Portugal Action Plan Review 2023-2027

In its third cycle, Portugal opted for a four-year 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... that provides continuity to open government reforms amid changes in the country’s political leadership. Promising commitments seek to better implement access-to-information 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... by enhancing capacity buildingEnhancing the skills, abilities, and processes of public servants, civil society, and citizens is essential to achieving long-lasting results in opening government. Technical specifications: Set of ac... of public officials, particularly at the local level. Many of the plan’s commitments lack 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..., focusing on ongoing efforts and training public officials. Moving forward, Portugal has the opportunity to revise the plan to strengthen its potential for results, and revitalize the National Network for Open Administration.

Portugal’s third action plan is its first to undertake a four-year period. Five of its seven commitments address similar policy areas as previous action plans, aimed at continuing to improve compliance with the access-to-information law, develop transparency portals, and increase available information on the State’s structure and tax matters. Two commitments introduce new policy areas, seeking to intensify corruption prevention in the public sector and educate citizens on participatory democracy. All but one commitment focus on training public officials and disseminating open government principles within the public administration.^[1]

For clarity of analysis, this report clusters Commitments 2 and 3, which plan for promising efforts to improve compliance with the access to information law. The cluster intends to increase the number of government entities that have appointed Persons Responsible for Access to Information by holding trainings to raise public officials’ awareness of their legal responsibilities. This cluster has modest potential for results, as achieving full compliance may require wider changes to aspects of the legal and institutional framework for access to information in Portugal.

Overall, this action plan is less ambitious than Portugal’s previous plans, with no commitments that have substantial potential for results. The commitments focus on first steps, like transparency portals and trainings, but lack milestones to enact change, for instance through civic monitoring. The Agency for Administrative Modernization (AMA) see the action plan as responding to citizen priorities through the commitments’ continuity with previous initiatives. However, civil society organizations expected more innovative contributions to projects underway, and more ambitious areas of reform.[2] Government and civil society stakeholders acknowledge that commitments would benefit from concretizing their milestones further, focusing on actionability.[3]

AMA led development of these commitments, along with the National Network for Open Administration (RNAA), Portugal’s multi-stakeholder forum. In January 2024, after the plan was adopted, AMA relocated from the Prime Minister’s office to the new Ministry of Youth and Modernization, and the OGP Point of Contact shifted to LabX, within AMA.[4] RNAA continues to comprise seven members from public entities and three from civil society. Since the previous action plan cycle, government and civil society stakeholders have agreed that there is need to revitalize RNAA by including more public entities and civil society organizations, reducing dependence on AMA, and building a wider network of diverse and engaged stakeholders.[5]

The co-creation process occurred over a short four-month period, interrupted by the President’s unexpected dissolution of Parliament and call for elections. It began with an RNAA consultation about possible commitments. To gather wider public input, three workshops were held in November 2023, and a 10-day survey elicited 112 responses. Government entities also offered input, and commitments were drafted based on the government proposals. In December, these draft commitments were shared with RNAA for feedback and opened for a one-week public consultation—from 21 to 27 December—that received no comments. RNAA adopted the action plan on the following day, 28 December.^[6] AMA highlighted strong engagement with national associations for municipalities and parishes.[7] However, given that civil society proposals were not included in the final commitments, civil society stakeholders did not feel the co-creation process provided space for meaningful contributions, and noted the need for inclusion in meetings with implementing entities.[8] These shortcomings led to less ambitious commitments than the previous action plan.

The development of Portugal’s third action plan did not meet the minimum requirementsAll OGP participating countries are expected to adhere to the Participation and Co-Creation Standards. Each Standard includes clear and measurable minimum requirements that all OGP participating count... of the OGP Participation & Co-Creation Standards as it did not publish a co-creation timeline or overview of opportunities for stakeholders to participate. OGP instituted a 24-month grace period to ensure a fair and transparent transition to these updated standards. As this action plan was co-created in 2023, it falls within the grace period and accordingly, the procedural consequences that normally attach to non-compliance with the standards do not apply here.

AMA is considering revisions to the action plan.[9] As they point out, the strength of a four-year period can be less dependence on the political cycle and more ownership by the public sector’s technical staff.[10] Given that this is Portugal’s first four-year plan, the IRM recommends amendments to raise its potential for results. For commitments that carry forward existing programs, stakeholders could consider pathways to generate ambitious change beyond work already underway. Meanwhile, commitments that focus on dissemination and training for public entities could adopt related reforms, integrating civil society and the public. In addition to strengthening existing commitments, RNAA could consider incorporating new commitments, like those proposed by civil society during the co-creation process on disclosure of political agendas, the beneficial ownership registry, or citizen monitoring of public funds.[11] To ensure successful results, 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... leads can also provide a clear role for civil society in implementation and monitoring. The Ministry of 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 ... and LabX’s new roles in OGP could be an opportunity to boost participatory tools and prioritize youth engagement.

Promising Commitments in Portugal’s 2023–2027 Action Plan

The following review looks at the two clustered commitments that the IRM has identified as having the potential to realize the most promising results. Promising commitments address a policy area that is important to stakeholders or the national context. They must be verifiable, have a relevant open government lens, and have modest or substantial potential for results. This review also provides an analysis of challenges, opportunities, and recommendations to contribute to the learning and implementation process of the action plan.

Table 1. Promising commitments

[1]Portugal Action Plan 2023-2027 (OGP, 29 Jan. 2024), https://www.opengovpartnership.org/documents/portugal-action-plan-2023-2027-december/.

[2] Luis Vidigal (Platform of Civil Society Associations – House of Citizenship), interview by IRM researcher, 12 Apr. 2024; Karina Carvalho (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 International Portugal), interview by IRM researcher, 16 Apr. 2024; Jorge Lagarto and Paulo Francisco (Point of Contact team at LabX), interview by IRM researcher, 6 May 2024; and Sérgio Pepo Ramos (former Point of Contact at AMA), interview by IRM researcher, 9 May 2024.

[3]Id.

[4] LabX is a center for public sector innovation integrated in the Agency for Administrative Modernization (AMA). It has been engaged in the OGP process since the first action plan, and will oversee implementation of the third action plan. The LabX team is the current OGP Point of Contact, including Jorge Lagarto (LabX director), Patrícia Paralta, and Beatriz Silva. See https://labx.gov.pt/.

[5] National Network for Open Administration (RNAA), “XXI Reunião da Rede Nacional de

Administração Aberta [Minutes of the 21^st multistakeholder forum meeting]” (Apr. 2023), https://ogp.eportugal.gov.pt/documents/48760/0/Ata_1+-+XXI+Reuni%C3%A3o+RNAA_27042023_V1_cada.pdf/8e8c266e-b4b4-4ad1-6fe9-9088a3b13c6e; RNAA, “ XXII Reunião da Rede Nacional de

Administração Aberta [Keynotes of the 22^nd multistakeholder forum meeting]” (Aug. 2023), https://ogp.eportugal.gov.pt/documents/48760/0/XXII_reuniao_29082023+%281%29.pdf/c1f447eb-aefe-7ae8-a68e-91908a18ea46; Lagarto and Francisco, interview; Ramos, interview.

[6] Ramos, interview.

[7] Sérgio Pepo Ramos (former Point of Contact at AMA), email to RNAA, 20 Dec. 2023; Ramos, interview.

[8] Karina Carvalho (TI Portugal), email response to Point of contact and RNAA members, 21 Dec. 2023; Luis Vidigal (PASC), email response to Point of contact and RNAA members, 22 Dec. 2023; Vidigal, interview.

[9] RNAA, “XXV Reunião Rede de Administração Aberta [XXV Open Administration Network Meeting]” (virtual: Teams, 28 Dec. 2023), https://ogp.eportugal.gov.pt/documents/48760/0/Ata_XXV+Reuni%C3%A3o+RNAA_28122023+%282%29.pdf/6fefaf0c-2014-33ab-65da-5ae19130d9d7; Lagarto and Francisco, interview.

[10] Lagarto and Francisco, interview; Ramos, interview.

[11] The following six commitments were proposed by civil society during 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...:

• Platform of Civil Society Associations (PASC):
  • Disclosure of political agendas (from government, parliamentary committees, and municipal presidents).
  • Publicity of plans and reports of public bodies with an indication of non-compliers (related to Commitment #5).
• Transparency International Portugal:
  • Update of the Central Registry of Beneficial Owners (RCBE) to ensure public access (unrestricted and without prior registration) and/or access to people or entities that demonstrate legitimate interest.
  • Support corruption and fraud prevention in the use of public funds by involving citizens and companies in civic monitoring initiatives that reinforce trust in public management.
• ANJE:
  • Enhancing financial and entrepreneurial literacy related to a protocol with the Portuguese Institute for Sports and Youth (IPDJ).
  • Making more services available to companies, in relation with the Institute of Registries and Notary (IRN).

See RNAA, email exchange among RNAA members, 20–22 Dec. 2023; RNAA, “XXV Reunião Rede de Administração Aberta [XXV Open Administration Network Meeting]”.