In order to calculate the Index, and its components, the source data needs to be aligned against our conceptual framework, in. doing so the following approach was followed:

• To ensure simplicity of the methodology for calculating the Index, variables from the source data were allocated to only one theme.
• When selecting the theme to allocate a variable to, maximising coverage of the conceptual framework has been prioritised.
• Variables measuring similar concepts are grouped together to define the indicators within that theme.

This section describes the relationship of source data to the Index’s conceptual framework and data model. For each theme, a table details the indicators and variables that make up the theme, it also lists any transformation of the variables and metadata about the variable/source (reference year(s), number of countries covered, type of data collection).

To enable effective comparison, all source data is translated to a 0-to-1 scale, in addition to scaling some data undergoes a transformation (e.g. data where higher scores relate to poorer performance are inverted) before it is scaled, section 10 describes the different transformation processes outlined in the metrics tables.

The type of data collection used for each of the sources have been coded into one of nine types, which can be grouped into three broad groupings (quantitative data, assessments, and opinion measures):

• Quantitative data
  • Administrative data – published data drawn from administrative systems (e.g. data submitted by tax agencies to the International Survey of Revenue Administration).
  • Official statistics – published data drawn from official statistics (e.g. official statistics data collated by the International Labor Organization).
  • Statistical analysis – statistical analysis conducted on government data/publications (e.g. the analysis of policy documents used by the PARIS21 Statistical Capability Monitor).
• Assessments
  • Expert assessment – external objective assessment of government practices (e.g. assessment and analysis of open data published by governments by civil society researchers for the Global Data Barometer).
  • Government self-assessment – responses by government officials to a survey (e.g. responses by officials to the World Bank survey that is used to calculate the GovTech Maturity Index).
• Opinion measures
  • Business opinion – responses by businesses to an opinion survey (e.g. responses by businesses to the World Bank survey used to collect information for the Logistics Performance Index).
  • Expert opinion – responses by experts to an opinion survey (e.g. responses by academics/civil society experts to the Quality of Government Expert Survey), or assessments by experts that provide a rating (e.g. academic/civil society expert ratings used to produce in the Bertelsmann Transformation Index).
  • General public opinion – responses by the general public to an opinion survey (e.g. responses by members of the public to the survey used to calculate the Global Corruption Barometer).
  • Combined expert and public option – the combination of responses from surveys of experts and the general public (e.g. the combination of a survey of legal professionals and a general public opinion survey used in the production of the Rule of Law Index).

Data source reference

Strategy and Leadership domain

The strategy and leadership domain has five themes: strategic capacity; cross-government collaboration; openness and communications; integrity; and, innovation. Of these, all but cross-government collaboration can be measured from sources with global coverage.

Strategic capacity

There are two sources for the strategic capacity theme: the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) and the Sustainable Governance Indicators (SGI). Four measures are extracted from these sources and used to estimate one indicator: prioritisation.

The prioritisation indicator measures the extent to which governments can set priorities/strategies. It is estimated by two measures from the SGI measuring the influence of strategic planning units and the strategic appraisal capability of the centre of government, these are complemented by the BTI measures on the setting of strategic priorities and the efficiency of resource allocation.

A further three measures were identified from OECD/EU only sources, these could be used to estimate a second indicator on institutional adaptation.

Cross-government collaboration

Four measures from the Sustainable Governance Indicators were identified as potential metrics for the collaboration theme, which could be used to estimate two indicators: collaboration in policy development, and international collaboration; however, there were no appropriate measures in the Bertelsmann Transformation Index that these could be matched with. Therefore, the collaboration theme is not measured in the global version of the index.

Openness and communications

There are four sources for the openness and communications theme: the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI), the GovTech Maturity Index, the Rule of Law Index, and the Sustainable Governance Indicators (SGI). Seven measures are extracted from these sources and are used to estimate three indicators: right to information; open government; and, engagement and feedback.

The right to information indicator assesses the extent to which non-government actors/members of the public can obtain/request access to official information. It is estimated from the ROLI measure on right to information.

The open government indicator assesses the extent to which non-government actors/members of the public can access laws/regulations and the extent to which governments make information proactively available to the public. It is estimated from the ROLI measure on publicized laws and government data and a measure extracted from the GTMI on the existence of portals for open government initiatives and open data.

The engagement and feedback indicator assesses the extent and nature of government consultation in the development of policies and regulations and whether service users can provide feedback about their experience of public services. It is estimated from a measure from the SGI matched with a measure from the BTI, both measuring consultation with non-state actors, the ROLI measure on complaint mechanisms and a measure extracted from the GTMI on digital methods for public participation.

A further 9 measures were identified from OECD/EU only sources, these would add further depth to the three global indicators as well as estimate a fourth indicator around public communications.

Integrity

There are six sources for the integrity theme: the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI), the Global Corruption Barometer (GCB), the Global Data Barometer, the Quality of Government Expert Survey (QOG), the Rule of Law Index (ROLI), and the Varieties of Democracy Dataset (VDEM). 10 measures are extracted from these sources and are used to estimate four indicators: impartial behaviour; corruption; sanctions; and, integrity data.

The impartial behaviour indicator measures the degree of impartiality in the operation of public administrations, i.e. the extent to which politicians interfere with day-to-day administrative practice and delivery of public services. It is estimated by the QOG measures on whether officials act with impartiality and political interference in bureaucratic decision making, the ROLI measure on whether due process is respected in administrative proceedings, and the VDEM measure on whether public officials are impartial in the performance of their duties.

The corruption indicator measures the extent to which officials are not involved in corruption/corrupt practices. It is estimated by the GCB measure on public perception of the extent of officials involved in corruption, and the VDEM measures on whether public officials grant favours in return for a bribe and whether officials misuse or embezzle public funds/resources.

The sanctions indicator measures the extent to which officials found to engage in misconduct are sanctioned for their misbehaviour. It is estimated by the BTI measure on the extent to which officials are prosecuted and the ROLI measure on the extent to which officials are sanctioned.

The integrity data indicator measures the availability of data published by government relating to public integrity (e.g. registers of interests, gifts, meetings etc). It is estimated by the GDB’s measure on integrity data availability.

A further five metrics were identified in OECD/EU only sources, these would provide estimates for two further indicators: the existence of an integrity framework; and, practices for managing conflicts of interest.

Innovation

There are three sources for the innovation theme: the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI), the GovTech Maturity Index (GTMI), and the International Survey of Revenue Administration (ISORA). Three measures are extracted from these sources to measure one indicator: innovative approach.

The innovative approach indicator measures the extent to which governments are adopting or supporting innovative practices in the development of policy or delivery of public services. It is estimated by the BTI measure rating how innovative and flexible governments are overall, data extracted from the GTMI relating to the support for innovation (with a focus on digital services/new technology), and the use of innovative practices by the tax administration.

Public Policy domain

The public policy domain has five themes: policy making; financial management; regulation; crisis and risk management; and, use of data and statistics. All five themes in the public policy domain can be measured from global sources.

Policymaking

There are two sources for the policymaking theme: the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) and the Sustainable Governance Indicators (SGI). Two measures are extracted from these sources to estimate one indicator: policy coordination.

The policy coordination indicator measures the extent to which government design coordinated policies. It is estimated by the SGI measure on the ministerial/cabinet coordination matched with the BTI measure on coordinating conflicting objectives.

A further four measures were identified in OECD/EU only sources, these would provide estimates of two additional indicators: policy expertise; and, policy evaluation.

Financial management

Three measures were identified from the Open Budget Survey relating to the transparency of budget documents, budget consultation practices and the transparency of budget oversight, as well as one measure from the Global Data Barometer relating to the availability of public finance data. However, on further review it was decided not to include these measures owing to the potential for misinterpretation of the results. These measures focus principally on the transparency of fiscal information provided by the government, while this is an important component it does not measure important internal practices such as the use of spending reviews, cost benefit analysis, spend controls and authorisation processes, internal record keeping/management information or internal audit processes. Moreover, several of the countries that score well in these transparency measures have well documented instances of corruption, and/or make use of national security legislation or extrabudgetary measures to hide some degree of their public expenditure.

More traditional measures of public financial management use output/outcome indicators such as the debt to GDP ratio, tax revenue as a share of GDP, public expenditure as a share of GDP, yields on government bonds. While good practices in the management of the public finances is likely an important factor in these indicators, they are much more likely to be influenced by wider economic factors and specific political decisions, meaning that these types of measures are out of scope.

In keeping with our principle for a simple and transparency methodology, since we have been unable to identify a simple approach to accounting for either corruption or the hiding of public expenditure it was decided not to include measures on financial management in the calculation of the Index at this stage.

Regulation

There is one source for the regulation theme: the Rule of Law Index (ROLI). Two measures are extracted from this source to estimate a single indicator: regulatory enforcement.

The regulatory enforcement indicator measures the extent to which regulations are enforced effectively and properly. It is estimated from the ROLI measures on the effective enforcement of regulations and the enforcement of regulation without improper influence.

A further six measures were identified in OECD/EU only sources, one measure would add to the existing metrics estimating the regulatory enforcement indicator while the others would estimate an additional indicator on the use of regulatory impact assessment.

Crisis and risk management

There are two sources for the crisis and risk management theme: the Global Cybersecurity Index (GCI) and the Sendai Framework Monitor (SFM). Six measures are extracted from these sources to estimate two indicators: natural hazards; and, cybersecurity.

The natural hazards indicator measures the extent to which governments have strategies to respond to natural hazard disasters. It is estimated from the SFM measure on disaster risk reduction strategies.

The cybersecurity indicator measures the extent to which governments have strategies and practices in places to handle cybersecurity risks. It is estimated from the five pillars of the GCI: capacity building measures, cooperative measures, legal measures, organisational measures, and technical measures.

Use of data and statistics

There are three sources for the use of data and statistics theme: the Global Data Barometer (GDB), the Open Data Inventory (ODIN) and the PARIS21 Statistical Capacity Monitor (PARIS21). 13 measures are extracted from these sources to estimate four indicators: data capability; data availability; data coverage; and data re-use.

The data capability indicator measures the extent of government support for data skills and capabilities, and governance policies for data and statistics. It is estimated from the GDB measures on data governance and data capability.

The data availability indicator measures the availability of official statistics and other open data published by government. It is estimated from the GDB measures on the availability of company data, land data, health data and climate data, and the ODIN measures on the openness of economic statistics, social statistics and environmental statistics.

The data coverage indicator measures the extent of indicators and disaggregation published and availability of time-series data. It is estimated from the ODIN measures on the coverage of economic, social and environmental statistics.

The data re-use indicator measures the extent to which data and statistics are used/re-used. It is estimated from the PARIS21 measure on the use of statistics in policy documents.

A further three measures were identified in OECD/EU only sources, these would provide further metrics for the data availability and data re-use indicators.

National Delivery domain

The national delivery domain has five themes: system oversight, digital services, tax administration, border services, and social security. Of these, all but social security can be measured from global sources.

System oversight

There are two sources for the system oversight theme: the Bertelsmann Transformation Index (BTI) and the Sustainable Governance Indicators (SGI). Two measures are extracted from these sources to estimate one indicator: policy implementation.

The policy implementation indicator measures the extent to which governments are able to achieve objectives. It is estimated by the SGI measure on the extent to which government can achieve its policy objectives matched with the BTI measure on whether the government can implement its policies.

A further six measures were identified in OECD/EU only sources, these would provide estimates for two additional indicators: policy monitoring and subnational relations.

Digital services

There is one source for the digital service theme: the GovTech Maturity Index (GTMI). Three measures are extracted from this source, each estimating one indicator: digital strategy and policies; infrastructure; and, digital public services.

The digital strategy and policy indicator measures the existence of strategies, policies and practices that support the government’s approach to digital services. It is estimated from data extracted from the GTMI on digital strategies and policies.

The infrastructure indicator measures the existence of technologies that support the delivery of digital services. It is estimated from data extracted from the GTMI on back-end technologies and infrastructure.

The digital public services indicator measures the extent of digital services for end-users. It is estimated from the data extracted from the GTMI on the existence of service portals, e-payment services and use of digital signature technologies.

A further 14 measures were identified in OECD/EU only sources, these would provide further metrics to estimate the digital strategy and policy, the infrastructure, and the digital public services indicators, it would also provide metrics to estimate an additional indicator on user-centric service design and development.

Tax administration

There are two sources for the tax administration theme: the Doing Business report (DB), and the International Survey of Revenue Administration (ISORA). 12 metrics are extracted from these sources to estimate three indicators: tax agency administration; tax compliance; and, digital tax services.

The tax agency administration indicator measures the administrative functioning of the tax agency. It is estimated by the ISORA measures on administrative costs (as a percent of net revenue) and the turnover of tax agency staff.

The tax compliance indicator measures the compliance of taxpayers with their obligations and the effectiveness of the tax agency in enforcing compliance. It is estimated by the ISORA measures on the rate of taxes filed on time (for both corporate and personal taxes), the rate of taxes paid on time (for both corporate and personal taxes), and tax debt (as a percent of net revenue), it is also estimated by the DB measure on the annual time businesses must take to file tax returns/declarations.

The digital tax services indicator measures the use of digital methods for interacting with the tax agency. It is estimated from the ISORA measures on the proportion of taxes filed electronically (for both corporate and personal taxes), the proportion of taxes paid electronically, and the proportion of service contacts that occur via digital channels.

Border services

There is one source for the border services theme: the Logistics Performance Index (LPI). One measure is extracted from this source to estimate a single indicator: customs processes.

The customs processes indicator measures the ease with which goods can be shipped across international borders. It is estimated by the LPI measure on the efficiency of customs processes.

Social security

The GovTech Maturity Index provides data on the existence of portals for social security insurance and job searches. These are included in the measurement of the digital public services indicator in the digital services theme. No other measures of the functioning and practice of national-level social security services have been identified.

People and Processes domain

The people and processes domain has five themes: employee engagement; diversity & inclusion; HR management; procurement; and, technology and workplaces. Of these, only diversity and inclusion, HR management and procurement can be measured from global sources.

Employee engagement

Measures relating to learning and development practices were identified in one OECD/EU only source. There were no measures identified with extensive country coverage that would allow for estimation of an indicator relating to employee engagement in a global version of the index.

Diversity and inclusion metrics

There are four sources for the diversity and inclusion theme: the EIGE Gender Statistics Database (EIGE), the International Labor Organization (ILO), the International Survey of Revenue Administration (ISORA), and the Varieties of Democracy Dataset (VDEM). Ten measures are extracted from these sources to estimate three indicators: inclusive recruitment; gender diversity (all staff); and, gender diversity (management).

The inclusive recruitment indicator measures the extent to which individuals with different characteristics or backgrounds are able to apply for government jobs. It is estimated from the VDEM measures on whether state jobs are open to those regardless of their gender, their rural or urban location, their socio-economic position, their social group (e.g. ethnic or religious group), or their political group.

The gender diversity (all staff) indicator measures the extent to which gender parity is achieved across the employee base. It is estimated from data extracted from the ILO on women in public administration employment, the ISORA measure on the proportion of all those working at the tax agency that are women, and data extracted from the ILO comparing the hourly earnings of men and women in the public sector.

The gender diversity (management) indicator measures the extent to which gender parity is achieved at management/senior levels of the public sector. It is estimated from data extracted from the EIGE and ILO on women in management positions, and the ISORA measure on the proportion of senior officials working at the tax agency that are women.

An additional metric was identified from OECD/EU only sources that would provide an additional metrics for the estimate of inclusive recruitment.

HR management

There are two sources for the HR management theme: the Quality of Government Expert Survey (QOG) and the Varieties of Democracy Dataset (VDEM). Five measures are extracted from these sources to estimate two indicators: recruitment regime; and, meritocratic appointment.

The recruitment regime indicator measures the openness and security of recruitment to public administration jobs. It is estimated by the QOG measures on hierarchy levels subject to open recruitment and on the security of tenure enjoyed by public employees.

The meritocratic appointment indicator measures the extent to which appointment decisions in the public administration are based on merit and not on patronage. It is estimated by the QOG measures on recruitment by merit and patronage, and the VDEM measure on recruitment not by patronage.

Procurement

There is one source for the procurement theme: the Global Data Barometer (GDB). One measure is extracted from this source to estimate a single indicator: procurement data.

The procurement data indicator measures the availability of data relating to public procurement tenders and contracts. It is estimated from the GDB measure on procurement data.

Technology and workplaces metrics

There is one source for the technology and workplaces theme: the GovTech Maturity Index (GTMI). One measure is extracted from this source to estimate a single indicator: administrative IT systems.

The administrative IT systems indicator measures the existence of management information systems for administrative activities. It is estimated based on data extracted from the GTMI on the existence and nature of MI systems for public finances, HR management, payroll services and public procurement.