Action plan – Valencian Community, Spain, 2024 – 2027

At-a-Glance

Duration

May 2027

Date Submitted

7th May 2024

Foreword(s)

Generalitat Valenciana is 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 (OGP) since 2022. Being a member of this organisation implies the development and implementation of action plans consisting of a series of Open Government commitments drawn up through a 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... involving civil society.

The 1st Action Plan of the Comunitat Valenciana for the Open Government Partnership was drafted between June and November 2022, and subsequently implemented and assessed. This First Action Plan sought to bring about a change in culture with regard to the manner in which institutions interact with citizens, adopting a culture based on greater proximity and a reinforcement of public values.

The First Action Plan included 3 commitments:

• Open Community: Networks and tools to promote public integrity at the local level of the Comunitat Valenciana and make the good municipal practices of open government visible.
• Innovation and culture of open government: Train, educate and build a participatory culture within the educational community, strengthening networks and links between civil society and the public administration.
• Inclusive 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 the right to understand: Improving the usability and communication of the administration for real and effective accountability.

This Second Action Plan seeks to focus on 3 themes (Transparency and the right to access public information, Civic Participation, and Democratic Quality), both from the perspective of the Administration as the body responsible for creating the mechanisms to enable more open governance and a more consolidated democracy, and the role of civil society as the party demanding and consuming transparency and civic participation.

To this end, the Second Action Plan establishes 5 commitments to be implemented between 2024 and 2027.

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?

Our long-term vision for Open Government includes 3 key elements:

• Firstly, Open Government as the right to access public information and data and to participate in decision-making.
• Secondly, Open Government as a transversal principle that should permeate all aspects of public management. In this regard, it is necessary to secure 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... of institutions – and also of other civil society stakeholders – to advance towards a more real and effective Open Government.
• Finally, the different elements of Open Government as management areas that are fully embedded in the organisational culture and management structure (planning, implementation, assessment) of organisations, with management being exercised in an effective and efficient manner.

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

• Law 1/2022, of 13 April, on Transparency and Good Governance of the Comunitat Valenciana.
• Law 4/2023, of 13 April, on Civic Participation and the Promotion of Associations of the Comunitat Valenciana.

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

The main challenges are explained in the following fields.

In the field of transparency

• Generate more accessible and appropriate active advertising content for public consumption, making the right to access public information an effective right. To this end, it is essential to address citizens in their language.
• Assist smaller local authorities so that they are able to manage transparency and provide the information they are required to provide under current legislationCreating and passing legislation is one of the most effective ways of ensuring open government reforms have long-lasting effects on government practices. Technical specifications: Act of creating or r....
• Increase the transparency of social organisations receiving public sector funding.

In the field of civic participation

• Improve active listening and early identification of the needs and expectations of citizens.
• Achieve greater participation in the participatory processes that are developed.
• Design innovative and more efficient tools and participatory processes that add value to civic participation.
• Properly close participatory processes, reporting back to society the results of these processes and the impact generated by this participation in relation to the issue being debated or reflected upon.

In the field of democratic quality

• Strengthen the democratic quality of our society.
• Consolidate the mechanisms and instruments that guarantee it.
• Promote and disseminate the institutions of self-government and the rights and freedoms of citizens, as essential parts of the democratic quality of a society.

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

It is sought to:

• Firstly, open government as the right to access public information and data and to participate in decision-making.
• Secondly, open government as a transversal principle that should permeate all aspects of public management. In this regard, it is necessary to secure the commitment of institutions – and also of other civil society stakeholders – to advance towards a more real and effective open government.
• Finally, the different elements of open government as management areas that are fully embedded in the organisational culture and management structure (planning, implementation, assessment) of organisations, with management being exercised in an effective and efficient manner.

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

We can highlight 4 main areas of contribution:

• The Plan addresses the major challenges associated with the Open Government strategic vision shared by the Generalitat Valenciana, the 3 provincial councils, the city councils of the 3 capital cities and the Valencian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces.
• The Plan includes not only the demands of civil society but also their commitment to become organisations fully committed to transparency.
• There is a special focus on supporting institutions and stakeholders that have fewer resources at their disposal.
• Emphasis is placed on the importance of collaboration as a transversal instrument for the 5 commitments defined.

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

As stated above, it is impossible to speak of sustainable development if it is not based on solid institutions and agents, with high management capacity and geared to the needs and expectations of their stakeholders.

Nor is it possible to talk about sustainable development if decisions are taken from the top down. It is essential to take into account the voice of citizens and relevant territorial agents in order to generate and implement high-impact solutions to problems that are increasingly complex and interrelated. Moreover, civic and social participation brings the value of consensus and involvement, transforming participation into collaboration.

Open Government must therefore play an essential part in the policies of any public administration and also of any social or private agents that want to address the needs and expectations of their stakeholders and have solid strategies, with social backing and that generate maximum public value.

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.

• Generalitat Valenciana
• Ayuntamiento de Valencia
• Colegio de Documentalistas y Archiveros
• Consejo de Participación Ciudadana de la Comunitat Valenciana
• Diputaciones provinciales de Valencia, Castellón, Alicante
• Consell Valencià de la Juventut

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

There exist different coordination and collaboration instruments that will be made available to the Plan:

• Within the Generalitat, there is a Technical Coordination Committee on Transparency;
• There is inter-institutional collaboration with the 3 provincial councils and the Valencian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FVMP) through the Valencian Open Government Partnership, the aim of which is to make joint and collaborative progress in this area;
• At an institutional level, there is also an Open Government Municipal Network of the Comunitat Valenciana, to which local entities can apply for membership;
• At the civil society level, collaboration agreements have been in place since 2016 with public universities to promote Open Government research and training activities;
• There is also the Civic Participation Council of the Comunitat Valenciana, which is the administration’s consultative body that the Generalitat uses to promote meetings between the Generalitat, civil society and citizens. The Council is constituted as a genuine space for discussion and collaboration between all the institutions and civic organisations of the Comunitat Valenciana, so that they can discuss and exchange views on the design of the Generalitat’s public policies.

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 participatory process has taken advantage of the coordination and collaboration instruments explained in section 5.2., with special emphasis on the Civic Participation Council of the Comunitat Valenciana.

In addition to direct invitations to the agents that are part of these instruments, an open call has been made via Generalitat Valenciana Participation Portal and here.

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

The participatory process has mainly revolved around the Civic Participation Council of the Comunitat Valenciana. The most relevant associations of the Comunitat Valenciana are present in this Council, including those representing vulnerable or marginalised groups, as can be seen in section 7 of this document, which lists the agents that have taken part in the different phases of the process.

In addition, representatives from universities, social entities and other public administrations, mainly the provincial councils and the city councils of the 3 capital cities of the Comunitat Valenciana, also took part.

Who participated in these spaces?

The main participant groups were Regional Government Departments, local administrations and universities of the Comunitat Valenciana as well as civil society organizations. A full list of civil society organizations present is here:

• Neighbourhood associations: Federations, confederations and associations for the defence of neighbourhood rights.
• Regional houses and federations of associations from other autonomous communities of the Comunitat Valenciana.
• Volunteer charity organisations.
• Coordinators and organisations that defend women’s rights in the public and private spheres.
• Coordinators and organisations that defend the rights of LGTBI groups and sexual diversity.
• Platforms and organisations that defend the land and the environment, and cultural heritage.
• Organisations and associations that defend and promote the rights of people with functional diversity.
• Organisations and associations that provide assistance to people with health problems and work to improve the quality of life of those affected and their family and social environment.
• Entities and organisations that defend the rights of migrants, refugees or ethnic minorities.
• Faith-based civic bodies and organisations.
• Civic organisations belonging to other spheres of action.

How many groups participated in these spaces?

71

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 following mechanisms for promotion, coordination and participation will be established:

• Creation of a project promotion group in which the Directorate-General for Transparency and Participation, the 3 provincial councils and the Valencian Federation of Municipalities and Provinces will be represented. This project promotion group will hold regular bi-annual meetings.
• Creation of working groups for the implementation of the commitments with the participation of all the agents involved (see details in the description of each of the commitments). Each Working Group will define its own schedule of meetings.
• Creation of an open monitoring and assessment forum to which all agents who have taken or will take part in the process will be invited to participate. This forum will hold regular annual meetings.

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

An agreement was reached with the Spanish Evaluation Society that it would be the body in charge of independently monitoring and evaluating the co-creation process and the results achieved as part of the implementation of the commitments.

The contact person has been kept informed at all times of the co-creation process, being provided from the beginning with the documents generated as well as the calendar of planned meetings and access to the discussion on the GVA Participa platform.

Two representatives from the Spanish Evaluation Society participated in each of the sessions held with the 3 working groups created.

Provide the contact details for the independent monitoring body.

• Daniel Catalá Pérez, President of the Spanish Evaluation Society, socevaluacion@gmail.com

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

The project will be subject to an interim assessment on 31 December 2025 and a final assessment at the end of the project.

Internal assessment processes will also be conducted at the meetings of the Open Monitoring and Assessment Forum (one process per year).

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

Each of the Working Groups for the Implementation of the Commitments will prepare a periodic report on the monitoring of the implementation of its commitment and on the impact achieved. This report will be analysed in the meetings of the Project Promotion Group.

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

An annual report will be drawn up on the activities undertaken.mThese reports, together with the interim and final assessment reports, will be published on the project website.  In addition, annual reports and assessment reports will be disseminated through social media. All these documents will be prepared according to clear communication criteria.

Endorsement from Non-Governmental Stakeholders

• A.C.U. en Acción FACUA C.Valenciana
• ACICOM
• AICTEH
• Asociació Escola de Pensament Feminista Amelia Valcarcel
• Asociación Círculo de Paterna
• Asociación Española de Fiebre Mediterránea Familiar y Síndromes Autoinflamatorios, Stop FMF
• Asociación Española de Fundaciones
• Asociación Somllar
• Asociación Vecinal Mas del Rosari
• Associacio Veïnes i Veïns de Castellar-l’oliveral
• Betxí
• Bondret, atelier jurídico
• Cabanayal Reviu Teixint Xarxes
• Cáritas Diocesana de Valencia
• CAVE-COVA
• CEAR PV
• CEU
• Chrysallis
• Club de Patinaje Valencia Royals
• Club de senderismo y marcha nórdica “Descubre” / Federación de Deportes de Montaña de la CV
• Colegio oficial de Economistas de Valencia
• Consejo Valenciano de Personas Mayores
• Consell Valencià de la Joventut
• Coordinadora de Dependencia PV
• Cruz Roja
• Del camp a la Taula
• ECL Casa de Soria en Valencia
• Entidad Castellano y Leonesa – Casa de Soria en Valencia
• Federación de Personas Sordas
• FEVAFA
• Fundación Horta Sud
• Imagen Lufo
• Junta Benimamet
• Miró – Associació Connecta Natura
• Plataforma Valenciana
• Plena inclusión Comunidad Valenciana
• Secot Umlae
• Unión de Consumidores de la Comunitat Valenciana
• Universitat de València

Second Action Plan (Spanish)
Open Government Partnership – Valencia