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| Kansas Accountability Project | |
|---|---|
| Name | Kansas Accountability Project |
| Founded | 2011 |
| Headquarters | Topeka, Kansas |
| Type | Nonprofit policy watchdog |
| Leader title | Executive Director |
| Leader name | Jennifer Hale |
| Revenue | $2.1 million (2023) |
| Website | Official website |
Kansas Accountability Project
The Kansas Accountability Project is a nonpartisan nonprofit policy watchdog and research organization focused on transparency, fiscal oversight, and ethical compliance in Kansas public institutions. It produces investigative reports, policy briefs, and data visualizations intended to inform legislators, media outlets, and civic groups such as League of Women Voters of Kansas, Kansas Policy Institute, and Kansas State University researchers. The Project collaborates with national partners including OpenSecrets, ProPublica, and the Pew Charitable Trusts on data-driven initiatives.
The Kansas Accountability Project conducts audits, publishes scorecards, and files public-records requests to examine practices at agencies such as the Kansas Department of Transportation, Kansas Department of Education, and the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services. Its methods combine quantitative analysis from sources like the U.S. Census Bureau and the Bureau of Labor Statistics with investigative techniques used by organizations such as Common Cause and American Civil Liberties Union. The Project maintains an online database of municipal contracts, procurement records, and campaign finance disclosures that draws comparisons with datasets from the Federal Election Commission, National Association of State Budget Officers, and Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
Founded in 2011 by former state auditor staffers who had worked with the Kansas Legislature and the Office of the Kansas Attorney General, the Project emerged amid debates after high-profile controversies involving the Kansas Board of Regents and budgetary disputes linked to policies advanced by governors including Sam Brownback. Early reports examined tax changes passed by the Kansas Legislature and their impact on state revenues, prompting hearings before committees such as the House Committee on Appropriations (Kansas) and the Senate Ways and Means Committee (Kansas). The organization expanded its scope after partnerships with the Sunlight Foundation and the Institute for Legal Reform provided technical support for open-data initiatives.
The Project’s stated objectives include improving public-sector fiscal stewardship, enhancing access to public records, and reducing conflicts of interest in state contracting. Activities include filing Freedom of Information Act-style requests to offices like the Kansas Attorney General and municipal clerks in cities such as Wichita, Kansas, Overland Park, Kansas, and Kansas City, Kansas. It issues annual scorecards comparing performance across agencies including the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and the Kansas Board of Regents; these scorecards reference benchmarking frameworks from the Government Accountability Office and the National Conference of State Legislatures. The Project also organizes forums with stakeholders like Kansas Chamber of Commerce and the Kansas Association of Counties.
The Project is governed by a board of directors featuring former officials from institutions such as Washburn University and the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City. Leadership includes an executive director and program directors for investigations, data, and policy outreach. Funding sources comprise private foundations including the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and grants from national funders such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation of New York, as well as individual donors and contract research for entities like the Kansas Health Institute. Financial disclosures mirror reporting practices used by nonprofits that file with the Internal Revenue Service on Form 990.
Notable initiatives include a statewide procurement transparency portal modeled after projects by Chicago Reporter and Sunlight Foundation, an education spending tracker contrasting allocations among districts including USD 259 Wichita Public Schools and USD 500 Kansas City, Kansas Public Schools, and a criminal-justice spending analysis referencing data from the Kansas Department of Corrections and the Kansas Sentencing Commission. Collaborative projects include a municipal transparency toolkit developed with National Civic League and an elder-care oversight series produced with investigative partners at ProPublica and the Associated Press. The Project’s reports have been cited during legislative debates over statutes such as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (state fiscal impacts) and administrative rules promulgated by the Kansas Department of Revenue.
Critics from political organizations including the Kansas Democratic Party and some members of the Kansas Republican Party have accused the Project of selective reporting and partisan framing in certain reports, pointing to contested interpretations of budgetary data tied to tax policy debates. Local officials in municipalities such as Topeka, Kansas and Salina, Kansas have pushed back against public-records requests, citing administrative burdens and invoking exemptions under state statutes like the Kansas Open Records Act. Academic reviewers from institutions including University of Kansas and Pittsburg State University have questioned methodological choices in specific scorecards, prompting the Project to revise datasets and publish methodological appendices.
The Project’s work has led to policy changes including revisited procurement rules in counties like Shawnee County, Kansas and legislative follow-ups on contracting with vendors tied to the Kansas Lottery. Its investigations have prompted open-records reforms debated in the Kansas Legislature and generated media coverage in outlets such as The Wichita Eagle, Topeka Capital-Journal, and national coverage by NPR. Independent evaluations by audit bodies and academic audits from the University of Kansas Center for Public Partnerships and Research have found mixed results: improved transparency metrics in several municipalities, but variable influence on long-term fiscal outcomes. Ongoing impact is tracked through metrics aligned with standards from the Open Government Partnership and annual reviews by the Kansas Policy Institute.
Category:Nonprofit organizations based in Kansas