When Brazil ’ s government buys anything from fighter jets to a fancy villa , details are available online within 24 hours . Such disclosures are a powerful way to combat corruption , and are a model for official openness that could inspire other nations . Brazil ’ s online portal started in 2004 . Among its contents : information about Brazilian outlays in advance of hosting the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympic Games . The site includes an online channel for whistleblower complaints . Because corruption is a major problem in Brazil , timely release of spending data , including daily information about the use of government credit cards , is designed to help the media and opposition politicians in Brazil reveal crooked behavior . If a minister buys a truckload of wine with her government card , or pays off a cousin , someone will notice . Enthusiasm for open government is taking hold not just in Brazil , but in countries such as Kenya , India and the U . K . Kenya last month became the first sub - Saharan African country to launch a government - data portal . India is a beehive of activity ; it has initiated ambitious plans for providing public services with the help of mobile phones in rural areas and for electronic citizen engagement in government generally . Last month , U . K . Prime Minister David Cameron instructed public agencies to release a flood of comparative public data : student achievement in schools by subject ; health outcomes by doctors ’ practices ; complaints about National Health Service hospitals ; quality of medical education ; and procurement spending for all transactions of more than 500 pounds ( $ 826 ) . At a time of antagonism and austerity in the U . K . , the importance of government transparency is the rare subject on which there is substantial consensus . Tim Kelsey , the U . K . government ’ s senior adviser on transparency , believes open data can improve quality and save money in public services . He points out that the release of comparative heart - surgery data by the Society for Cardiothoracic Surgery has led to a 50 percent improvement since 2001 in the overall risk - adjusted death rate for related procedures . Open government is often misunderstood . Broadly , it includes transparency , accountability , citizen engagement in governance , innovation in the delivery of public services , and use of technology , among other things . It ’ s fair to say that many flavors of open government are unfamiliar to many politicians . Having the world watch what you do can be uncomfortable . Despots loathe openness ; their commandeering ways depend on camouflage . Even in well - run democracies , career civil servants often heave sighs of despair over openness , seeing little benefit and knowing how difficult it can be to put in place . But there is nothing better than accessible comparative data about public services to spur improvements and increased professionalism . More generally , openness supports richer connections between citizens and the state . Next month , President Barack Obama will address a U . N . General Assembly meeting to praise open government and announce an Open Government Partnership led by Brazil and the U . S . This atypical initiative isn ’ t focused on ranking countries against set criteria , but instead broadly encourages a huge range of innovative practices . A handful of other countries ― South Africa , Norway , Mexico , the Philippines , and the U . K . ― are joining now . Dozens more will follow . As the Sept . 20 meeting gets closer , the press and public will be watching . Co - chair Brazil hasn ’ t yet passed a Freedom of Information law that has been hanging fire for two years . Critics of the U . S . ’ s track record on opening up government information are feeling cynical . Transparency advocates wonder whether the U . S . is focusing on an international process so as to divert attention from its domestic failings . This is a fragile moment for open government around the world . Though it seems as if age - old challenges of corruption and public distrust should be addressed with the help of 21 st - century tools , isolated reformers are battling bureaucracies that have an interest in keeping public information secret . Entrenched governments grow fearful , wanting to avoid rocking the boat and hoping to survive re - election challenges . Even the muscular transparency of the relatively new U . K . government may run into obstacles . Building support for open government is crucial . A competition to find the world ’ s most open governments could provide needed nudges , including for the U . S . Countries around the globe are racing ahead with open government ; the U . S . should feel fresh urgency to keep moving forward , too . By Susan Crawford , Bloomberg Susan Crawford is a Bloomberg View columnist and a professor of law at Cardozo School of Law . The opinions expressed are her own . ― Ed .