Blog: Transparency Archives | Blog Posts Pioneer Institute

MBTAAnalysis: A look inside the MBTA

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April 1, 2019

The MBTA shuttles over a million passengers a day around Greater…

The Clock is Ticking…….

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February 20, 2017

The clock is ticking towards December 30, 2017. As part of…

Putting in the Extra Hours: The Spike in Mass. Department of Public Health Overtime Pay during COVID-19

June 3, 2021

During the heat of the COVID-19 pandemic, Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) payroll data presented a 29.09% increase in the average employee’s overtime pay from the previous year. Pioneer wanted to dig deeper into the Department’s compensation trends to put the $5M bump in 2020 DPH overtime pay into perspective.

Struggling For Sunshine: Transparency’s Power To Keep Leaders Accountable

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March 23, 2021

Host Joe Selvaggi talks with Pioneer Institute's Mary Z. Connaughton about the value of transparency and Pioneer’s extensive work to provide greater access to legislative and policy information to hold elected officials accountable and build trust in our state government. Read Pioneer Institute's Sunshine Week Transparency Resolutions.

Pioneer Institute’s 2021 Government Transparency Resolutions: Sunshine Week Edition

March 16, 2021

As it does each year, Pioneer shares the resolutions it hopes state leaders will adopt to bring government actions into better focus and invigorate our democracy with heightened public engagement. As the late Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis noted, “sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants; electric light the most efficient policeman.”

COVID-19 Transparency – A Step Backwards

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September 17, 2020

Massachusetts has unfortunately taken the backwards step of ending its longstanding daily reporting of something basic and important: the virus’s cumulative impact on various age groups.

HHS COVID Funding Tracker

August 3, 2020

As of July, the Feds have distributed $86.7 billion to medical providers, of which $2.3 billion came to Massachusetts. Pioneer’s new HHS COVID-19 Funding app shows who and how much, from the $1 sent to American Current Care of Massachusetts, to the $418,034,675 sent to the MA Department of Public Health. We also break down the distribution by city or town.

Mapping COVID-19 in Massachusetts Cities & Towns

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April 17, 2020

Kudos to he Massachusetts Department of Public Health for posting the count and rate (per 100,000) of confirmed COVID-19 Cases in Massachusetts by City/Town.

Transparency Needed at Long-term Care Facilities

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April 17, 2020

The anxiety of having a parent in a nursing home under the constant…

Sunshine Week 2020 – When Government Transparency Is More Important Than Ever

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March 20, 2020

COVID-19 has overshadowed what was supposed to be Sunshine Week, but vigilance on behalf of open government is even more crucial during times like these, when the public has limited access. But government transparency is important at all times. Each year during Sunshine Week, Pioneer reviews some of its recent work to increase public accountability in Massachusetts government.

In the past few years, the tobacco industry has thrived in Massachusetts. Here’s why.

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February 11, 2020

Despite recent good news about declines in alcohol, traditional…

Pioneer Institute’s Government Transparency Resolutions 2020

January 30, 2020

As we do each January, Pioneer shares the resolutions it hopes state leaders will adopt to bring government actions into better focus and invigorate our democracy with heightened public engagement.