Development of Online Petition Platform (BG0090)

What is the public problem being addressed by the measure? The citizens have the constitutional right to submit petitions with requests of public importance to the state bodies. The institutions are obliged to guarantee and create conditions for the citizens to be able to exercise their rights. The development of contemporary public relations requires the implementation of the petition right to also be possible online. Currently there are private unrecognized by the state bodies platforms, which the citizens use to initiate petitions and gather support for them. These platforms don’t guarantee the commitment of the respective state body to get acquainted with the request, there are no rules what actions the respective body will take in case of a given number of collected signatures for a petition. So the lack of conditions set by the institutions for exercising this right makes it an inefficient tool for civil participation.

What does the measure consist of? The measure consists of the following specific areas of activity: • Creation of a work group by order of the Administration of the Council of Ministers headed by the MEG and with the participation of representatives of the administration of the Council of Ministers, the National Assembly, civil organizations and IT specialists with experience in the development of tools for civil participation, • Analysis and development of a task (specification) with the relevant functionalities necessary to fulfill the objectives of the platform. 46 • Development of a template with the functionalities of the platform to allow its use by various administrations of state bodies at the national and local level. • Adapting the portal template for online petitions to government and parliament • Construction and adoption of uniform rules and security in the procedures for exercising the right to online petitions • Conduct an information campaign to promote the page for submitting online petitions to the government and parliament

How will the implementation of the measure contribute to solving the problem? Citizens will have access to a secure online petition platform, which is recognized by government authorities as a tool for realizing their constitutional right to send their requests to them and gather additional public support. State bodies will have direct access to citizens' proposals and requests, which they will use as a source for the policies and legislative changes needed and desired by citizens. The platform will guarantee predictability and transparency in the behavior of government bodies when sending an online petition to them.

How does the measure relate to the values of the initiative? The measure directly affects the increase of citizen participation, as it includes the necessary creation by the state of appropriate conditions for the exercise of the rights of citizens to participate in decision-making.

More information (including budget for implementation of the measure) Indicative budget for the implementation of the measure up to BGN 60,000.

Activities for and measurable results of the implementation of the measure: Starting date Date of completion of activity: Creation of a work group by order of the Administration of the Council of Ministers headed by the MEG and with the participation of representatives of the administration of the Council of Ministers, the National Assembly, civil organizations and IT specialists with experience in the 08.2022 09.2022 47 development of tools for civil participation Analysis and development of a task (specification) with the relevant functionalities necessary to fulfill the objectives of the platform 10.2022 12.2022 Carrying out a procedure for awarding the development of a template and concluding a contract with a selected contractor, according to the Law on Public Procurements (LPP) 01.2023 04.2023 Development of a template with the functionalities of the platform to allow its use by various administrations of state bodies at the national and local level. 05.2023 09.2023 Adapting the portal template for online petitions to government and parliament 10.2023 12.2023 Construction and adoption of uniform rules and security in the procedures for exercising the right to online petitions 10.2023 12.2023 Planning and conducting an information campaign to promote the page for submitting online petitions to the government and parliament 10.2023 02.2024

Action Plan Review

Commitment 12. Developing a Template for Online Petitions

● Verifiable: Yes

● Does it have an open government lens? Yes

● Potential for results: Modest