United Kingdom Design Report 2019-2021 – For Public Comment

In 2021, 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 the United Kingdom’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... (2019-2021). The report covers the development of the action plan and the design of its commitments.

In the United Kingdom, the IRM researcher Rebecca Rumbal’s findings are summarized below:

“The United Kingdom (UK)’s fourth action plan largely continues the themes from previous plans, and includes commitments to open up data, participation and policy-making processes. Political uncertainty 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... due to the ongoing Brexit negotiations delayed finalisation of the action plan and limited the scope of the commitments. For the next action plan, the UK could consider ensuring timely responses to freedom of information requests, as well as public oversight of public procurementTransparency in the procurement process can help combat corruption and waste that plagues a significant portion of public procurement budgets globally. Technical specifications: Commitments that aim t... and contracts related to COVID-19 response and recovery.”

The version of the report for public comment is available below. The two-week public comment period closed 21 January 2021.