Action plan – Tirana, Albania, 2021 – 2023

At-a-Glance

Duration

April 2023

Date Submitted

30th July 2021

Foreword(s)

Tirana is Open! This is the new motto of Tirana nowadays, after the pandemic! It is the best moment to implement the commitments we co-created through consultations with all the interested stakeholders. Tirana is now open for activities, tourism, as well it is on its way to be more transparent and accessible to citizens, to fulfill their requirements for crucial services that seek effective and responsive local governments. There was a high interest, a very big support from all the actors, together with MoT and LDA Albania to prioritize needs for information and feedback, according to different fields, while seeking for  innovation in this approach to citizens. The mission is to engage them  in shaping and overseeing policies and services, while trying to see through their own lenses, to really impact their lives, to reach them in their way of living everyday life. This reform of the open government should be adapted to reach as many people as possible, to make their life easier. Everyone should feel the responsibility to communicate and to participate. It is not only a one way process, it is something that comes from a bottom up approach. LDA and Municipality of Tirana have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, to set responsibilities, to arrange a calendar of meetings and a timeline of activities in order to write down the Action Plan together with the Strategy of Open Government as well as to pre-decide the resources needed for the implementation phase. We set up a working group, the monitoring body and independent CSO operating in Tirana, an active and credible actor.  We engaged CSOs, academia, other governmental departments through face to face meetings, official letters, google forms, emails, and reached out to every possible contact so they acted as our partners, supporters, contributors, advocates.

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 vision of the Municipality of Tirana is to become an integrated actor in the European economic and infrastructure system, to be a competitive intermodal node in the Balkans that aims at equality in access, infrastructure, economy and knowledge. Consolidation and urban regeneration, increased access to educationAccountability within the public education system is key to improving outcomes and attainment, and accountability is nearly impossible without transparent policies and opportunities for participation ..., together with a balanced public transport delivery system, with a smarter use of the urban and rural ecosystem to grant sustainable development are the next priorities of MoT. This mission is based on the values ​​of leadership and an effective local administration through which it supports and ensures a high quality of life for all citizens by guaranteeing modern standards in the provision of services, healthy environment, high values ​​of community coexistence and a sense of ownership between residents over public goods creating equality and social 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... for all. A strategic objective of the MoT is strengthening Good Governance and Respecting Citizens’ Rights. It is one of the essential conditions that a democratic state must meet to integrate into the EU. These principles are clearly expressed in The European Charter of Local Governance, which Albania is committed to implement. Also based on the principle of subsidiarity, responsibilities should be exercised by the authorities which are closest to the citizens.

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

Tirana became the first city in Albania, since April 2017, with a database of public services, to increase transparency to citizens. The Municipality of Tirana has launched the online portal https://opendata.tirana.al/. Information is accessible and useful to citizens. The portal also helps the MoT to determine what are the priorities of the city, to help policymakers in decision-making and researchers in conducting various analyzes. The data are: easily accessible, available to all. 

• “One-Stop-Shop” represents any office where citizens and / or businesses can apply to benefit from a particular service, it enables a single gateway to all interaction between citizens / businesses and Public Administration. (https://www.tirana.al/sherbimi/one-stop-shop).

Moreover, MoT has developed smartphone apps such as:

• “Tirana Ime”,  which includes information on traffic and transportation in the city and many other valuable information.
• “Welcome Tirana, A portal designed to boost the Albanian tourism through the innovative Virtual Reality instrument. 
• “Tirana XXL”. https://tiranaxxl.al/ There can be displayed every single activity in the city, in art, culture, music etc,.
• “Tirana Outdoor” The application puts an end to the lack of informative information for leisure and recreational activities for citizens and visitors of Tirana. 
• Students Cards App It offers information for the public and private services that students may have discounts, offers.

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

MoT offers 163 different services to citizens and businesses, of which 130 are provided only by one-stop shop. Improving service delivery to the public through simplification of procedures. It has expanded the use of technology to increase the speed and quality of service delivery, to save the data and ensure 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. However, there are still problems with the absence of an accurate information of citizens for receiving these services (information about the location, relevant documentation that must be submitted, deadlines, etc.). There is still space for improvement in the strategic planning process and efficient coordination of investment, avoiding overlapping competencies and functions, and improving dialogue and cross-sectoral coordination between local and central government.  MoT aims at increasing and strengthening institutional capacities and human resources at the local level. It aims to ensure transparent governance and increase accountability in the future. This specific objective aims to ensure a good citizen-oriented governance. Local decision-making will be comprehensive and transparent and provide a balanced genderOGP participating governments are bringing gender perspectives to popular policy areas, ensuring diversity in participatory processes, and specifically targeting gender gaps in policies to address gov... participation. Accountability at the local level will also be promoted through the implementation of performance management systems, which will be instruments of objective transparency and accountability of local government units. The strengthening of local finances is another challenge, in order to ensure better financial management in MoT.

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

The Municipality of Tirana aims to achieve effective and responsive local government. Apart from being innovative, responsive, inclusive, a crucial mission is to engage citizens as agents of change in the city. MoT has now a very close collaboration with different CSO’s in the city, by working on different projects as a partner, the last is winning the title “Tirana European 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 ... Capital 2022”. City of Tirana has Demonstrated ambitionAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, OGP commitments should “stretch government practice beyond its current baseline with respect to key areas of open government.” Ambition captures the po... of alignment with OGP’s strategic and thematic priorities. The MoT vision expressed in the Strategy 2018-2022 is based on the values ​​of leadership and an efficient and effective local administration through which MoT supports and ensures a high quality of life for all citizens by guaranteed modern standards in service delivery, healthy environment, high values ​​of community coexistence and a sense of ownership over public goods among residents, by creating equality and social justice for all. It is a leading Municipality in the whole country, very ambitious in creating a network in Region, Europe and abroad. Being part of an 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 is a step forward  to learn from other best experience, participate in peer learning. The existing capacity and resources of MoT dedicated to the communication with stakeholders are used also for co-creation and implementation, including identified staff in government and the identified civil society/non-government counterpart(s).

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

The action plan is an ambitious reform, which stretches the  local government beyond its current state of practice, it improves the status quo, while increasing transparency (Informative Corners In Administrative Units);  Accountability (Municipal Counselors App); 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... (Citizens as change Agents). These OGP values are the main pillars which guide each of our proposed commitments. This action plan changes and improves the Municipal agenda of the future, the vision and encourages the coordination between each stakeholder. These arrangements assure  that the services, information and feedback will be according to these new regulations. The action plan has established a network of interested groups, a multi stakeholder forum, which informally monitors the achievements in this direction.  It serves as a written arrangement which has to be implemented in accordance with all the values proposed and agreed.

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

The current administration has made innovations in the framework of communication, smart solutions, it is ambitious to run the city to win titles, to exchange culture, to be open and transparent! Citizens have now more accessible services, have a wide range of new technology to exchange information and to raise their voice. Anyway, being part of a OGP global, together with other cities,  gives the opportunity to learn from the best experiences. It is an important incentive to aspire for a different, practical way of governing the city! Which means changing the way you engage citizens, and impacting their mentality and expectancy, which in fact gives them the right to participate and the responsibility in the same time to be part of the governance. The following Strategy for Sustainable Development, will ensure a dedicated space for the Partnership implementation and further obligations that derive from this Action Plan.

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.

• Municipality of Tirana, Department of Strategic Projects and Economic Development
• LDA Albania
• Municipality of Tirana, Department of Technology, Innovation and Data
• City Council of the City of Tirana
• Administrative Units of the Municipality of Tirana
• Municipality of Tirana, Department of Social Affairs

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

The first Institutional Arrangement between Municipality of Tirana and LDA Albania si a Memorandum of Understanding, to highlight the main responsibilities, the timetable, the team working on the Action Plan, meanwhile we agreed and signed even a Work Group Procesverbal for the members of the Board, and their 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 reach the objectives.

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.

There are several spaces used. One of the physical spaces used is the Municipal Council Hall to meet with civil society organizations, to exchange ideas, proposals. “Reja” is a very special space in the center of Tirana used to meet different Enterprises which have been supported by Municipal grants. They were informed of the process and the commitments, and proposed their ideas according to their needs, and issues.  The Municipal open terrace, public local libraries, will also be used to have open consultations and meetings. Also dedicated areas within the Municipality and Administrative Units, will be venues of training and meetings for the OGP process. Virtual space used are zoom calls, emails, official letters, whats app groups to exchange information for the process, to require comments and to ensure their participation and the authenticity and co creation of the plan. We had arranged a google drive repositoryAccess to relevant information is essential for enabling participation and ensuring accountability throughout the OGP process. An OGP repository is an online centralized website, webpage, platform or ... (for the CSO’s )to have their written proposal as well as to have the draft version of the plan in order to look at the comments in real time. Every contact (CSO, Academia) has delivered a google form with close questions to have a statistics of the issues and thematic, in order to prioritize.

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

We developed a network of CSOs which spread the information with their contacts, collaborators, other CSO and individuals in order to ensure participation and inclusiveness. Every contact was emailed, invited to face to face meetings and in every consultation meeting we took their opinions and requirements. The City Council members also helped us by organizing an open discussion with CSOs they have had previous  communications with, which represent  vulnerable, or marginalized groups. Meanwhile, rural areas are included through meetings with Administrative Units. It is important to mention that we had in our attention the difficulty of using online and virtual platforms by this group of people with special needs, so we tried to be innovative in the way we approach them. One of our commitments in fact, addresses the way the marginalized & vulnerable people see the city through their own lenses.

Who participated in these spaces?

1. Civil Society Organizations in the Field of Youth, Marginalized Groups, Environment, Social Protection, Women rights etc,;
2. Groups of Activists in the fields of Vulnerable Groups, Women Activists;
3. Enterprises which operate in Tirana, small and medium enterprises;
4. Young Municipal Councilors;
5. Students and Professors in Faculties.

How many groups participated in these spaces?

70

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...?

15

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

The OGP team will include non governmental stakeholders in the following and implementation of the commitments, through periodic reports and posts to describe the activities and achievements, in the form of meetings to discuss the problematics and the success; through online calls to create a network of supporters in order that the arrangements implement and be shared through all the stakeholders and citizens. We will share the commitments with the list of agencies and CSO’s we have developed, so that they can choose where they are interested to be attached to follow up the whole activities of the commitment till the final results and reaching the output.

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

The Monitoring Body will be an independent CSO which is really active in Tirana, BEYOND BARRIERS ALBANIA is a non-profit, civil society organization, established in 2004. We work with young people in national, regional and European levels, by promoting 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... and skills through non formal education. BBA is the Contact Point of Erasmus +YiA and European Solidarity Corps programs of European Commission, for Albania

Provide the contact details for the independent monitoring body.

• Irena Topalli, Program Manager, irenatopalli@yahoo.com
• Ana Dervishi, Executive Director, anadervishi@yahoo.com

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

We have planned to organize regular meetings, periodic calls and discussion for the progress of each commitment. There will be open calls, and fundraising campaigns in order to engage agencies, CSO’s which may support each commitment. Meanwhile, we will open calls for experts to join training sessions, informal learning sessions, seminars we will organize for two of our commitments for administrative units and multidisciplinary centers in Tirana. There will be some questionnaires and assessment forms (e.g open –ended comments or reactions; Objective questions or surveys) that they will deliver periodically in order to estimate the progress and share their opinions and proposals for any change that may lead to a successful implementation. We will seek research and information based on concrete information and analysis which is well grounded in reality.

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

There will be an Monitoring and Evaluation Plan in written form, in order to have a framework that describes the indicators we will use to measure whether the program is a success. Some assessment forms with some of the indicators we expect from each agency to complete periodically, will be sent every 2- 3 months in order to evaluate the progress. The plan and the schedule we propose is to ensure that project inputs, activities, outputs and external factors are proceeding as planned, and the involvement of the agencies and of the stakeholders in the process is really important. Meanwhile, another form is their self assessment in order to be responsible and learn from the process.

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

Once the evaluation is completed, it is important in this OGP process to share the results and/or evaluation procedures with a variety of stakeholders. Disseminating evaluation results will ensure audiences understand the issues addressed by each commitment and how can they use them, increase their understanding and awareness about the types of support needed for successful implementation, influence and encourage changes in policies and/or practices, both within program and elsewhere. This positive impact we aim will be targeted to funders/donors, stakeholders, organizations implementing similar programs, participants in the process, policymakers, academics and  general public. the products and mechanisms we will use are several: formal reports, press release, promotional products such as brochures, posters, billboards, flyers, or videos, presentation (slide or poster), Success stories/Lessons Learned in our official page dedicated to OGP. We will also will share results through email, website, local sources. We aim to organize an annual conference, such as the event of the presentation of the Action Plan held, in order to share the achievements and to bring the objectives and the vision for the future commitments we will arrange.

Endorsement from Non-Governmental Stakeholders

• Linda Kelmendi, linda.kelmendi@outlook.com
• Erilda Kola, PNV Albania
• Luis Bekteshi, Qendra Rinore “Youth Perspektiva”
• Xhoana Zeqo, Partneret Shqiperi
• Lira Hakani, Eden ALbania
• Entela Kaleshi, INLSH-CLA
• Eldisa Zhebo, INLSH-CLA
• Maura Linadi, City Council
• Lubjana Malaj, “Progres dhe Zhvillim” Center
• Nevila Jahaj, Epoka e Re
• Armela pengjilli, Act for Society
• Enea Duro, UET
• Lediona Asabella, Faculty of Social Sciences
• Suela Lala, Fondacioni “Sebashku”

OGP Local Tirana – Stakeholder Survey Responses