Call for Nominations for the OGP Steering Committee

Are you a civil society leader committed to strengthening how governments work for their citizens? Join the OGP Steering CommitteeThe Steering Committee is OGP’s executive decision-making body. Its role is to develop, promote and safeguard OGP’s values, principles and interests; establish OGP’s core ideas, policies, and ru...!

2016 was a big year for OGP. The Partnership completed five years, grew to over 70 countries, and brought its diverse community together for the fourth OGP Global Summit, the biggest OGP Summit to date. It was also the year where the Partnership sought to set a sharper focus and a more ambitious agenda for the road ahead, building on the strong foundation laid in the last five years. The OGP Steering Committee commissioned an independent Mid-Term Review and a Strategic Refresh, taking inputs from the growing OGP community, to set direction for its next phase of work. However, our work is not nearly finished. 2017 is a crucial year when all efforts to date have to come together, for OGP to live up to its promise.

The current global context makes OGP’s work even more relevant and important. OGP seeks to create a dynamic movement that mobilizes a countervailing force against trends of rise of populism and declining trust among citizens, by putting citizens and civil society at the heart of the policymaking process. And as we enter this important phase of OGP’s trajectory, we need strong, able leadership to help steer the course.  This is where the OGP Steering Committee plays an instrumental role.

The OGP Steering Committee is the executive, decision-making body of OGP. Its main role is to develop, promote and safeguard the values, principles and interests of OGP. The Steering Committee also establishes the core ideas, policies, and rules of the Partnership, and oversees its functioning. The Steering Committee consists of 22 members: 11 from government and 11 from civil society. The standard term of Steering Committee members, both civil society or government, is three years – with the possibility of a one term renewal. This year two civil society seats will open up – in May 2017 and October 2017, respectively.

We are opening the call for nominations for two civil society seats on the Steering Committee. You will be joining a dynamic group of government and civil society leaders shaping the future of OGP. Click here for more details on the Steering Committee. For more details on the call for nominations, the open selection process, and the timeline, see here.

One of the two spots will be reserved for the Asia Pacific region, to ensure regional diversity and representation within the Steering Committee. Although the region had been traditionally underrepresented within the Partnership, membership has grown in recent years with Afghanistan, Australia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea having joined since 2015 and. As demonstrated by the first Asia Pacific Regional Meeting in Bali in 2014, and more recently the 2016 Asia Pacific Regional Dialogue, the region boasts of a vibrant civil society community at the forefront of many innovations on open government, including on social accountability and participatory policy-making and using open government to help meet the sustainable development goals. We’re seeking a strong candidate that will help bring this rich expertise and strong regional networks to the Steering Committee and be a strong leader and credible voice for civil society in the region.

We look forward to your support in identifying strong leaders to help shape the future of OGP!

Highlights of the nomination and selection process

The two chief responsibilities of the Civil Society members of the Steering Committee are:

• To perform the international governance role for OGP in the Steering Committee
• To represent the concerns and  interests of the international OGP civil society community in the Steering Committee

Civil society candidates for the Steering Committee must meet the following three key requirements, which form the criteria based on which they are selected:

• Ability to engage strategically at the global level, exercising good judgment and engaging effectively with senior government officials and civil society members;
• Canvas and represent the concerns and interests of the international civil society community;
• Powerfully and clearly articulate core OGP issues.

The rotation process set out in this note will be a fully transparent process that seeks to attract capable candidates from a diversity of regions and backgrounds, with the goal of establishing a balanced team of civil society Steering Committee members who are well-positioned to provide strategic and effective leadership to the OGP. The civil society Steering Committee also seeks to maintain genderOGP participating governments are bringing gender perspectives to popular policy areas, ensuring diversity in participatory processes, and specifically targeting gender gaps in policies to address gov... and regional balance in its representation. This year, one seat will be reserved for a candidate working in Asia-Pacific and we strongly encourage civil society leaders from and with experience in Asia-Pacific to apply.

Nominations are submitted by sending the following to rotation@opengovpartnership.org:

• A CV (max 4 pages)
• A cover letter explaining a) your (or the candidate you are nominating) motivation for joining, b) open government experience/skills, c) highlight demonstrated track record in global level leadership, articulation and strategy. Please refer to the qualifications and criteria listed in this document. (max 2 pages).
• One strong example of a video, blogpost, article or piece of writing by the candidate, that reflects the candidate’s thinking and articulation on open government and civil society issues.

Full details on the role of the SC and the responsibilities, as well as details of the nomination process can be found here. Nominations should be submitted to rotation@opengovpartnership.org before 11.59pm Pacific Time on Wednesday, February 22, 2017.

Role of the OGP civil society community in the nomination and selection process

The civil society community of OGP stands as one of the key pillars of the Partnership. The role of this community therefore extends beyond just the filing the nominations. Starting with 2016 selection process, OGP initiated a more transparent and participatory selection process to choose incoming civil society members of the Steering Committee. Please check the OGP website for regular updates and more details on how to participate in the webinars and inform the selection process. The key opportunities are listed below:

1. Public Comment period for all nominations: The complete nominations of all candidates will be published on the OGP website after nominations close, inviting public comments from the community, which will inform the shortlisting process. The open public comment period will run from February 22 until March 8.
2. Publishing all shortlisted candidates with their scores: The names of the shortlisted candidates will be published on the OGP site, with the criteria and scores.
3. Public webinar with candidates: The shortlisted candidates will be invited to participate on a webinar presenting their ideas to the OGP community and answering questions.
4. Publishing final list with scores: The selected candidates are shared with the entire Steering Committee and then announced on the OGP website, along with their scores.

We are also looking for 2 volunteers from the community to be part of the selection committee. The selection as always will be undertaken by a Selection Committee, comprised of 2 members from the current SC, two volunteers from the broader OGP civil society community and Paul Maassen, Director, Civil Society Engagement. Please write to paul.maassen@opengovpartnership with a brief statement about why you want to be part of the Selection Committee, if you are interested before Feb 15.