Take measures, in all branches and at all levels of the government, to develop and implement open government strategies and initiatives in collaboration with stakeholders and to foster commitment from politicians, members of parliaments, senior public managers and public officials, to ensure successful implementation and prevent or overcome obstacles related to resistance to change.
Open Government for Stronger Democracies
A Global Assessment
2. Provision 1: Open government strategies and initiatives
Abstract
The first provision of the Recommendation focuses on the policy framework for open government reforms at the central/federal level of government1. Policy documents (such as strategies, action plans, policies, institutional plans and memos) give direction to a country’s policy agenda, outline objectives, detail initiatives to achieve them and facilitate monitoring and evaluation of reforms (OECD, 2022[1]). Policy documents can further be a tool to harmonise practices across government, facilitate communication with internal and external stakeholder, and support accountability of public action.
According to data collected through the 2021 OECD Perception Survey on Open Government (OECD, 2021[2]), policy objectives such as fostering citizens’ trust in public institutions and “increasing peoples’ satisfaction with public services” are most frequent for Adherents’ open government agendas (see Figure 2.1. The main policy objectives of open government agendas).
Figure 2.1. The main policy objectives of open government agendas
Note: N=32.
Source: OECD (2021[2]), Perception Survey for Delegates of the OECD Working Party on Open Government.
1.1: Design and implement a policy framework on the open government principles
All Adherents are developing and implementing open government strategies and initiatives at the level of the central government.
Evidence collected through the OECD Open Government Reviews (e.g. (OECD, 2019[3])) and the results of the 2020 Survey (OECD, 2020[4]) show that all Adherents are taking dedicated measures to develop and implement policy agendas that aim to promote the open government principles of transparency, accountability, integrity and stakeholder participation, even though often in a disintegrated manner. In fact, Adherents’ policy frameworks for the promotion of the open government principles are usually very diverse, reflecting the breadth of initiatives that are related to the concept. They most commonly include whole-of-government policy documents outlining the broader government agenda (e.g., the Government Programme, Public Sector Reform Strategies, etc.), integrated policy documents that focus specifically on the promotion of Open Government (e.g., Open Government Strategies or OGP Action Plans), and policy documents that focus specifically on elements of Open Government or cross-cutting policy agendas (e.g., Digital Government Strategy, Integrity Strategy, etc.) (OECD, 2022[1]).
The 2020 OECD Survey on Open Government (OECD, 2020[4]) gave Respondents the opportunity to identify up to five policies documents that they considered as their countries’ “main policy documents promoting the open government principles”2. Overall, the 38 Respondents submitted 124 policy documents, for an average of 3.2 documents per Respondent. Out of them, 27% are Open Government Partnership (OGP) action plans, 23% are Digital Government Strategies, followed by high-level strategic government documents (e.g., Government Programme) (18%), documents on Anti-Corruption/Integrity (10%) and Open Data/Access to Information Strategies (8%) (Figure 2.2). In addition, when asked whether they had a strategy/policy to foster citizen and/or stakeholder participation across government, 26 out of 30 Respondents (86.7%) confirmed having such a document in place. This number has also significantly increased in recent years. In 2015/2016, only 46% of the OECD Members that responded to the OECD Survey on Open Government Co-ordination and Citizen Participation in the Policy Cycle (OECD, 2015[5]) had an overarching document focusing on citizen participation in the policy cycle. Moreover, compared to the data collected by the OECD in 2015/2016 the number of countries that now have policy documents that explicitly promote an integrated open government approach has grown substantially.
Figure 2.2. Main policy documents promoting open government policies and practices at the level of the central government (up to five per Adherent)
Note: Data is shown as % of policy documents. Based on 124 policy documents by 38 Adherents.
Source: OECD (2020[4]), 2020 Survey on Open Government.
The OGP Action Plan plays a key role in Adherents’ open government agendas.
At the time of writing, 34 out of 43 Adherents to the Recommendation (29 of which are OECD Members) were part of the Open Government Partnership (OGP). Members of the OGP have to develop Action Plans of the duration of two years (now experimentally also four years) which are the product of an open co-creation process in which government institutions and civil society work together to create commitments to foster open government principles. In 2022, some countries are in their fifth Action Plan cycle (e.g., Canada) while others that joined more recently are implementing their first or second Action Plan (e.g., Germany).
OGP Action Plans have become the most common forms of action-oriented frameworks for the integrated promotion of the open government principles in Adherents. Often, the OGP Action Plan has been the first (and sometimes the only) attempt to cluster a wide range of initiatives that aim to foster government’s capacity to inform, respond to or interact with citizens under the umbrella of the concept of Open Government. Evidence gathered through the OECD Open Government Reviews and Scans shows that, in many countries, the adherence to the Open Government Partnership has been a key contributor to more ambitious reforms that promote openness. These findings are validated by OGP data. In the first four years after the OGP’s inception, countries in five continents have included more than 120 Access to Information (“ATI”) commitments in their National Action Plans (NAP), spanning from legal reforms and capacity building activities to technological developments and dissemination programs (Herrero, 2015[6]). Moreover, in the area of fiscal openness, the latest OGP Vital Signs research indicates that OGP membership can also lead to tangible performance improvements. OGP countries that have made open budgeting and beneficial ownership transparency commitments – especially if they are ambitious and over multiple action plans – have improved their scores more than other countries when being assessed by the Open Budget Survey (OGP, 2021[7]).
The action plan process further allowed countries to promote the mainstreaming of the concept of Open Government, reinforce collaboration with stakeholders and put reforms in the spotlight of the national and international open government community (see, for example, (OECD, 2019[3]) and OECD (2023[8]))
All countries that participate in the OGP co-create a number of commitments that aim to promote the “open government values” of transparency, accountability, public participation, as well as technology and innovation (OGP, 2019[9]). According to OGP guidelines, commitments should be written following the SMART framework (i.e., they should be “specific”, “measurable”, “achievable”, “relevant” and “time-bound”) (OGP, 2019[9]). While first generation NAPs often contained a high number of commitments (e.g., more than 50), the OGP Handbook “Rules + Guidance for Participants” now recommends making them more strategic and high-level. In fact, the Handbook stipulated “plans comprising 5-15 high-quality commitments spread over multiple themes” (OGP, 2019[9]), reflecting the understanding that action plans – rather than outlining a country’s whole open government agenda – should focus on high-impact priority actions. This can also be seen in practice: Adherents that are part of the OGP are increasingly using their action plans more strategically, including in them reforms that are particularly innovative or need international visibility (or other reasons), while leaving many other activities that are considered “mainstream” out of them.
Open government strategies are becoming more common in Adherents.
The fact that Adherents are designing and implementing an increasing number of initiatives to foster their capacity to inform, respond to and interact with citizens and stakeholders in all parts of their public administration and in a wide range of policy areas is a sign of the increasing importance they attribute to the principles of open government. However, evidence collected through the OECD Open Government Reviews and Scans (see for example (OECD, 2019[3]) and OECD (2023[8])) also shows that, in most Adherents, strategies and initiatives that aim to foster the open government principles are still designed and implemented in a scattered and isolated manner, without building the critical mass needed to create a full-fledged and shared government vision of openness or to broader national policy objectives (see also the discussion on Provision 4 below).
In order to address this challenge, over the past three years, an increasing number of Adherents have started designing and adopting holistic Open Government Strategies (Figure 2.3) as an integrated whole-of-government roadmap for their open government agendas (see also OECD (2022[1])). An Open Government Strategy differs from an action plan in many regards (OECD, 2022[1]) (Table 2.1).
Table 2.1. The difference between a “strategy” and an “action plan”
Source: OECD (2022[1]), Taking an integrated approach to the promotion of transparency, integrity, Internal paper presented to the Working Party on Open Government, GOV/PGC/OG(2020)4/REV1.
An Open Government Strategy provides an umbrella policy framework to align all strategies and initiatives that are linked to openness and brings them together under a coherent medium- to long-term narrative such as Canada, Costa Rica and Finland among others (Box 2.1).
The design and implementation of holistic and integrated Open Government Strategies has the potential to significantly change Adherents’ open government agendas. For example, Open Government Strategies can lift the profile of countries’ efforts to respond to citizens’ demands to be informed and involved and bring discussions surrounding the open government principles to the Cabinet table. Over time, they can further allow Adherents to create more far-reaching governance mechanisms (e.g., empower the Open Government Office) and increase their monitoring and evaluation efforts.
Figure 2.3. Has your country developed or is your country planning to develop a standalone Open Government Strategy for the Central/Federal Government?
Note: N=32.
Source: OECD (2020[4]), 2020 Survey on Open Government.
Box 2.1. An overview of the development of open government strategies across Adherents
Costa Rica presented its first National Open Government Strategy in 2015. The stated aim of the OGS was to achieve the goal of an open, transparent and efficient government to fight against corruption. The strategy, which was declared “of public interest” by means of a decree, connected the country’s OGP Action Plan with the National Development Plan 2014-18 (OECD, 2016[10]).
Finland adopted its first integrated long-term policy framework for open government – the Open Government Strategy 2030 – in 2020. Pursuing the vision that “open government is a key resource in Finnish society” and that it “builds trust, security and confidence in the future among citizens”, the Strategy has four priorities, each with a number of concrete and measurable objectives.
In 2021, Colombia adopted policy guidelines for the implementation of an open state model. The policy guidelines will be applied over a period of four years and include more than 40 lines of action linked to fostering the open government principles in all branches of the state and at all levels of government.
Argentina adopted a Strategic Plan on Open Government in 2020, following an inclusive consultation process. Valid for the period 2020-2023, the Strategic Plan provides a comprehensive policy that defines specific objectives, actions and products in terms of transparency, open data and information, citizen participation, innovation and accountability.
Other Adherents, including Canada, Italy, Tunisia and Morocco are currently in the process of designing their first Open Government Strategies.
Source: (Presidency of Costa Rica, 2015, as amended[11]); (Government of Finland, n.d.[12]); (OECD, 2021[13]); (Government of Argentina, 2022[14]); OECD (2021[2]), Perception Survey for Delegates of the OECD Working Party on Open Government.
1.2: Take an inclusive approach to open government policy making and implementation
The design and implementation of open government strategies and initiatives usually benefit from collaboration with stakeholders.
Open government is about fostering a better relationship between governments and citizens (see also the analysis of the implementation of Provision 8 and 9 below). While there is room for further improvement, data collected through the 2020 Survey shows that citizens and stakeholders are commonly involved in the design and implementation of open government strategies and initiatives. In more than two-thirds of Respondents (68.3%), civil society organisations contributed to the design of the main policy documents on open government, followed by representatives from academia (58.5%) and the private sector (50.4%). Only 9.8% of Respondents’ policy documents on open government did not benefit from the inputs from non-governmental stakeholders during their design (Figure 2.4).
Figure 2.4. Participation of non-public stakeholders in the design of Respondents’ main policy documents on open government
Note: N=38 for 123 policy documents. Multiple selection possible.
Source: OECD (2020[4]), 2020 Survey on Open Government.
Moreover, and as further discussed in the analysis of Provision 8 below, some Adherents are undertaking efforts to ensure a broad representation of interests during the design of their main policy documents on open government. Approximately half of policy documents benefit from the inputs of specific societal groups. Among them are most frequently youth (28, 30.8%), people with special needs or abilities (24, 26.4%) and women (22, 24.3%) (Figure 2.5). In parts, the involvement of these specific groups and of other non-government stakeholders is enabled thanks to the support that Adherents offer to facilitate participation. However, in only 22.2 % (18) of cases, accessibility for people with disabilities is ensured and certain expenses are covered. The consultations for 10% of policy documents (eight) were organised outside of school hours (see also the analysis of Provision 8 and Figure 1.54 in particular).
Figure 2.5. Participation of specific groups in the design of Adherents’ main policy documents on open government
Note: N=33 for 91 policy documents. Multiple selection possible.
Source: OECD (2020[4]), 2020 Survey on Open Government.
When singling out the OGP Action Plan (which is one of the main policy documents on open government in 34 out of 43 Adherents, as discussed above), participation by non-public stakeholders in the design is the norm. In fact, no OGP Action Plan was adopted without the involvement of non-public stakeholders. Out of 33 OGP Action Plans for which responses for this question were received, 32 (97%) benefitted from the contributions of CSOs, followed by academia (78.8%), citizens (75.8%) and private sector organisations. The results of the OECD Open Government Reviews and Scans show that the extent and efficacy of citizen and stakeholder participation in designing OGP Action Plans (and policy documents in general) varies greatly from country to country. However, an-in-depth assessment of this involvement is beyond the scope of the present Report.
Non-public stakeholders are also frequently involved in the implementation of Adherents’ main policy documents on open government (e.g., OGP Action Plans, digital government strategies, government programmes, etc. – see Figure 2.2). Notably, civil society stakeholders are permanent participants in 80.7% of the coordination mechanisms that are mandated to oversee the implementation of the main policy documents, followed by representatives from academia (64.9%) and the private sector (52.6%) (Figure 2.6). In particular, the Multi-Stakeholder Forums (MSF) that govern Adherents’ OGP-process (in those Adherents that participate in the OGP) have allowed them to take steps to foster diversity and inclusiveness. Notably, ten Adherents that had a MSF (37%) indicate that participating stakeholders represent specifically women’s interest and another eight (29.6%) state that this is the case for youth. Only ten Adherents (37%) respond that there was no representation of specific groups in their MSF.
Figure 2.6. Participation of non-public stakeholders in Adherents’ coordination mechanisms responsible for the implementation of the main policy documents on open government
Note: Multiple selection possible. N=29 for 57 policy documents.
Source: OECD (2020[4]), 2020 Survey on Open Government.
To ensure effective implementation, monitoring and evaluation are essential (see also the analysis of Provision 5 below). Ideally, monitoring is not solely conducted by government, but also includes non-public stakeholders. For more than half of Adherents’ policy documents (47, 54%), this is the case. Civil society organisations (42, 50.6%) are most commonly involved in monitoring activities, followed by Academia (22, 26.5%) and the private sector (17, 20.5%). Trade unions (6, 7.2%) and individual citizens (8, 9.6%) rarely participate in monitoring activities (Figure 2.7).
Figure 2.7. Non-public stakeholder participation in monitoring policy documents on open government
Note: N=34 for 83 policy documents.
Source: OECD (2020[4]), 2020 Survey on Open Government.
1.3: Foster commitment to open government across the senior leadership to champion a transformation of the public sector, manage change and navigate risks
The effective implementation of open government strategies and initiatives relies on the political commitment and leadership that can champion the transformation of the public sector, manage change and navigate its risks (OECD, 2021[15]). Broad support by relevant high-level stakeholders and a clear vision from the leadership are needed to make sure open government efforts are consistent and coherent across levels of government and policy areas.
In this regard, insufficient political commitment to open government was identified by delegates to the Working Party on Open Government as the primary challenge for successful open government reforms in the 2021 OECD Perception Survey on Open Government (OECD, 2021[2]) (Figure 2.8). Notably, 56% (18) of delegates named insufficient political will and leadership by senior government officials as one of the top three challenges. Almost one-third (10, 31.25%) of delegates named this aspect as the single most relevant challenge for central/federal government when designing and implementing policies that promote open government. This is, for example, reflected in the relatively low levels of involvement of the senior leadership in the implementation of the main policy documents on open government. For example, a Minister only participates on a permanent basis in 11.5% of Respondents’ Multi-Stakeholder Fora. In only approximately one-third of cases (34.6%, nine), a Minister has participated at least once in MSF during the preceding year.
Figure 2.8. Insufficient political commitment is identified by delegates as the primary challenge for open government reforms
Note: Selection of 3 options per respondent possible. N=32.
Source: OECD (2021[2]), Perception Survey for Delegates of the OECD Working Party on Open Government.
Recognising that fostering political commitment is a challenge, Adherents are making dedicated efforts to foster buy-in from their senior leadership. According to OGP guidelines, countries that are participating in the Partnership have to name a high-level representative responsible for overseeing their OGP-process. Data from the 2020 OECD Survey on Open Government (OECD, 2020[4]) reveals that 30 out of 33 Respondents that were part of the OGP had nominated at least one such high-level representative. This high-level representative is typically a Minister or similar (21 respondents, 63.6%) or a senior civil servant (6, 18.2%) (Figure 2.9).
Figure 2.9. High-level representative overseeing the OGP Action Plan
Note: Author’s categorisation based on open text response. N=33.
Source: OECD (2020[4]), 2020 Survey on Open Government.
Making senior leaders publicly endorse the main policy documents on open government is another way to foster commitment: more than half of policy documents has been endorsed by the cabinet of ministers (57.8%, 67 policy documents) and/or a minister (56.9%, 66). Only occasionally, they are endorsed by the head of state (11.2%, 13) (Figure 2.10). In particular, the OGP Action Plan is endorsed by a Minister in 74.2% of cases. However, the results of the OECD Open Government Reviews and Scans show that designating a high-level representative or having a policy document that includes open government initiatives (e.g., an Open Data Strategy) endorsed by a senior government official does not necessarily translate into political support for Adherents’ open government agendas. Moving forward, Adherents could consider making additional efforts at ensuring sustainable long-term commitment of politicians, members of parliaments, senior public managers and public officials on open government issues.
Figure 2.10. Institutional endorsement for policy documents on open government
Note: N=36 for 116 policy documents. Multiple selection possible.
Source: OECD (2020[4]), 2020 Survey on Open Government.
Conclusions and way forward (provision 1)
In general terms, the implementation of provision 1 is advancing well across Adherents. In particular:
1.1: All Adherents are taking dedicated measures to develop and implement policy agendas that aim to promote the open government principles. Open government initiatives have found their way into a wide range of policy documents and an increasing number of Adherents have started adopting holistic and integrated Open Government Strategies. These efforts should be further pursued, as they bear the potential to increase the profile of Adherents’ open government agendas and will allow for the creation of more far-reaching governance processes and mechanisms.
1.2: Adherents commonly design and implement their open government policies in collaboration with relevant public and non-public stakeholders. However, more emphasis could be put on ensuring a broad representation of interests in designing open government policies. In addition, Adherents could make additional efforts to involve non-public stakeholders in monitoring activities.
1.3: Finally, Adherents have taken initial steps to ensure high-level commitment on open government, for example by bringing their OGP Action Plans (where they exist) to the Cabinet table. However, more needs be done to ensure sustainable long-term commitment of politicians, members of parliaments, senior public managers and public officials, including by increasing their active involvement in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of Adherents’ main policy documents on open government.
Moreover, while provision 1 mostly focuses on the development and implementation of strategies and initiatives that aim to promote the open government principles, evidence collected by the OECD in different fields shows that open government approaches (e.g., inclusive policy-design, informing citizens about policy implementation, etc.) are in fact relevant for any given policy field, be it education, environment or health.
References
[14] Government of Argentina (2022), Plan Estratégico de Gobierno Abierto, https://www.argentina.gob.ar/sites/default/files/plan_estrategico_de_gobierno_abierto_2020-_2023.pdf.
[12] Government of Finland (n.d.), Open Government Strategy 2030, https://avoinhallinto.fi/assets/files/2021/03/Open_Government_Strategy2030.pdf.
[6] Herrero, A. (2015), Access to Information Commitments in OGP Action Plans: A Report on the Progress of Reforms Worldwide, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/access-to-information-commitments-in-ogp-action-plans-a-report-on-the-progress-of-reforms-worldwide/.
[8] OECD (2023), Open Government Scan of Canada, Public Governance Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/1290a7ef-en.
[1] OECD (2022), Taking an integrated approach to the promotion of transparency, integrity, Internal paper presented to the Working Party on Open Government, GOV/PGC/OG(2020)4/REV1, https://www.oecd.org/gov/open-government/open-government-an-integrated-approach-promotion-transparency-integrity-accountability-and-stakeholders-participation.pdf.
[13] OECD (2021), Guía OCDE para diseñar e implementar estrategias territoriales de Gobierno Abierto en Colombia, https://www.oecd.org/gov/open-government/guia-ocde-para-disenar-e-implementar-estrategias-territoriales-de-gobierno-abierto-en-colombia.htm.
[2] OECD (2021), Perception Survey for Delegates of the OECD Working Party on Open Government.
[15] OECD (2021), Towards the OECD Open Government Dashboard.
[4] OECD (2020), OECD Survey on Open Government.
[3] OECD (2019), Open Government in Argentina, OECD Public Governance Reviews, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/1988ccef-en.
[10] OECD (2016), Open Government in Costa Rica, OECD Publishing, https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264265424-en.
[5] OECD (2015), OECD Survey on Open Government Co-ordination and Citizen Participation in the Policy Cycle.
[7] OGP (2021), OGP Vital Signs: 10 Years of Data in Review, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Vital-Signs_Full-Report.pdf.
[9] OGP (2019), OGP Handbook – Rules and Guidance for Participants, https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/OGP_Handbook-Rules-Guidance-for-Participants_20190313.pdf.
[11] Presidency of Costa Rica (2015, as amended), Executive Decree No 38994, http://www.pgrweb.go.cr/scij/Busqueda/Normativa/Normas/nrm_texto_completo.aspx?nValor1=1&nValor2=79442.