Rising disinformation has far-reaching consequences in many policy areas ranging from public health to national security. It can cast doubt on factual evidence, jeopardise the implementation of public policies and undermine people's trust in the integrity of democratic institutions. This report explores how to respond to these challenges and reinforce democracy.

This report presents the main findings of the second OECD cross-national Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions, carried out in late 2023. With nearly 60 000 responses, representative of the adult population in 30 OECD countries, the survey investigated how people's expectations and experiences with government influence their trust in public institutions. These experiences and expectations range from day-to-day interactions with public institutions to government decision making on complex policy issues. The report identifies some of the main drivers of trust in government and other public institutions and discusses opportunities for policy action. For the first time, the report also analyses how trust levels and drivers have evolved in the 20 OECD countries that participated in the 2021 survey and how an information environment marked by an increasing amount of polarising content and disinformation affects people’s trust in public institutions.

As governments grapple with environmental and digital transitions and an erosion of trust in public institutions, bold action is needed to build people’s trust and strengthen democracy. To this end, the OECD launched its Reinforcing Democracy Initiative in 2022. This report offers an overview of collective progress made in OECD countries across the five pillars of the Initiative and their respective action plans: combatting mis‐ and disinformation; enhancing participation, representation, and openness in public life, including a focus on gender equality; stronger open democracies in a globalised world; governing green; and digital democracy. In each of these areas, the report provides recent cross‐country indicators of progress (when available) and highlights best practices from countries. The report draws on OECD and other data to assess progress, including the 2024 results of the OECD Survey on the Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions. It also identifies gaps in action and points to a set of common priorities for moving forward together.

This report analyses the legislative and institutional framework in France relating to the transparency and integrity of foreign influence activities. It identifies concrete policy measures adapted to the French context to make foreign influence activities more transparent, and to discourage foreign interference attempts that are made notably through opaque lobbying and influence activities. It also ensures that the risk of foreign interference is better taken into account when public officials move between the public and private sectors.

Lobbying and influence activities are legitimate acts of democratic participation and enable different groups to provide input and expertise to the policymaking process. This report looks at Chile’s existing framework to ensure equity, integrity and transparency in public decision-making processes, and assesses its resilience to the risks of undue influence by special interest groups.

Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions in Chile was undertaken as part of Chile’s State Modernisation Agenda 2022-2026. Based on results of the 2023 OECD Trust Survey and over fifty qualitative interviews with key national stakeholders, the study offers in-depth and comparative analysis of public trust and its driving factors. The report provides recommendations to further enhance trust, including improving the delivery and responsiveness of public services, promoting fairness across public institutions, and enhancing communication and engagement between the government and the population.

This report offers insights into the state of trust in Slovenian public institutions. It analyses data from the 2023 OECD Survey on Drivers of Trust in Public Institutions, comparing Slovenia's results with 29 other OECD countries. The study reveals both challenges and opportunities for reinforcing public trust in Slovenia, highlighting areas of strength in day-to-day interactions between people and public institutions whilst identifying concerns regarding decision-making processes on complex policy issues. Slovenia, like many nations, is grappling with the aftermath of natural disasters and global crises and is seeking to strengthen its democratic foundations. This report provides actionable insights for improving public governance, reinforcing democratic values, and building a more trusting relationship between citizens and public institutions. This comprehensive analysis offers a roadmap for policymakers, government officials, and civic leaders in Slovenia to enhance trust and, ultimately, strengthen the country's democratic processes and public governance.

The OECD Public Integrity Handbook provides guidance to government, business and civil society on implementing the OECD Recommendation on Public Integrity. The Handbook clarifies what the Recommendation’s thirteen principles mean in practice and identifies challenges in implementing them.

Public authorities from all levels of government increasingly turn to Citizens' Assemblies, Juries, Panels and other representative deliberative processes to tackle complex policy problems ranging from climate change to infrastructure investment decisions. They convene groups of people representing a wide cross-section of society for at least one full day – and often much longer – to learn, deliberate, and develop collective recommendations that consider the complexities and compromises required for solving multifaceted public issues.