Action plan – Chepo, Panama, 2024 – 2024

At-a-Glance

Duration

Jun 2025

Date Submitted

28th March 2024

Foreword(s)

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?

In the long term, we are committed to establishing the philosophy of open government in general and the methodology of the OGP in particular as a way to understand citizen governance in our district. We hope that this culture becomes a part of our citizens and future administrations.

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

The current administration is the first to propose the implementation of the open government philosophy. Changes are beginning to be seen only now, but we want to highlight the fact that we have created a transparent scheme for the selection of the committee for the celebration of our Patron Saint, San Cristóbal. This action was taken at the beginning of our administration and marked a departure from the way things were done in the past. This is what we aim to achieve with this entire exercise.

Chepo Municipality – Open Government in Action

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

All areas of the administration and our district can benefit from this process. We have prioritized getting citizens involved in solving their problems, creating exercises that allow groups of citizens to realize that by exercising their citizenship, they can achieve significant changes with the support of administrations that listen to them.

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

In the medium term, we aim for the philosophy of open government and OGP practices to become a common exercise both in the municipal mayor’s office and in the communal boards.

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

The action plan contributes to our strategic vision by aiming to generate at least one comprehensive exercise where citizens can clearly see how, through the philosophy of open government and OGP practices, they can achieve changes that benefit their community.

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

From the beginning, our administration proposed applying the open government philosophy in the district. Without the need for a formal OGP plan, we included the application of this philosophy in our plans. This good practice of OGP allows us to access valuable experiences carried out in other municipalities and to generate knowledge that can be used by future administrations and by other municipalities, both nationally and internationally.

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.

• Municipal Mayor’s Office and its different departments.

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

We are the first municipality in the country to undertake this mission. We have the support of the National Authority for 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 (ANTAI) and one of the civil society organizations that is part of the multi-stakeholder forumRegular dialogue between government and civil society is a core element of OGP participation. It builds trust, promotes joint problem-solving, and empowers civil society to influence the design, imple....

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.

Since the beginning of our administration, we have organized a series of community meetings, which, given the nature of our district, are usually conducted with the visit of our officials to the various sectors that comprise it. We also hold some meetings in the municipal council hall, which are typically used to address topics of high interest, as it can be challenging to get people to come from distant areas of our municipality.

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

Every time citizen sessions are held, all residents of the sector are called upon. Our municipality encompasses a variety of natural settings, ranging from indigenous communities to an island. It is for this reason that we have always prioritized including as many citizens as possible, both men and women.

Who participated in these spaces?

In our groups, we have neighbors from every sector, agricultural producer associations, senior citizen associations, 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 ... groups, and participants from local development boards.

How many groups participated in these spaces?

20

How many public-facing meetings were held 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...?

12

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

Throughout the process, we had the support of the National Authority for Transparency and one of the civil society organizations that is part of the multi-stakeholder forum. They supported us with methodologies, frameworks for managing information, and workshops.

Instagram post

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

Lyann Leguisamo

Cultural manager and sociology undergraduate student, coordinator of the Cultural Research Group at the Research Center of the Faculty of Humanities (CIFHU) at the University of Panama.

Diploma in Cultural Management and Mediation for Development from the Training Center of the Spanish Cooperation in La Antigua (CFCE Antigua).

She is an activist for cultural rights and has dedicated her professional life to the creation, management, and coordination of cultural projects.

Humanities Research Center Team (CIFHU)

Provide the contact details for the independent monitoring body.

• Lyann Leguisamo, Investigadora, lyann.leguisamo@up.ac.pa

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

We have scheduled regular follow-up meetings with various stakeholders involved in this process. Additionally, we have a data officer and a social director who are participating in this effort. The Mayor himself organizes regular follow-up meetings on the topic.

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

We have the advantage of being completely responsible for this entire process. The follow-up is overseen by our data officer, who coordinates and reviews the status of everything.

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

We have a social media framework and a website where we will share information regarding everything related to this process.

https://municipiodechepo.org/gobierno-abierto/

https://www.instagram.com/alcaldiachepo/

https://www.facebook.com/municipiochepo

Endorsement from Non-Governmental Stakeholders

• Pedro Colmenares, Cofounder, Kernel Community Think Tank

Support Letter – Mayor
Support Letter – Kernel Community