Finland Design Report 2019-2023 – For Public Comment

In 2020, the Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM)The Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) is OGP’s accountability arm and the main means of tracking progress in participating countries. The IRM provides independent, evidence-based, and objective ... published the Design Report for Finland’s fourth action planAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... (2019-2023). The report covers the development of the action plan and the design of its commitments.

In Finland, the IRM researcher Maarja’s Olesk’s findings are summarized below:

“Finland’s fourth action plan focuses on promoting sustainable open government practices, lobbyingLobbying transparency allows the public to ensure that there is diversity of participation and contribution to public decision-making. Technical specifications: Policies and actions affecting lobbying... 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 open dataBy opening up data and making it sharable and reusable, governments can enable informed debate, better decision making, and the development of innovative new services. Technical specifications: Polici.... The government involved a more diverse group of participants in the action plan co-creation and shared the agenda-setting power with civil society. At the mid-term review of the action plan in 2021, the government could consider expanding lobby regulationGovernment reformers are developing regulations that enshrine values of transparency, participation, and accountability in government practices. Technical specifications: Act of creating or reforming ... and registration obligation to the local and regional levels and improve the openness of key datasets on government transparency and anti-corruption.”

And in Finnish:

“Suomen neljäs toimintasuunnitelma keskittyi kestävien avoimen hallinnon käytäntöjen edistämiseen, läpinäkyvyyden tukemiseen sekä avoimeen dataan. Hallinto koostui monipuolisemmasta osallistujien ryhmästä, joka otti osaa toimintasuunnitelman luomiseen yhdessä ja ulotti agendan asettamisen vallan siviileille. Toimintasuunnitelman väli-itsearvioinnissa vuonna 2021 hallinto voisi harkita lobbauksen säätelyn sekä rekisteröintivelvollisuuden laajentamista paikalliselle sekä alueelliselle tasolle ja parantaa tärkeimpien hallinnon avoimuutta ja korruptionvastaisuutta koskevien tietoaineistojen avoimuutta.”

The version of the report for public comment is available in English and in Finnish below. The public comment period closed 17 November 2020.