Inception Report – Action plan – Detmold, Germany, 2022 – 2025
- Action Plan: Action plan – Detmold, Germany, 2022 – 2025
Overview
Name of Evaluator
Elaheh Sadeghi Shakib (Gov POC – Self-assessment)
Member Name
Detmold, Germany
Action PlanAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... Title
Action plan – Detmold, Germany, 2022 – 2025
Section 1.
Compliance with
co-creation requirements
1.1 Does a forum exist?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
As an online participation platform, we have been using the open-source software Consul since 2019. In addition to this, we also use analog formats such as the core team, the steering group, and the Future Table participation format. Here, it is particularly important to us that more information is disclosed and that we guarantee the right to informationThe legal right to request information from the government allows the public to follow government decision-making, participate in ensuring better decisions, and hold the government accountable. Techni... as best as possible in order to improve decision-making processes.
The OGP Local project was prepared and developed in the on-site meetings (core team, steering group). The steering group consists of administrative staff as well as numerous stakeholders from Detmold’s urban society.
Provide evidence for your answer:
Provide references here (e.g. interviews):
1.2 Is the forum multi-stakeholder?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
As described above, the steering group consists of governmental and non-governmental stakeholders. The format of the Future Tables also involves administrative staff, experts from urban society, and political actors in equal measure. Experience has shown that projects are particularly well-received and supported by the majority of the population.
Provide references here (e.g. interviews):
- Geschäftsführer, GILDE GmbH Gewerbe – und Innovationszentrum Lippe-Detmold
- VHS Detmold-Lemgo AöR
- Verbraucherzentrale Nordrhein-Westfalen e.V.
- Geschäftsführer, Peter Gläsel Stiftung
- Allgemeiner Studierendenausschuss, Technische Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe
- Technische Hochschule Ostwestfalen-Lippe
- Fridays for Future
- Geschäftsführer, De Tec GmbH
- EINSNULLEINS GMBH
- Netzwerk Detmolder Familienzentren
- Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin Future City Solutions,
- Das Fraunhofer IOSB-INA
- Innovation und Technologie Beauftragter, Kreishandwerkerschaft Paderborn-Lippe
1.3 Does the forum hold at least one meeting with civil society and non-governmental stakeholders during the co-creation of the action plan?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The core team meets at regular intervals, at least three times a year. A fourth meeting is scheduled as needed. The same applies to the steering group meetings. The format of the future tables can also be set up on a topic-oriented basis. This ensures a regular and flexible exchange.
Provide evidence for your answer:
1.4 Has the action plan been endorsed by the stakeholders of the forum or 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.../group?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The website of the city of Detmold is currently under construction and therefore has only a few points for the area of digitization. However, a lot of new info is to be found here in the future.
On the website of the city of Detmold, there is a contribution for participation under the category News Detmold. This is about online participation in the Smart City concept. OGP local is used here for the project “Instead of data, city data” to collect available environmental data for the sustainability strategy and to make it available to citizens in a low-threshold, innovative, and digital form.
Another platform is WeChange. This website is independent and offers access to all interested parties. By registering with the mail address, you can get started immediately. No matter if it’s a citizen from Detmold or a politician, everybody can participate here. Selected content can be uploaded and discussed by municipalities or interested participants.
Provide evidence for your answer:
Section 2.
Recommended practices
in co-creation
2.1 Does the government maintain a Local OGP website or webpage on a government website where information on the OGP Local process (co-creation and implementation) is proactively published?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The website of the city of Detmold is currently under construction and therefore has only a few points for the area of digitization. However, a lot of new information should be available here in the future.
On the website of the city of Detmold, under the category News in Detmold, there is a contribution for participation. This is about online participation in the smart city concept OGP local is used here for the project “Instead of data city data” to collect available environmental data for the sustainability strategy and to make it available to citizens in a low-threshold, innovative, and digital form.
Another platform is WeChange. This website is independent and offers access to all interested parties. By registering with the mail address can be started immediately, whether citizens from Detmold or politicians, here everyone can participate. Selected content can be uploaded and distributed by municipalities, or interested participants. These are for example invitations to follow-up meetings, minutes, photos, or events. In addition, a shared calendar can be used for upcoming events.
Provide references here (e.g. interviews):
2.2 Did the government provide information to stakeholders in advance to facilitate informed and prepared participation in the co-creation processCollaboration between government, civil society and other stakeholders (e.g., citizens, academics, private sector) is at the heart of the OGP process. Participating governments must ensure that a dive...?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
With the OGP Local project, the city of Detmold is implementing a project that citizens have already inscribed as a mandate in the sustainability strategy. As a result, the project contents have already been known well in advance. Employees and the city community were also informed about the OGP Local application process and were thus able to follow the process and get involved.
Already in the formulation of the contents and the invitation, care was taken to ensure that the timetable of the project was broken down transparently and that it could be seen in good time on which days which meetings would take place or which topics would be discussed when and how. Key topics and documents were made available to the participants in advance by e-mail and/or in writing. Here, attention was paid to a preparation period of at least 14 days so that the stakeholders also have the chance to submit their questions in advance so that the administration can answer them specifically during the event.
Provide evidence for your answer:
2.3 Did the government ensure that any interested member of the public could make inputs into the action plan and observe or have access to decision-making documentation?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
During the entire time, interested citizens have the chance to participate and to contribute and give ideas and suggestions. These can be submitted in advance or afterward, by telephone, by e-mail and in person, or at any time during the events. There are also various online platforms that can be used additionally and without barriers. Interested parties also have the opportunity to network and exchange ideas with other interested parties by using WeChange.
In addition, the online participation platform CONSUL is available. Interested parties are invited to find out more about the issues, discuss them with others, contribute suggestions and ideas, or support other people’s proposals. People can comment on plans and projects or take part in surveys and votes.
Provide evidence for your answer:
Provide references here (e.g. interviews):
2.4 Did the government proactively report back or provide written feedback to stakeholders on how their contributions were considered during the creation of the action plan?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
All meetings and participation results were documented and made available to participants and interested parties. Stakeholders can see from the action plan that the points discussed have been taken up and implemented.
Provide evidence for your answer:
2.5 Was there an iterative dialogue and shared ownership between government and non-governmental stakeholders during the decision-making process, including setting the agenda?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The mutual dialog and joint responsibility for the topics are ensured by the steering group. Here, details and individual work packages are defined in the further process. For the steering group meeting, the agenda is set jointly, and speaking contributions are divided between the administration and the urban community. Depending on the topic, joint workshops are also held. The venues can also be freely chosen and each stakeholder can invite others to join them.
Provide evidence for your answer:
2.6 Would you consider the forum to be inclusive and diverse?
Moderately
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
At the city of Detmold, it doesn’t matter what 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..., skin color, or age a person is, what religion they belong to, or what interest group they agree with. Especially in local politics, older men are often found, so we also pay special attention to always giving young people a voice and creating heard in the group. For example, Fridays for Future or students from the local university are invited to our meetings, and joint actions are planned. Many young committed women are also involved in the project in the area of urban actors.
In the steering committee meetings, mainly active people from associations, foundations, or NGOs were involved, but also people from business and science. Together, we thus have a broad spectrum across different age groups, educational qualifications, countries of origin, and genders. However, it is a firm goal to involve especially younger people, more people with a migration background, and non-organized people more intensively and in a more target-group-specific way in the process.
Provide evidence for your answer:
Section 3.
Initial evaluation
of commitments
1. CommitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action...:
Development of smart infrastructures with open interfaces and open standards for higher transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More in urban sustainability data.
1.1 Is the commitment verifiable?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The city of Detmold wants to establish new, smart data infrastructures that enable the administration to prepare and make available data in a more user-friendly way. In order to get this aim, it is planned to have user workshops to provide hands-on training and educationAccountability within the public education system is key to improving outcomes and attainment, and accountability is nearly impossible without transparent policies and opportunities for participation ... to civic in order to improve their understanding of the points of action plans.
The commitment is measurable by the number or quality of the created infrastructures and the number of workshops or the number of participants.
1.2 Does the commitment language/activities clearly justify relevanceAccording to the OGP Articles of Governance, OGP commitments should include a clear open government lens. Specifically, they should advance at least one of the OGP values: transparency, citizen partic... to OGP values?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The government shares more information due to open interfaces and open standards commitment.
Open interfaces enable interoperability, which means that data can be shared between different systems. It allows stakeholders to access data from multiple sources and combine it to gain a more comprehensive understanding of urban sustainability.
Together, open interfaces and open standards can help to break down silos and create a more transparent and collaborative approach to urban sustainability. By promoting open dataBy opening up data and making it sharable and reusable, governments can enable informed debate, better decision making, and the development of innovative new services. Technical specifications: Polici... sharing and collaboration, stakeholders can work together to identify solutions to complex sustainability challenges, and ultimately create more livable, sustainable, and resilient cities.
1.3 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:
A continuation of ongoing practice in line with existing legislationCreating and passing legislation is one of the most effective ways of ensuring open government reforms have long-lasting effects on government practices. Technical specifications: Act of creating or r..., policies, or requirements.
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
Open interfaces and open standards can play a crucial role in promoting transparency in urban sustainability data. By using open interfaces, cities, and other entities can provide easy access to sustainability data, making it available to stakeholders and the general public. Open standards, on the other hand, provide a common language for data exchange, ensuring that data can be shared and integrated across different systems and platforms.
1.4 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:
Is a positive change to a process, practice, or policy but will not generate a binding or institutionalized change across government or specific institution(s).
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
This commitment is a possible game changer for practices, policies, or institutions that govern a policy area, public sector, and/or relationship between citizens and the state. The commitment generates binding and institutionalized will not change across government. Open interfaces and open standards can help promote transparency by making it easier for different stakeholders, researchers, and citizens and open interfaces can enable different software programs to share the data with each other, making it easier for city officials to aggregate and analyze data from multiple sources.
1.5 Are there any recommended changes to the design of the commitment to help improve its implementation?
The project has not started yet.
2. Commitment:
Publication of sustainability data as Open Data
2.1 Is the commitment verifiable?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The commitment improves access to information in the field of sustainability and making this data available as open data increase the transparency and traceability of municipal administrative actions.
The commitment is measurable by the number of Open Data datasets available.
2.2 Does the commitment language/activities clearly justify relevance to OGP values?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The commitment contributes to more transparency and strengthens the citizens’ trust in the participatory processes of the City of Detmold.
Open data is an approach to data sharing that promotes transparency and accessibility, which are key principles of sustainability.
Moreover, open data can drive innovation by providing opportunities for new solutions and technologies and bringing better decision-making.
2.3 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:
A continuation of ongoing practice in line with existing legislation, policies, or requirements.
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The commitment’s activities have the potential to be a positive change to a process, practice, or policy but will not generate a binding or institutionalized change across government or specific institutions. Sustainability has become a crucial aspect of modern society, and the importance of transparency and accountability in this field cannot be overstated. One way to achieve this is by publishing sustainability data as open data, which means that the data is freely available to the public for use and analysis. Publishing sustainability data as open data can also lead to better decision-making. It enables data to be easily analyzed and compared, which can help identify trends and areas for improvement. This, in turn, can inform strategies and policies that are more effective in achieving sustainability goals.
2.4 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:
Is a positive change to a process, practice, or policy but will not generate a binding or institutionalized change across government or specific institution(s).
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The commitment’s activities have the potential to be a positive change to a process, practice, or policy but will not generate a binding or institutionalized change across government or specific institutions.
2.5 Are there any recommended changes to the design of the commitment to help improve its implementation?
One of the challenges could be that data privacy, sustainability data may contain sensitive information, such as personal or confidential information. Therefore, it is important to ensure data privacy and security by removing or anonymizing identifiable information and complying with relevant data protection regulations.
3 Commitment :
Establishment of a “data school” as an educational offer on open data and data use with the help of regional educational partners.
3.1 Is the commitment verifiable?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
Commitment is measurable by the number of partners and the number of Data School offerings. The satisfaction of the participants with the offers as well as the number of participants per offer is also measurable.
3.2 Does the commitment language/activities clearly justify relevance to OGP values?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The commitment improves the access to information. Citizens can take full advantage of the newly created access to information and use it for their own projects and political discourse.
3.3 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:
A new regulationGovernment reformers are developing regulations that enshrine values of transparency, participation, and accountability in government practices. Technical specifications: Act of creating or reforming ..., policy, practice or requirement.
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
With the establishment of the “data school”, all citizens should be able to educate themselves simply and easily around topics such as data visualization, data analysis, and data use. Municipal open data will serve as a basis for trying out and implementing the first projects of one’s own.
3.4 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:
is a positive change to a process, practice or policy but will not generate a binding or institutionalized change across government or specific institution(s).
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
Operational objective 6.1.4 of the Detmold sustainability strategy states that new digital formats are to be tested or established in the field of education and culture by 2025. Measure 6.1.4.3: Digital care package for seniors: inside is specifically tailored to the needs of older people and enables participation in the life and provides current information in a simple and accessible way. In this example, public participationGiving citizens opportunities to provide input into government decision-making leads to more effective governance, improved public service delivery, and more equitable outcomes. Technical specificatio... works very well.
The following actors and interested parties are involved in this area: The Specialist Office for People with DisabilitiesA government is not open unless it is accessible to all, and governments are working to ensure people with disabilities are afforded equitable services and opportunities to participate. Technical spec... in the Profession of Senior Work and Promotion of Welfare Work closely with the Digitization Staff Office here. The digital care package for seniors requires a medium level of human and financial resources. The project is financed from the organization’s own resources. The indicator for this project is clearly successful and will be continued.
3.5 Are there any recommended changes to the design of the commitment to help improve its implementation?
The project has not started yet.
4. Commitment:
Development of a method box for outreach citizen participationAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, citizen participation occurs when “governments seek to mobilize citizens to engage in public debate, provide input, and make contributions that lead to m... More.
4.1 Is the commitment verifiable?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The commitment is measurable by the number and quality of methods developed as well as the measurement of success through the survey of participants.
4.2 Does the commitment language/activities clearly justify relevance to OGP values?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The method box outreach participation is intended to provide administrative staff with tools for implementing citizen participation with the help of outreach formats. Outreach formats are characterized by the fact that offers arrive where people are in their everyday life and leisure time. Participation can thus take place in a familiar and trusting environment and encourage people to get involved who do not dare to actively participate or articulate themselves in other settings.
The new formats should activate more people to actively participate and make it even easier to co-creatively engage in urban projects.
An open administration is characterized by being open and accessible to all people. This requires governance to be more proactive in reaching out to target groups whose trust in local governance structures is weakened or who cannot engage through traditional channels. Outreach participation formats take an activating, inclusive, and integrative approach and strengthen balanced opinion formation.
4.3 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:
A new regulation, policy, practice or requirement.
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The development of a method box for outreach citizen participation is an approach that has not yet been tested and established. However, this can be applied to several digital measures from the sustainability strategy. This is, for example, the Operational Objective 5.3.2- the measure Communication strategy: Development of a communication strategy that serves the information and exchange on the NHS between the city of Detmold and civil society and politics. Exactly here the obligation can be set to reach the people locally where they are barrier-free. Also here is the approach, the actors from the steering group, urban actors, and interested people.
4.4 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:
Is a positive change to a process, practice, or policy but will not generate a binding or institutionalized change across government or specific institution(s).
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The development of a method box for outreach citizen participation is an approach that has not yet been tested and established. However, this can be applied to several digital measures from the sustainability strategy. This is, for example, Operational Objective 4.2.2 In 2025, available environmental data will be collected and made available in a low-threshold and digital way. Measure number 4.2.2.1 Expansion of a LoRaWan network with SWD: LoRaWAN is an IoT network based on free frequencies (IoT = Internet of Things = networking of physical objects with the Internet) with good building penetration and low energyEnsuring universal access to sustainable, dependable, and affordable energy is critical to every aspect of prosperity. Increasing public oversight and transparency in the energy sector can help to ens... performance requirements. It can be used to collect and record data from sensors. The city of Detmold is establishing a LoRaWan network and integrating environmental sensors together with the city community, e.g., for weather data or air quality measurement, to enable the recording of the city’s environmental conditions. This is exactly where the commitment can come in to reach local people where they are in a barrier-free way. Again, the approach is to involve the stakeholders from the steering group, city stakeholders as well as interested people.
4.5 Are there any recommended changes to the design of the commitment to help improve its implementation?
The project has not started yet.
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