Action plan – Greater Karak, Jordan, 2024 – 2025

At-a-Glance

Duration

Mar 2026

Date Submitted

7th October 2024

Foreword(s)

Civil society organizations and the municipality are working together to activate the Open Government Initiative due to its importance in promoting elements of good governance. The parties have agreed to continue implementing this approach through a joint committee comprising civil society, relevant institutions, and the municipality to achieve their aspirations of municipal governance and enhancing the participation of local communities in municipal activities.

Open Government Challenges, Opportunities and Strategic Vision

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

1. Enhancing 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 decision-making within civil society organizations and social sectors (e.g., women, children, marginalized groups, persons with disabilities, etc.) through participatory budgeting, financial 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, integrity, and planning.
2. Activating Electronic Services and Applications to facilitate participation and improve municipal services by developing and launching the municipality’s website and creating applications that enable access to services and participation in decision-making at the municipal level.

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

A Governance Council was formed, consisting of two committees: the Community Participation Committee, made up of 7 members, and the Electronic Participation Committee, made up of 6 members. The council includes members from the municipal council, members of the executive team, and experts and specialists in electronic participation from the “We Are All Jordan 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 ... Commission”.

A committee was established by the Mayor of Greater Karak Municipality to follow up on the outcomes of the Governance Council, ensuring proper monitoring and facilitating the council’s work.

A meeting was held with the local community to present the council’s outcomes, share the municipality’s budget, and gather their recommendations to promote transparency and community participation.

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

• Exclusive access to the system is restricted to employees of the Ministry of Local Administration to resolve issues arising during operation, with a slow response on hotlines.
• The unique number linking different departments is not activated, leading to service disruption.
• There are only a few employees working on activating electronic applications.
• Lack of delegation of permissions and information when an employee is absent, preventing others from carrying out the same tasks, due to knowledge being monopolized by employees.
• Employees are reluctant to take on additional tasks due to the lack of incentives.
• There is no supervision to ensure the effective implementation of electronic processes.
• The municipality provides insufficient awareness on how to use electronic services.
• There is no recurring introduction plan to inform the public about the available electronic services.
• Lack of awareness about existing electronic applications in the municipality, including e-payment options.
• Citizens’ low technical skills hinder the use of these services.
• Citizens lack trust in digital transformationGovernments are working to increase access to and quality of government services, improve transparency, and create opportunities for participation by using information and communications technologies.....
• Awareness methods are not used regularly (awareness campaigns).

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

1. Develop a stakeholder map to identify sectors represented within the boundaries of Greater Karak Municipality.

2. Decision-making and planning should be based on community participation to set priorities and local-level programs through the following:

• Stakeholder dialogue
• Sectoral community committees
• Ensuring the participation of community sectors in the municipality’s plans through the municipal council
• Holding regular public meetings in all areas with citizens

3. Prepare the municipality’s budget using a participatory budgeting approach (during and after the process).

4. Build the capacity of municipal employees in community participation.

5. Prepare the upcoming 2025 budget using a participatory approach:

• Publish the detailed budget on the municipality’s website.
• Include digital transformation programs in the budget to enhance community participation electronically.
• Establish an internal unit or committee to activate governance within the municipality and promote community participation.
• Hold sectoral and geographical community sessions to identify developmental and service needs and priorities within the municipality’s boundaries.

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

The plan aims to establish a Governance Council to implement the strategic vision by including diverse members from various sectors. The next step involves building the council’s capacity in good governance to ensure they have adequate knowledge in this field to achieve and follow up on long-term goals.

Afterward, two committees will be formed: the Community Participation Committee and the Electronic Participation Committee, with specialists in each committee according to their expertise, to ensure high-quality work in both.

A participatory plan will then be developed to achieve the goals of this 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... and implement these obligations.

Finally, the results will be shared and presented to the local community, which will help achieve the strategic vision of transparency and community participation.

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

The strategic vision and goals related to transparent governance aim to promote justiceTo address barriers that prevent citizens from having their justice needs met, OGP participating governments are working to expand transparency, accountability, and inclusion into all systems of justi..., transparency, and equitable service delivery that is accessible to all segments of society, reducing favoritism and enhancing electronic services. This includes facilitating access to services through dedicated websites and applications. These objectives align with the goals of public administration, which include ensuring fair access to services and achieving justice and equality in their distribution. Additionally, a strategic plan will be developed to achieve these goals, along with preparing a well-considered budget for the coming year.

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.

• The Jordan Hashemite Fund For Human Development (Princess Basma Center for Development)
• Greater Karak Municipality

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

The Ministry of Digital Economy was contacted and coordinated to emphasize the need for cooperation in activating electronic services, studying the challenges we face, and working on resolving them. The Ministry of Local Administration was also contacted to increase the authority of electronic services system managers.

Additionally, the Ministry of Local Administration was approached to activate a hotline between system managers and the ministry to speed up response times and resolve issues. This request was addressed, and a platform was created to report all problems and ensure better responses.

A specialist from the Ministry of Digital Economy has been appointed as a member of the Governance Council, which will facilitate effective collaboration and integration of the ministry into the plan.

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.

1. Activate the suggestions and complaints system on the municipality’s website to create a space for citizens to express their concerns.
2. Conduct electronic surveys that are published on the municipality’s website and Facebook page to gather citizens’ opinions on municipal services and their awareness and access to these services.
3. Live broadcasts of municipal council sessions have been implemented, specifically for sessions addressing topics relevant to citizens and public opinion.
4. A section has been activated within the electronic services dedicated to gathering citizens’ opinions on the municipality’s strategic plan.

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

1. There is a diversity of groups represented during the establishment of the Governance Council, including women and youth.
2. Through meetings with the local community, all segments—including women’s associations, youth organizations, and associations for persons with disabilities—were involved. Efforts were made to include individuals with hearing impairments, along with ensuring the presence of a sign language interpreter to guarantee fairness among all community groups and to listen to their needs and feedback.

Who participated in these spaces?

• Women
• Youth
• Persons with disabilities
• Community leaders
• Municipal council members
• Municipality employees

How many groups participated in these spaces?

6

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

This was achieved by establishing the Governance Council within the municipality, which aims to ensure the continuity of efforts to achieve the project outcomes even after 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... or changes in the management team. The presence of this council guarantees the sustainability of work and the follow-up on the objectives that were set.

Additionally, there are electronic services in place for receiving citizens’ feedback, complaints, and suggestions in a consistent and effective manner, allowing for the continuation of work along the same approach.

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

Princess Basma Center for Development in Karak, affiliated with the Jordanian Hashemite Fund for Human Development (JOHUD).

Provide the contact details for the independent monitoring body.

• Ali Also’ub, Director of Princess Basma Center for Development Karak, ali-alsoub@johud.org.jo
• Jumana Alja’afreh, Programs Coordinator, Jumana.j@johud.org.jo

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

1. Regular meetings with the Governance Council, the municipal council, and the local community.
2. Training volunteers organized by the municipality and distributing them across different areas of the municipality to facilitate citizens’ access to electronic services and to train them on how to use these services.

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

1. Monitoring the increase in the number of citizens using electronic services in the municipality and tracking the number of citizens participating in meetings that enhance community participation.
2. Conducting surveys to measure citizens’ satisfaction with the updates.

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

Publishing the results on the municipality’s official website and making this information available in a clear and transparent manner.

Endorsement from Non-Governmental Stakeholders

• Ali Alsoub, Director of Princess Basma Center for Development Karak, The Jordan Hashemite Fund For Human Development (JOHUD)
• Odai Hamaideh, Director of All Jordan youth Organization, All Jordan Youth Organization