Action plan – Asturias, Spain, 2025 – 2027

At-a-Glance

Duration

May 2027

Date Submitted

11th March 2025

Foreword(s)

Open Government Challenges, Opportunities and Strategic Vision

What is the long-term vision for open government in your context and jurisdiction?

The commitments presented below arise from the contributions made by both citizens and different social entities. In this 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..., specific workshops were not used for this purpose, but in the different meetings that were generated by the entities with civil society, information was provided on what it means for Asturias to be part of the Open Government PartnershipThe Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving government transparency, ensuring opportunities for citizen participation in public matters, and strengthen... More, and what are the commitments that are considered urgent and necessary for this legislative period. 

Therefore, the commitments made by the Asturian Government arise from the reflection of a good part of our society, which demands not only a general legal framework that allows the protection and extension of participatory activity, but also the implementation of specific instruments and tools that facilitate the objectives that every democratic society should have. 

The particularity of these commitments is that for their design and implementation, collective processes are needed to address the how, when, where, what and why of them. It should therefore be understood as an outline of the different processes that must emerge and that are specifically explained in each of them. The reason for this is that citizens understand that it is more efficient to improve the channels of transparency and social participation by converting the processes into an objective of openness using a participatory methodology, rather than concentrating on the established objectives and their achievement.

What are the achievements in open government to date (for example, recent open government reforms)?

2015.- Creation of the General Directorate of Citizen Participation

2018.- Drafting of the White Paper on Citizen Participation

2018.-Law 8/2018, of September 14, on Transparency, Good Government and Interest Groups.

2020.- Publication of 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... on Asturias on the government portal datos.gob.es

2021.- Asturias Decree 52/2021, of August 20, regulating the organization and operation of the Open Government Forum of the Principality of Asturias.

2021.- Publication of Law 8/2018, of September 14, on Transparency, Good Governance and Interest Groups, in easy-to-read format

2021.- Adherence to the international open data charter

2021.- Alignment of general budgets with the objectives of the 2030 agenda

2022.- Creation of the Rafael del Riego Chair in collaboration with the University of Oviedo.

2022.- Plaza Mayor participatory project.

What are the current challenges/areas for improvement in open government that the jurisdiction wishes to tackle?

Below we present the five key milestones that we intend to achieve during the period 2023-2027

1. Drafting of the future Asturian Participation Law
2. Implementation of the Institutional Page for Citizen Participation of the Asturian Government
3. Improvements in the channels of transparency and public information
4. Creation of the Asturian Participation Council
5. Creation of the Transparency Council

With these milestones, the following general objectives are intended to be achieved within the global strategic vision:

1.- Opening of institutions to citizens

2.- Permanent co-creation processes for government initiatives

3.- Negotiation with the different social agents on social participation strategies

4.- Acquisition and execution of commitments by the regional administration.

These four general axes build a global vision to generate policies of openness of the regional government towards citizens.

What are the medium-term open government goals that the government wants to achieve?

In the medium term, we hope to be able to achieve the collective creation processes of the future Asturian Participation Law, as well as the improvement of the communication channels between the institutions and the organized and non-organized citizens. These more specific objectives are included in the interest of the Asturian Government and more specifically of the Department of Territorial Planning, Urbanism, Housing and Citizen Rights, to generate and normalize a stable mode of relationship, where public administrations and social organizations can generate efficient communication channels. It is about gradually modifying the rigidity of some structures that prevent citizen participation and transparency from being tangible elements perceived by society.

How does this action plan contribute to achieve the Open Government Strategic Vision?

We understand that action plans are the essential instrument to advance towards more democratic societies. In this case, the strategic plan presented by the Asturian Government through the Department of Territorial Planning, Urban Development, Housing and Citizen Rights, is drawn up with the contributions of the different entities with which the Vice-Ministry of Citizen Rights has been working and is the embodiment of a vision of Asturias drafted by those who live in the different environments of our territory, so that the Action Plan contains an integrative vision resulting from the inclusionOGP participating governments are working to create governments that truly serve all people. Commitments in this area may address persons with disabilities, women and girls, lesbian, gay, bisexual, tr... More in its design of the different points of view and needs raised by both the associative network and the general public.

How does the open government strategic vision contribute to the accomplishment of the current administration’s overall policy goals?

One of the reasons why we consider it essential to be part of the OGP is the 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... to carry out an action plan implemented with a strategic vision that must guide the majority of political actions. The current Asturian Government has as one of its unwavering principles the unwavering defense of democracy. At a time when world politics is colonized in many territories by dictatorial principles, Asturias is moving in the opposite direction to enlarge, protect and defend democratic values ​​as guarantees of more just, more equal and above all happier societies. This plan undoubtedly favors all these objectives.

Engagement and Coordination in the Open Government Strategic Vision and OGP Action Plan

Please list the lead institutions responsible for the implementation of this OGP action plan.

• Asturies Government
• Department of Land Use Planning, Urban Development, Housing and Citizens’ Rights. Counselor Mr. Ovid
• Deputy Ministry of Citizens’ Rights. Vicecounselor, Ms. Beatriz Gonzalez Prieto
• General Directorate of Citizen Participation, Transparency, Sexual Diversity and LGTBI

What kind of institutional arrangements are in place to coordinate between government agencies and departments to implement the OGP action plan?

The structure of the Asturian government itself favours the implementation of the entire Action Plan for the period 23-27.

What kind of spaces have you used or created to enable the collaboration between government and civil society in the co-creation and implementation of this action plan? Mention both offline and online spaces.

The interests and needs raised in the action plan have been collected from the ongoing relationship between the public administration and social entities. This has been done through the Citizen Participation program, which includes direct actions by five highly recognized social entities that have deployed broad participation networks as a means to debate, propose and agree on some of the objectives presented in our plan. Likewise, through the facilitation of a channel for citizen suggestions through the general registry of the Asturian Administration centralized in our offices of the Citizen Service, reflections and contributions from the general public have been collected.

What measures did you take to ensure diversity of representation (including vulnerable or marginalized populations) in these spaces?

All actions promoted or supervised by the Asturian Government and its various bodies are designed and implemented from an inclusive perspective as a cross-cutting element.

Who participated in these spaces?

The spaces for participation that have been created are open to the participation of all citizens. In order to be able to take into account the population’s perspective, it is the public administration that moves to the geographical areas of Asturias, establishing a direct relationship and encouraging the participation of all citizens.

How many groups participated in these spaces?

50

How many public-facing meetings were held in the co-creation process?

10

How will government and non-governmental stakeholders continue to collaborate through the implementation of the action plan?

The Asturian Government has conceived the Action Plan as an opportunity to create permanent networks of relations with Asturian entities and civil society, and therefore will provide timely information on each and every advance that is being made. It is important to remember that in some of the commitments established for this plan, social participation is essential to achieve its completionImplementers must follow through on their commitments for them to achieve impact. For each commitment, OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) evaluates the degree to which the activities outlin... More.

Please describe the independent Monitoring Body you have identified for this plan.

The Asturian Government’s Action Plan will be monitored by the entities that form part of the Citizen Participation Programme of the Vice-Ministry of Citizen Rights and the Ministry of Territorial Planning, Urban Development, Housing and Citizen Rights.

Provide the contact details for the independent monitoring body.

• Loreto Ventosa Varona, EAPN-AS,
• Candela Guerrero, Asociacion Mar de Violetas,
• Mónica Oviedo Sastre, COCEMFE ASturias,
• Francisco. F. Yebra, Movimiento Asturiano Por la Paz,
• Laura Gutierrez Naredo, Asociación El Prial,
• Alfonso Delgado Díaz, Cruz Roja Asturies

What types of activities will you have in place to discuss progress on commitments with stakeholders?

Taking into account the dynamism proposed in this Action Plan, the aim is, from the perspective of Participatory Action Research, to create formulas for assessing the commitments as progress is made in their implementation.

How will you regularly check in on progress with implementing agencies?

Through the General Directorate of Citizen Participation, there are direct channels for exchanging and consulting information related to the implementation of the Action Plan.

How will you share the results of your monitoring efforts with the public?

One of the fundamental parts of the implementation of the Action Plan is the feedback to the citizens of the progress and achievements obtained. To do this, the entities that are part of the Citizen Participation Program will be involved, as well as through the offices of the Citizen Service.

Endorsement from Non-Governmental Stakeholders