Action plan – Austin, United States, 2024 – 2028

At-a-Glance

Duration

Jan 2029

Date Submitted

6th December 2024

Foreword(s)

On September 17, 2024, the City of Austin launched 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... for its Third Action Plan under 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 (OGP). In the coming months, the Office of Innovation will provide training and support in strategic foresight and anticipatory governance to help government and civil society partners address multiple plausible futures while executing the following OGP commitments:

• Anticipatory Governance & Climate
• Economic Resilience
• AI & Accountability
• Enhanced Equity Assessment Tools

The Third Action Plan aims to holistically address the intersecting facets of a healthy democracy, tackling technological, environmental, and economic conditions. The following equity-centered selection criteria guided the project choices:

1. Equity-Centered: Projects must benefit those most affected by civic challenges and promote a shared understanding of historical and current inequities.
2. Impact vs. Influence: Projects should balance significant impact with the City’s capacity to contribute resources and support effectively.
3. Co-Creative and Participatory: Topics must align with priorities identified through prior or ongoing community-driven processes.
4. Adaptive Challenges: Projects should address cross-departmental challenges tied to strategic goals, requiring new learning and approaches.
5. Collective Aspirational Futures: Challenges should demand collaborative resources beyond those the City can provide alone.

We are confident that combining transparent selection criteria with a values-driven approach will promote trust in government by ensuring fairness, accountability, and consistency in decision-making. The achievements of our First and Second OGP Action Plans demonstrate that when people understand how and why decisions are made, it reduces perceptions of bias or corruption and builds public confidence.

Open Government Challenges, Opportunities and Strategic Vision

This subsection details the Open Government Strategic Vision in your local area that should guide the commitments for the action plan period.

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

The City of Austin’s long-term vision for open government is built on adaptability, inclusivity, and future-readiness. This vision focuses on two key approaches:

1. Embedding Foresight and Anticipatory Governance: The City aims to integrate foresight practices to prepare for future scenarios. By identifying trends, risks, and opportunities, we can create resilient policies that address challenges like climate change and technological shifts. Central to this is active engagement with our community, inviting residents to contribute their insights and recommendations. This collaboration fosters a sense of belonging and strengthens our ability to develop solutions that reflect the community’s needs.
2. Fostering Co-Creation through Collaborative Ecosystems: Open government is evolving into a collaborative model where public, private, and civil society stakeholders work together to solve complex challenges. Austin is nurturing this approach through innovative partnerships with local universities and civic organizations, leveraging their expertise to address multifaceted problems more effectively.

Through these strategies, Austin is embracing “futures thinking” to proactively anticipate and address emerging challenges, positioning the City and its community for a resilient and collaborative future.

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

The City of Austin has published two Open Government Action Plans, achieving significant progress in open governance. The first plan’s accomplishments include establishing the Homelessness Advisory Committee of Austin, providing a voice for individuals experiencing homelessness in policy decisions; developing an Equity Assessment Tool; launching an open/smart collaboration project to enhance public access to government information and improve coordination among city departments; creating a public meetings framework with high design specificity; and introducing an online project tracking tool for centralized updates.

The second plan built on this momentum with four key commitments: 1) a Community Climate Resilience Pilot, prompting the Watershed Protection Department to center its mission on climate resilience and equity; 2) Inclusion in Court Contracting, enabling the Austin Homelessness Advisory Committee to influence funding decisions for housing services; 3) 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... in City Anti-Displacement Efforts, developing a Neighborhood Stabilization Strategy Tool to address displacement pressures; and 4) Public Safety Data Analysis, culminating in the Joint Report: Analysis of APD Racial Profiling Data by key city offices. These initiatives demonstrate Austin’s ongoing dedication to equity, 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, and public engagement.

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

Recent political events at local, national, and global levels have highlighted a concerning trend in the loss of public trust for institutions designed to serve the people. We are confident that the guiding principles of empathy, ethics, excellence, engagement and equity expressly stated by City leadership present a positive opportunity to advance open government under shared values. These guiding principles reflect the organization’s priorities and commitments in its operations and relationships at a time when such clarity is necessary to strengthen trust and reinforce the democratic foundation needed for fair and thriving communities.

We believe that combining transparent selection criteria for OGP topics with a values-driven approach will build trust in government by promoting fairness, accountability, and consistency in decision-making. The achievements of our First and Second OGP Action Plans demonstrate that when people clearly understand the reasoning behind decisions, it reduces perceptions of bias or corruption and strengthens public confidence.

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

We plan to create a training program for 12 OGP champions, a mix of City staff and members of civil society who will gain a consistent and grounded foundation for their work by receiving training on Strategic Foresight and attending an Undoing Racism workshop.

Measures of success in the operationalizing stage of the Third Action Plan will be the extent to which we are able to:

1. Increase organizational capacity to anticipate and prepare for future challenges by offering six distinct foresight workshops.
2. Cultivate 12 strategic foresight champions across the organization.
3. Make key recommendations for near-term actions and strategies that continue to advance the work of Third Action Plan’s four priority projects.

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

This action plan seeks to advance the Open Government Strategic Vision by creating a community of reformers. By grounding our Third Action Plan in a shared analysis through leadership training on strategic foresight and equity, we will increase engagement and build the community of change-makers in our jurisdiction.

We are proud to center young people in the design of our Third Action Plan via the creation of a local Monitoring BodyLocal Monitoring Bodies independently evaluate and assess the performance of OGP participating locals. Similar to the Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) for OGP countries, these bodies assess the c... composed of student leaders from Austin Community College’s Center for Government and Civic Service. Additionally, students from Texas State University and the University of Texas will be part of stakeholder engagement meetings on our climate adaptation process project and our AI accountability project, respectively.

In designing youth-centered stakeholder engagement, we were inspired by the guidance and case studies of the OGP YouthRecognizing that investing in youth means investing in a better future, OGP participating governments are creating meaningful opportunities for youth to participate in government processes. Technical ... Toolkit and the youth engagement work in Quintana Roo, Mexico’s OGP work which stressed the importance of productively communicating our interest in bringing youth closer to City processes. These OGP resources helped us intentionally seek the leadership of students in shaping accountability mechanisms.

Finally, our Third Action Plan brings together four key City departments, fostering collaboration and reducing silos. By aligning goals and engagement strategies, open government can become an integral part of how departments across the organization can operate.

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

Key priorities for the administration are emergency preparedness, public safety, affordable housing, and homelessness. Through its guiding principle we will advance our open government goal of being “a home of inspirational innovations”:

• Empathy—We need to spend time with the people we serve, meet them where they are, and actively listen to their stories. Empathy is about understanding and connecting with our community on a deeper level.
• Ethics—Being principled in our actions is crucial. If we say we will do something, then we need to deliver. Trust is built on reliability and integrity, and it’s essential that we uphold these values in all we do.
• Excellence —We must all row our boat in the same direction. This means taking lessons learned from challenges and implementing solutions moving forward. Striving for excellence ensures that we provide the best possible service to our community.
• Engagement—Being present and visible in our community is vital. We need to engage with our residents, listen to their recommendations and suggestions, and consider their input as we make decisions. Engagement fosters a sense of belonging and collaboration.
• Equity—Everything we do should be in the spirit of inclusivity, prioritizing the quality of life for all Austinites. Equity means ensuring that everyone in our community has access to the resources and opportunities they need to thrive.

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.

• City of Austin Office of Equity and Inclusion
• Equity Action Team
• City of Austin Economic Development Department
• Resilient Cities Catalyst
• City of Austin Office of Innovation
• Austin AI Alliance
• City of Austin Office of Sustainability

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

Current institutional arrangements include quarterly meetings with each collaborating department and civic society partner, ad hoc meetings and presentations as needed, and regular written communication via the City’s OGP blog and emails. Additional plans include development of Memoranda of Understanding or other written agreements and a communications plan to coordinate with all partners.

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.

To date, we have utilized in-person and online spaces to enable collaboration on the action plan. Online spaces include virtual meetings, a public facing blog chronicling past and present City of Austin open government work, and LinkedIn to highlight and share information with current and potential partners. We also use email and other online communications as needed to ensure dialogue in an accessible format.

Offline spaces have primarily centered around the Austin Community College Center for Government and Civic Service, which is centrally located within Austin and is open to the public. We use this space to host meetings and spread awareness of our work. Additional offline spaces have included established community meetings, engaging with both community members and civic society partners in the neighborhoods where they live and work. Other offline spaces we plan to use include City-owned or -run spaces that are spread throughout the Austin community, such as public libraries and community centers, and continued support of existing community space by meeting people where they are rather than requiring them to come to us.

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

With Equity as a guiding principle, we selected spaces that were accessible to all. Utilizing ACC’s Center for Government and Civic Service provided a central location with ample parking and public transit options. For all meetings we attend or host, we survey potential attendees about potential barriers we could address, such as time of day, childcare, language access, physical access, etc. We ensure meeting spaces have elevators or are on level spaces. All of our online spaces are free to access and open to the public, without a need to create an account. Our text and image formatting includes Alternative Text information and is designed for e-readers and other accessibility tools.

Acknowledging there may be barriers we are not aware of and with the mindset of continuous improvement, we also follow up with anonymous optional surveys so attendees can tell us if there are ways we could make each space more open and inclusive.

Who participated in these spaces?

Types of groups who participated in the co-creation process include local government employees, community college students, community members, representatives from nonprofit organizations, advocacy groups, representatives from the business community, and members of the general public.

How many groups participated in these spaces?

6

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

9

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

We have a diversity of collaboration mechanisms. Some commitments will have specific set collaborative activities – for example, the Austin AI Alliance will continue collaboration through advisory board and working group meetings – while other stakeholders will collaborate as needed. Some of the general collaborative activities include email communications, human-centered design workshops and/or meetings to solicit feedback and engagement from stakeholders, shared trainings on equity and strategic foresight, and information sharing via our blog.

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

The City of Austin and Austin Community College’s Center for Government & Civic Service (CGCS) will convene a group of students to serve as the Monitoring Body that will track the City’s efforts in implementing its Action Plan. The students participating in the Monitoring Body will have guidance from a faculty member to ensure continuity even as students may matriculate and drop off over the life of the Action Plan. One student will be designated liaison between the City and Monitoring Body. Most of the students will come from ACC’s student government organization but all are welcome to participate. The full body will consist of community college students aside from the faculty sponsor.

Provide the contact details for the independent monitoring body.

• Bryan Port, Director, Austin Community College’s Center for Government and Civic Service, bryan.port@austincc.edu
• Tianna Allen, Student Leader, tianna.allen@g.austincc.edu

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

We will share progress with stakeholders via co-creation activities that include advisory board meetings, working group meetings, email communications, and quarterly meetings with stakeholders on each 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.... Additionally, we will post general progress updates via our public blog, and utilize existing communications to update stakeholders. Examples include monthly newsletters, social media feeds and posts, and surveys for feedback.

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

We recognize that many implementing organizations in our work include both government and civil society stakeholders, resulting in overlapping methods for monitoring progress. While we use advisory board meetings and email communications to update our partners on progress, we will also use them to check in on progress with our implementing agencies. We will also hold quarterly update meetings, one-on-one check-ins, and review public communications (like newsletters, blogs, or surveys) to monitor progress of our implementing agencies.

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

Our primary platform for sharing public information is our blog, where we will post quarterly updates summarizing all OGP activities. To track progress, we will establish benchmarks for each commitment and update these quarterly on the blog. Community meetings, which are open to the public, will also be used to share updates when appropriate. Furthermore, we will collaborate with the City’s Communications and Public Information Office to share updates through press releases and public LinkedIn profiles.

Endorsement from Non-Governmental Stakeholders

• Bryan Port, Director, Austin Community College’s Center for Government and Civic Service
• Dr. Jennifer Speed, Assistant Vice President for Research Development, Texas State University
• Meme Styles, VP for Fair, Responsible, and Ethical AI, Austin AI Alliance
• Rotating Community Member, Equity Action Team Working Group,
• Anna Friedman, Director of Policy & Programs, Resilient Cities Catalyst

Commitments

• Climate change 
• Economic resilience action team 
• AI accountability