Supervisor’s review for Master thesis
by Nelyubina Irina Vasilievna
Faculty of Political Science, St. Petersburg State University
Topic of the Master thesis:
"CITIZEN PARTICIPATION IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A POLICY OF INFORMATION OPENNESS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT BODIES: PROBLEMS OF PUBLIC CONTROL AND PUBLIC COOPERATION"

The work of Nelyubina I.V. is devoted to a topic that does not lose its relevance, since the information openness of municipal bodies implies not only the openness of data, but also the readiness of local authorities to interact with citizens, which is the basis of "quality management". In 2023, the federal authorities continue to publish plans for the implementation of the Concept of Openness, V. Matvienko declares the need for a “new type of information openness”, and in 2022 Vladimir Putin signed the federal law “On Amendments to the Federal Law “On Providing Access to Information on Activities state bodies and local self-government bodies”. In other words, the topic of information openness is still on the agenda.
The author examines in detail the theoretical foundations of information openness of government, the implementation of the policy of information openness of government, the implementation of the principle of information openness of local governments on the example of the city of Izhevsk, as well as the implementation of the information policy of openness of local governments in Izhevsk. The author understands the information openness of power as the most important feature of a democratic and legal state, which has the following characteristic features: belonging to the actual processes of various spheres of society, the possibility of implementation only through communication, accessibility for all participants in social interaction, trust, the field of publicity for subjects of activity, publicity and openness. The author relies on such classical studies as the works of D. Bell, R. Aron, M. Castells , O. Toffler , W. Beck, J. Lyotard , J. Galbraith and others. The information society is closely connected with active public control, the main tool of which is the Internet, which allows you to promptly request, receive and distribute the necessary information. Exploring the issue of public control, the author understands it as one of the main forms of implementing the principle of democracy and a way of involving citizens in the management of society and the state. The author also notes that information openness in management is currently to some extent regulated by a set of regulatory legal documents, according to which openness was introduced in such areas as providing free access to an open database, attracting citizens to participate in the work of government bodies, public discussion and examination of draft normative legal acts and decisions, providing feedback from the government and citizens.
The author rightly notes the trend towards the lack of a single standard of portals at the federal, regional and local levels: these resources, as the author points out, hardly contribute to the formation of reporting and statistical activities. Considering the official portal of the city of Izhevsk, the author believes that institutional conditions have been created in the capital of the Udmurt Republic for the implementation of a policy of information openness, which allows for information work both “from above” on behalf of local governments, and “from below”, carried out by various civil society institutions. Describing the activities of municipal authorities, the author notes the fact that local governments are limited in the choice of channels for providing information, information openness is not fully disclosed, if only because the maintenance of state accounts in social networks remains arbitrary. The author also points out that at the moment the initiatives and opinions of the population of Izhevsk are not always taken into account in the process of making managerial decisions. The author gives the following recommendations to increase the level of information openness of local self-government bodies in Izhevsk: create transitional links between sections, supplement sections with links to regulatory legal acts; create a separate section to display the date of the appeal / topic of the appeal / deadlines / persons responsible for the execution of the appeal / report on the execution of the appeal, as well as the applicant's feedback on the quality of execution; pay attention to the possibility of holding public hearings online. In addition, as the author points out, it is necessary to improve the channels of interaction with citizens, in particular, in the “Electronic Reception” section of the portal, as well as in social networks.
The work was done to a good standard. The content of the work corresponds to the stated topic. Topic opened. The basic requirements for the design of the work are met. The text is well-written. Irina Vasilievna proved to be a very responsible, conscientious, active and interested student. Promptly made adjustments in accordance with all the comments of the supervisor. Final qualification work of Nelyubina I.V. "Citizen participation in the process of developing and implementing a policy of information openness of local government bodies: problems of public control and public cooperation" can be recommended for protection in its present form and deserves a positive assessment.

Scientific supervisor
Associate Professor, Candidate of Philosophical Sciences,
Associate Professor of the Department of Political Governance
Faculty of Political Science, St. Petersburg State University	
Kondratenko Konstantin Sergeevich