What Is Transparency?

This article examines the evolving definition of transparency from a postmodernist approach. It traces the meaning of transparency from its use by nongovernmental and supranational organizations to its use in the international relations, nonprofit, public policy, and administration literature. It finds that the definition of transparency reveals three metaphors: transparency as a public value embraced by society to counter corruption, transparency synonymous with open decision-making by governments and nonprofits, and transparency as a complex tool of good governance in programs, policies, organizations, and nations. In the first metaphor, transparency is subtly intertwined with accountability. In the second, as transparency encourages openness, it increases concerns for secrecy and privacy. In the third, policymakers create transparency alongside accountability, efficiency, and effectiveness. The analysis concludes that these meanings affect the way organization members conduct and will conduct their day-to-day activities and how policies are and will be created. Transparency is becoming an unofficial mandate by the public and is often a legal mandate.