Do Your Homework! Tools for Transparency

Drug Industry Document Archive, University of California, San Francisco
The Drug Industry Document Archive (DIDA) houses about 1000 documents drawn primarily from United States ex. rel. David Franklin vs. Parke-Davis, Division of Warner-Lambert Company (now owned by Pfizer, Inc). The litigation concerned the marketing of Neurontin (gabapentin). (See About the Project for more details.) DIDA also contains documents on the marketing of Vioxx (rofecoxib) from the public records of the Minority Office of the Congressional Committee on Government Reform. The documents in this Archive focus primarily on the marketing of Neurontin (gabapentin) and Vioxx (rofecoxib), and include internal documents from Parke-Davis, Merck & Co. and correspondence with outside physicians and organizations, such as medical education and communications companies and advertising firms. Also included are regulatory and legal documents, court filings and depositions. New documents will be added as they become available.

Follow the Money
The National Institute on Money in State Politics is a nonpartisan 501(c)3 tax-exempt charitable organization dedicated to accurate, comprehensive and unbiased documentation and research on campaign finance at the state level. The Institute develops searchable databases, makes them available to the public online, and analyzes the information to determine the role campaign money plays in public policy debates in the states. The Institute also publishes studies and provides technical assistance and training to reporters, academic researchers and public interest groups that work on state policy issues.

Health Action International/World Health Organization Medicine Prices Project
In May 2003 Health Action International (HAI) and the World Health Organization Department of Essential Drugs and Medicines Policy published a working draft of a manual to collect and analyse the prices people pay for a selection of important medicines, as well as identifying price components (taxes, mark-ups etc.) and the affordability and availability of key medicines. Building on the results of dozens of surveys of low and middle-income countries, this on-line database provides an invaluable look at retail drug prices and their components.

MAPLight
MAPLight.org, a groundbreaking public database, illuminates the connection between campaign donations and legislative votes in unprecedented ways. Elected officials collect large sums of money to run their campaigns, and they often pay back campaign contributors with special access and favorable laws. This common practice is contrary to the public interest, yet legal. MAPLight.org makes money/vote connections transparent, to help citizens hold their legislators accountable.

Open Secrets
OpenSecrets.org provides an on-line database that makes publicly available financial disclosures of political contributions to candidates and of political donations by industry and top contributors in addition to personal financial holdings of candidates and public officials. The site is maintained by the Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan, non-profit research group based in Washington, D.C. that tracks money in politics, and its effect on elections and public policy. The Center conducts computer-based research on campaign finance issues for the news media, academics, activists, and the public at large. The Center's work is aimed at creating a more educated voter, an involved citizenry, and a more responsive government.

SourceWatch
SourceWatch makes available the funding conflicts of interest of public foundations.

TheyRule
They Rule aims to provide a glimpse of some of the relationships of the US ruling class. It takes as its focus the boards of some of the most powerful U.S. companies, which share many of the same directors. Some individuals sit on 5, 6 or 7 of the top 500 companies. It allows users to browse through these interlocking directories and run searches on the boards and companies. A user can save a map of connections complete with their annotations and email links to these maps to others. They Rule is a starting point for research about these powerful individuals and corporations.