Promoting OGP Values Among Local Authorities (AL0034)

The Minister of State for Innovation and Public Administration in cooperation with the Minister for Local Affairs and the open government partnership coalition of civil society organization will undertake together the commitment to promote and engage local authorities in the OGP values. This commitment was proposed by civil society organizations with the aim to introduce and promote the core value of OGP also in the governance of local authorities. The aim is to reinforce the participatory mechanism and built open governance also in the local level. Some of the actions that will be undertaken are promoting activities, legal modifications to promote transparency and other OGP values.

For Commitment details, see Albania Mid-Term Report 2014-2016.

Commitment 1.4. Promoting OGP Values among Local Authorities

Commitment Text: The Minister of State for Innovation and Public Administration in cooperation with the Minister for Local Affairs and the open government partnership coalition of civil society organization will undertake together the commitment to promote and engage local authorities in the OGP values. This commitment was proposed by civil society organizations with the aim to introduce and promote the core value of OGP also in the governance of local authorities. The aim is to reinforce the participatory mechanism and built open governance also in the local level. Some of the actions that will be undertaken are promoting activities, legal modifications to promote transparency and other OGP values.

Responsible institution(s): Minister of State for Innovation and Public Administration and the Minister of State for Local Affairs

Supporting institution(s): CSO Coalition for OGP Albania

Start date: 2014 End date: 2016

Commitment Aim:

This commitment aims to promote OGP values among local governments. As written, the commitment only describes activity “to promote and engage local authorities in the OGP values,” and it does not include specific activities or intended results.

Status

Midterm: Not started

At the one-year mark, no progress was made. The minister of innovation and public administration, the minister of local affairs, and CSOs have not taken any steps. The government’s self-assessment report noted that the implementation of this commitment has not started despite attempts by the CSO coalition to raise funds. ^{IRM progress report, http://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2001/01/Albania_Second%20IRM%20Report_for%20public%20comment.pdf.}

End of term: Limited

The government’s end-of-term self-assessment states that this commitment was partly implemented. ^{Government of Albania, End-of-term self-assessment (September 2016).} Members of the CSOCoalition for OGP Albania, Institute for Democracy and Mediation (IDM), Mjaft! Movement, and Infocip have implemented specific projects with local government authorities to promote the OGP process and values. ^{Interviews with IDM, Mjaft!, and InfoCip representatives.} Some members of the CSO coalition conducted awareness-raising activities with local government authorities in some municipalities (Shkodra, Fier, etc.). A more systematic and coordinated effort between the central government and the CSO coalition did not take place over the past year (2015–2016).

Did it open government?

Access to information: Marginal

The efforts to promote OGP values among local governments have led to increased awareness among some local governments. Although the efforts of the CSO coalition did not have a direct impact on opening government, they encouraged local government units to initiate the OGP agenda with concrete commitments. The Municipality of Tirana, which became engaged in various OGP events because of increased awareness nationally, offers a positive example of OGP influence through the launch of its Tirana Ime (My Tirana) app: http://www.tirana.al/aplikacioni-tirana-ime/. The app includes six different categories (traffic, transportation, pollution, information, reports, and tourism), and the mayor of Tirana showcased it nationally and globally (including at the OGP Summit in Mexico in October 2015). The “Report” section of the app allows citizens to submit online complaints or other reports on various municipal services.

Carried forward?

This commitment was carried forward in the new action plan. The Ministry of Local Issues and InfoCip, which is a member of the CSO Coalition for OGP Albania, publish central and local government legislation in open systems and for free. InfoCip runs a national portal (http://www.vendime.al) which publishes legal acts adopted by local government units.