Iván Medina Iborra Universidad de Valencia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.51915/ret.375

Keywords:

Transparency, Work schedules, Lobbying registers, Madrid City Council, Local government

Abstract

Spanish public administrations have been implementing transparency policies for more than a decade, in order to improve internal procedures and achieve citizen involvement in institutional control. Recent studies show that the deployment of these policies at the municipal level is uneven and deficient. This article discusses how Madrid City Council, one of the most important and well-resourced municipalities, has managed the work schedules of public officials and the lobbying register between 2018 and 2023. Relevant indicators such as data localization; data structure and consistency; relevance; accuracy and correct recording; interoperability and reusability; and universal accessibility are analyzed. The main conclusion is that the data in the work schedules are not subject to oversight, nor are common criteria applied on how to procure the information. This seriously affects the usefulness of the transparency portal as an effective instrument focused on accountability.

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Author Biographies

Raquel Valle Escolano, Universidad de Valencia

Raquel Valle Escolano is a PhD Assistant Professor of Political and Administration Science at the University of Valencia and a collaborator at the Open University of Catalonia. Previously, she was Academic Coordinator of the M.U. Directorate in Public Management of the International University of La Rioja, Academic Director of the MU. in Law and Legal Practice from the International University of Valencia and professor at the Carlos III University of Madrid. She has also served as director of Rights and Good Practices in Autism Spain and as Deputy Director of the Cabinet of the Secretary of State for Social Services and Equality of the Government of Spain. He is a member of the CERMI Support Committee for the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. His main areas of academic research are public management, transparency, AI and the rights of people with disabilities.

Iván Medina Iborra, Universidad de Valencia

Iván Medina is a Full Professor of Political Science at the University of Valencia.
His research focuses on interest groups and transparency policies, which can be read in magazines such as the Spanish Journal of Sociological Research, the Spanish Journal of Political Science, the European Urban and Regional Studies or Contemporary Politics, as well as in collective works published in the main Spanish and foreign publishers.

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Published

2025-06-27

How to Cite

Valle Escolano, R., & Medina Iborra, I. . (2025). Clear and Transparent Information? On the work schedules of Public Officials of the Madrid City Council. Spanish Journal of Transparency, (21), 73–96. https://doi.org/10.51915/ret.375

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