Right to Information Guide for Myanmar they may be improved. Although not always pleasant to receive, constructive criticism is, nonetheless, important to fostering positive changes. Moreover, the public accountability fostered by a functioning right to information system can impact staff attitudes towards efficiency and resource management. Just as an employee is likely to work harder if their supervisor is standing nearby, the knowledge that an official’s actions are subject to public scrutiny will lead them to be more careful and judicious in their work and to take greater care over how public resources are expended. 1.6. Dignity and Personal Goals The right to access information about oneself that is held by public authorities is part of one’s basic human dignity. It can also be useful to help individuals make personal decisions. For example, individuals may not be able to make decisions about medical treatment, financial planning and so on if they cannot access their medical records. Right to information requests can also reveal information that directly impacts one’s health or livelihood, such as environmental information related to a person’s community. 1.7. Economic and Business Benefits Public authorities collect and hold vast amounts of information on a wide range of issues, much of which is relevant to economic matters or social trends, which businesses can put to good use. This is an important benefit, which also helps respond to the concerns which are often voiced about the high cost of implementing right to information legislation. The economic value of the information released under right to information requests has been assessed at many billions of dollars. Another economic benefit to openness comes in the form of more efficient and competitive contracting. Open contracting, whereby material about bids received in response to a call for tenders is published online, has become increasingly popular. This is due to its tendency to drive down costs over time, by ensuring that contracts are awarded fairly to the most competitive bid. 1.8. Combatting Corruption One of the most high-profile benefits associated with the right to information is its power to combat corruption and other forms of wrongdoing in government. In the introduction to a 2003 annual report, the anti-corruption organisation Transparency International even described access to information as “perhaps the most important weapon against corruption,”7 and the organisation continues to view furthering the right to information as a priority for its work. Different social actors – including investigative journalists, watchdog 7 Transparency International, Global Corruption Report 2003: Access to Information (2003, Berlin), p. 6, https://images.transparencycdn.org/images/2003_GCR_AccessInfo_EN.pdf. The Centre for Law and Democracy is a non-profit human rights organisation working internationally to provide legal expertise on foundational rights for democracy. 4