Establishing an Institutionalised Space for Open Government Dialogue (FR0112)

What is the issue that the commitment will address?

Since joining the Open Government Partnership in 2014, France has still not met the OGP requirement to set up a framework for co-creation between government and civil society. It was therefore both necessary and useful for France to establish a space for dialogue and co-creation between government departments and civil society organisations and coordinate a community of OGP members.

What is the commitment?

Title: Establish an institutionalised space for open government dialogue and action between government actors and organised civil society (i.e. a “multistakeholder forum”) and provide long-term coordination

Description: Hosted by the Economic, Social and Environmental Council (CESE) – the institution for citizen participation and organised civil society – the Open Government Forum will be France’s space for governance in the OGP, drawing inspiration from the OGP model in other countries and forums set up by other members. The Forum will have several goals: co-create National Action Plans in line with the government’s priority policy areas, monitor and steer the implementation of commitments and report on and assess actions carried out. It will be co-chaired by a government actor and a member of civil society elected at the first plenary session. The secretariat will be provided by the Ministry for Democratic Renewal, which is responsible for the OGP, and the CESE, which convenes the government departments and drafts and approves the agendas agreed on jointly with the management committee. The management committee will be made up of the chairperson(s) and four members from civil society and government, elected for a two-year term at a plenary session. Members of civil society will be selected from a call for applications or appointed directly depending on the needs identified by the thematic working groups.

How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem?

Based on the models used by neighbouring countries and the OGP’s recommendations, there are two types of meetings: • Plenary sessions. Planned frequency: Twice a year Goals: Report on the work carried out and take decisions about forum governance and operating procedures (management committee members, priorities examined by working groups, etc.) • Thematic working groups. Planned frequency: Once a quarter Goal: Draft and work on a common roadmap to implement commitments Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values? This commitment is relevant because it institutionalises the co-creation process for the National Action Plan, the monitoring of the implementation of commitments and the accountability requirement.

What are the expected impacts?

• Allow government actors to (1) benefit from each other’s input by regularly sharing experiences and best practice and (2) interact with civil society and watch what civil society is doing in order to design government action that is more aligned with citizens’ actual needs

• Strengthen collaboration between government and civil society

• Promote open government values and practices by engaging with new government actors and civil society within the framework of the forum

Milestones

• February 2024: Establish a multi-stakeholder working group to approve the procedures for the forum’s governance, selection of members and operating model

• H1 2024: Start the first plenary session

• H2 2024: Set up the first thematic working groups