Person:
Trapnell, Stephanie E.
Author Name Variants
Fields of Specialization
Transparency,
Right to information,
Accountability,
Anticorruption,
Governance
Degrees
ORCID
External Links
Externally Hosted Work
Contact Information
Last updated
January 31, 2023
Biography
Stephanie E. Trapnell is a PhD candidate in sociology at George Mason University and served as a founding team member and research manager for the Public Accountability Mechanisms (PAM) Initiative and the Actionable Governance Indicators (AGI) Initiative, both at the World Bank. She is a specialist in open government, accountability, and measurement, and is the author of User’s Guide to Measuring Corruption and Anti-corruption, published by the UNDP. Her current research is focused on networks, implementation processes, and outcomes in right to information systems, including civil society engagement and government administration. She holds an MA in International Relations and International Economics from the Johns Hopkins University, School of Advanced International Studies and an AB in Linguistics from Bryn Mawr College.
Publication Search Results
1 - 4 of 4
-
Publication
Salient Issues in Income and Asset Disclosure Systems : Lessons Learned from the Field in Preventing Conflict of Interest and Combating Illicit Enrichment
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-06)Asset disclosure (AD) systems also referred to as financial disclosure or asset declarations can play two important roles within broader anticorruption efforts prevention and enforcement. On the prevention side, AD requirements can help bring to light conflict of interest risks faced by public officials who file ADs, thereby facilitating the avoidance of conflict of interest situations. On the enforcement side, AD requirements can provide one more source of information that may be used in the investigation and prosecution of suspected illicit enrichment cases, thereby aiding asset recovery efforts. Effective collaboration, both domestically and internationally, between policy makers and practitioners is essential for such benefits to materialize. In an effort to identify how best to design and implement an AD system, the report recognizes that each country ultimately must design a system that is tailored to the environment in which it will function. As such, the study analyzes some of the tradeoffs faced by policy makers and practitioners alike in designing and implementing an optimal AD system in a particular context. The report complements the Public Sector Governance Group's development of AGI, which include a set of indicators for both the legal framework and implementation of AD systems. These indicators are available to World Bank staff for monitoring and evaluating AD policies and procedures and for engaging in dialogue with client countries; they also are available to other interested parties outside the Bank. -
Publication
Income and Asset Disclosure Systems : Establishing Good Governance through Accountability
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2010-06)Financial declarations or income and asset disclosures (IADs) are quickly becoming an important tool for anticorruption agencies and governments to fight corruption. IAD systems can play two important roles within a broader framework of good governance: prevention and enforcement. In an effort to discover how best to design and implement an IAD system, the analysis conducted suggests that countries ultimately must design a system that best complements the environment in which it will function. However, there are several key principles that policy makers and practitioners need to consider: limit the number of filers to improve the odds of success, set modest and achievable expectations, provide resources commensurate with the mandate, and prioritize verification procedures to align with available resources, and balance privacy concerns with public access to declarations. -
Publication
Right to Information: Case Studies on Implementation
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014)This first round of eight case studies was completed in 2012. The case studies were prepared examining the experience of a number of countries that have passed Right to Information (RTI) legislation within the last 15 years: Albania, India, Mexico, Moldova, Peru, Romania, Uganda, and the United Kingdom. Each country case study assesses four dimensions critical to the effective implementation of RTI legislation as follows: 1. The scope of the information that the law covers, which determines whether an RTI law can serve as the instrument of more transparent and accountable governance as envisaged by its advocates. For example, a law that leaves too many categories of information out of its purview, that does not adequately apply to all agencies impacting public welfare or using public resources, or that potentially contradicts with other regulations, like secrecy laws, will not be effective. 2. Issues related to public sector capacity and incentives, additional key functions and demands within the public sector created by RTI, entities responsible for these functions, and various organizational models for fulfilling these functions. 3. Mechanisms for appeals and effective enforcement against the denial of information(whether it be an independent commission or the judiciary); the relative independence, capacity, and scope of powers of the appeals agency, and the ease of the appeals process; and the application of sanctions in the face of unwarranted or mute refusals, providing a credible environment. 4. The capacity of civil society and media groups to apply the law to promote transparency and to monitor the application of the law, and a regulatory and political environment that enables these groups to operate effectively. The in-depth research presented in these case studies was conducted to examine factors that promote the relative effectiveness of these four key dimensions when implementing RTI reforms, including institutional norms, political realities, and economic concerns. An analysis was conducted to determine which models have the potential to work in different contexts and what lessons can be drawn from these experiences to help countries currently in the process of setting up RTI regimes. -
Publication
Right to Information: Identifying Drivers of Effectiveness in Implementation
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2014-12-01)The findings from the study suggest that international pressure for more effective Right to Information (RTI) implementation only goes so far. The development of RTI laws with the encouragement, assistance, or insistence of the international community was a prominent theme throughout the case studies, particularly for EU countries during their accession process. But implementation is a less straightforward task, with many interlocking, moving parts, and international support comes in ad hoc fashion as the process unfolds. A strong implication from these findings is that a national coordinating strategy may be valuable for implementation. This kind of strategy document should take the interdependence of the drivers of effectiveness into account when drafting policies and rules for practice, and can serve as a guiding document when deciding on foreign funding priorities.