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A Proposal to Guide Co-Creation Processes

Una propuesta para guiar y orientar los procesos de cocreación

Manfred Vargas Rodríguez|

Building on its experience supporting the co-creation of Costa Rica’s most recent action plan, which was supported by the OGP Multi-Donor Trust Fund, ACCESA published its Guide to develop open government action plans.

Co-creation is one of the most exciting and rewarding stages of the open government action plan cycle, but it is also one of the most challenging. During co-creation, stakeholders exchange ideas, build proposals and establish commitments to be implemented over a two-year period. This process involves a great deal of logistical, administrative, methodological and communication aspects that can be overwhelming.

Throughout this journey, OGP provides its members with various mechanisms and resources to support the process, including the OGP Multi-Donor Trust Fund. Thanks to this trust fund, ACCESA was able to support Costa Rica’s Ministry of Communication to develop the 2019-2022 open government action plan, which was designed and implemented in a fully collaborative process that engaged both parties equally.  

Building on this experience, the organization published its Guide to Develop Open Government Action Plans, which aims to summarize the main stages and steps to take when planning for, co-creating and implementing an open government action plan, from the initial planning to the monitoring and accountability stages. The guide also includes practical recommendations, examples, additional resources and standards to improve the process.

This guide is not simply a recount of Costa Rica’s process. It was developed based on deep reflections of the lesson learned along the way, as well as knowledge from previous processes and exchanges with regional and global peers. It is also not meant to be a single prescription, since each plan depends on a local context, but includes a set of basic recommendations and proposals that can guide co-creation processes being implemented.

PHOTO: Credit: ACCESA

Co-creation processes can be challenging, but there is no need to start from scratch. The international open government community holds great knowledge that can be shared, promoting peer exchange and support. This guide is a contribution to that shared knowledge reservoir and we hope it can be a living document that can be adapted into various contexts and combined with existing and upcoming guides and handbooks. Ultimately, the goal is not to create silver bullets but to collaborate in creating the conditions that will enable action plans that can promote transformative change in the relationship between the State and its citizens and find solutions to our common challenges.

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