2021 Civil Society Steering Committee Selection

Updated November 17, 2021

Overview

The OGP Steering Committee looked to fill four Civil Society Steering Committee seats, to begin terms on October 1, 2021. The rotation process aimed to be a transparent one, seeking 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. For more information about the selection process, read this blog.

Results of the 2021 Selection Process

Following a thorough selection process, we are pleased to announce that Anabel Cruz (ICD Uruguay), Doug Rutzen (International Center for Not-for-Profit Law), Luben Panov (European Center for Not-for-Profit Law), and Lucy McTernan (University of York) will join the OGP Steering Committee starting October 1, 2021. They will serve on the Steering Committee for three years.

The process began in March 2021 with a call for candidates. An open nomination process produced a longlist of 32 candidates, published on April 12, and a form for public comments. The OGP Steering Committee Selection Committee reviewed each candidate for eligibility, and produced a shortlist of 13 candidates. A series of public webinars was held during the week of May 10 for the community, where the shortlisted candidates shared their priorities and discussed initial ideas for the Steering Committee. A shortlisted candidate, Geo-Sung Kim, withdrew his candidacy during this time. After careful consideration, the Selection Committee chose the next four Steering Committee members.

More details on the process can be found below and outlined in this blog. The full list of candidates along with their application materials can be found here.

Steering Committee Co-Chair Results

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 will begin their first year on January 1, 2022.

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

Civil Society co-chair candidacy guiding questions:

1. 1. 1. What priorities will you drive during your OGP chairmanship to advance OGP goals?
      2. How will you (and your organization/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?

One candidate, Anabel Cruz (ICD Uruguay), applied to serve as co-chair of the SC beginning January 1, 2022.

Anabel Cruz’s candidacy was endorsed by the Steering Committee. Anabel will join as incoming co-chair on January 1, 2022 and take the role of Lead Co-Chair on October 1, 2022.

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:

1. 1. • 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. 1. 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. 1. 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:

1. 1. • 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

Timeline

*Luben Panov will formally begin on January 1, 2022

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