2020 Civil Society Steering Committee Selection

Results of the 2020 Selection Process

Following a thorough selection process during which the selection committee spoke to 10 outstanding candidates, we are pleased to announce that Lysa John (Secretary General, CIVICUS), Stephanie Muchai (East Africa Lead on Open Contracting, Hivos), and Blair Glencorse (Founder and Executive Director, Accountability Lab), are joining the OGP Steering Committee starting October 1, 2020. They will serve on the Steering Committee for three years.

To support the Civil Society Steering Committee members, Anabel Cruz (Director, Instituto de Comunicación y Desarrollo, Uruguay) and Olúseun Onígbińdé (Director, BudgIT, Nigeria) were appointed as additional members with a term of one year. Their particular regional and thematic expertise will add great value to the work of the Steering Committee and provide extra bandwidth and perspectives from civil society.

Details on the process can be found below. The full list of candidates along with their application materials and assessment scores awarded by the Selection Committee to the shortlist can be found here.

Steering Committee Co-Chair Elections

Steering Committee leadership is composed of a revolving four-member co-chairmanship team (two from government and two from civil society) elected by members of the Steering Committee. The four co-chairs make up the Governance and Leadership Subcommittee (GL). Co-chairs serve for a two-year term, with the first year as ‘incoming’ and the second as ‘lead’ chairs. New Co-Chairs would begin their first year on October 1, 2020.

All interested candidates must submit a letter of candidacy outlining their proposed agendas by responding to the following guiding questions:

Civil Society Co-chair candidacy guiding questions:

1. What priorities will you drive during your OGP chairmanship to advance OGP goals?
2. How will you (and your organisation/network) demonstrate leadership on open government at the international level during your chairmanship and what actions will you take to foster a more cohesive leadership body within the Steering Committee?
3. How do you plan to further advance your domestic open government agenda (if applicable) and lead by example during your chairmanship role?
4. As co-chair, what type of support do you anticipate needing from the other OGP co-chairs (both government and civil society) and from the OGP Support Unit?

Government Co-Chair candidacy guiding questions can be viewed here.

Overview

The OGP Steering Committee is looking to fill three Civil Society seats as of October 2020.  The rotation process aims to be a transparent one that seeks to attract capable candidates from a diversity of regions and backgrounds, with the goal of establishing a balanced team of 11 civil society Steering Committee members who provide strategic and effective leadership to OGP.

The OGP Steering Committee (SC) creates a space for renowned civil society leaders to steer the global open government agenda, in partnership with their government counterparts. Serving on OGP’s SC as a civil society representative places you at the heart of the global open government agenda and puts you in a powerful position to advance causes you care about. Since the launch of OGP in 2011, civil society SC leaders have successfully elevated national issues through global conversations, playing an important role in the landmark reforms OGP has delivered to date.

Please refer to the Civil Society Steering Committee Mandate and Selection for further information.

Criteria to Run for a Civil Society Seat on the Steering Committee

Each civil society member of the SC needs to fulfill the two key responsibilities listed in the mandate:

• to perform the international governance role for OGP in the Steering Committee;
• and to represent the concerns and interests of the global OGP civil society community in the Steering Committee.

For more details on the functions of the Steering Committee, please refer to the OGP Articles of Governance.

Civil society members are selected and serve in their individual capacity. To ensure the highest standards of work, we are looking for candidates that model OGP principles by practicing high levels of openness, integrity and accountability.

The working language of the SC is English and all members must be proficient. We expect members to dedicate up to ½ day a week to OGP – with intensity increasing around SC and OGP meetings. Members should be available to travel internationally to represent OGP at high-level meetings, including up to two mandatory in-person SC meeting(s) per year.

The skills outlined below serve as the selection criteria and will be scored as per the scoring criteria table in the Annex of the Civil Society Steering Committee Mandate and Selection.

Required Skills and Experience:

1. Advocacy: Strong track record in powerfully and clearly articulating core open government issues, including at global and regional (political) fora;
2. Representation: Proven ability to canvas and represent the interests of the civil society community with government or at multistakeholder fora;
3. Political Acumen: Demonstrable experience in strategically engaging with senior government and civil society members and exercising sound political judgment;
4. Leadership: Noteworthy leadership experience in civil society and recognition as a respected and legitimate actor in national, regional, and/or global civil society networks;

Desired:

1. Sound technical expertise and strong track record in influencing policy processes and partnering with government – and proven ability to draw on that experience to support national (OGP) processes beyond their own country;
2. Provide an informed international perspective on core open government issues to leverage global standards and/or partners;
3. Track record as an effective board member, preferably with demonstrable experience chairing (sub)board meetings;
4. Strong interpersonal skills (e.g. excellent communication skills, ability to exercise good judgment, thoughtful interactions with others)

With the above in mind, please note that:

• Candidates may be nominated by an organization or network, or may nominate themselves. The organizations/networks that the nominated candidates are affiliated with could be national, regional or global. However this does not mean that the candidates represent the affiliate in particular.
• Since SC members serve in their individual rather than organizational capacity, should a member leave the SC before their term ends, no presumption would be made that their replacement will come from the same entity.
• CS SC members will declare their financial and non-financial interests, apart from those which could not potentially lead to or be perceived as a conflict of interest.  These declarations of interest will be made publicly available. Where there are personal safety or similar serious concerns about full publicity, parts or even the whole of the declaration should be submitted to the CEO, who will hold it and act upon it as appropriate, in confidence.
• Civil society comes in many definitions and flavors across the world, which is why OGP never adopted a formal definition of our own. However, for selecting suitable representatives of the community, the Selection Committee is provided with some guidance on who in principle would not be eligible to join to avoid potential conflicts of interest. Namely candidates working for:
  • • Donors/Funders
    • Government/ Parliament/ Judiciary/ Semi-autonomous bodies (e.g. state auditor, ombudsman, etc.)
    • Multilateral organization or OGP-like platforms
    • OGP (employees or consultants)
    • Private sector

Process and Timeline

The selection of new members is undertaken by a Selection Committee (see role and mandate here) and takes place through a transparent and participatory process that invites inputs from OGP’s civil society community and creates opportunities for engagement at each step (see detailed process here).

The 2020 Selection Committee consists of two members from the current civil society Steering Committee (Maria Baron, Directorio Legislativo; and Aidan Eyakuze, Twaweza), two volunteers from the broader OGP civil society community (Ania Calderon, Open Data Charter; and Saied Tafida, FollowTaxes), and a representative from the OGP Support Unit (Paul Maassen, Chief, Country Support).

Timeline

For any questions on the process or timeline, please message rotation@opengovpartnership.org