6.8.4.4 Transparency in Negotiation
(This is a current page, from the Patterns of Power Edition 3 book contents. An archived copy of this page is held at https://www.patternsofpower.org/edition03/6844.htm)
Transparency ensures that the process of negotiation is seen to be meaningful. Formal records of decision-making can be made available to the public: showing the data and calculations which were taken into account; listing who has been consulted and what they said; and showing the basis upon which the decision was reached. The Internet has made it much easier to give people access to such data.
The transparency should then continue, as described below (6.8.5.1), to ensure that the promises made during the negotiation are kept.