Promoting a new model of transparency (IT0088)

Problem addressed:

The concept of transparency is not static but changes over time based on listening needs and new societal and citizen demands. The growing awareness of social bodies and citizens of the importance of voicing their opinions on administrative and public policy choices that affect social, environmental, and economic well-being and quality of life brings with it a new need for knowledge and transparency focused on real and usable data that measure the actual public value produced. The current configuration of transparency in our country, which mainly focuses on administrative acts but not on their results, does not adequately meet this need. The data and information subject to publication are often incomprehensible to non-experts, are not processed to facilitate consultation, do not concern the effects of administrative choices and policies made by administrations and public bodies, and are often not homogeneous and, therefore, not comparable. Furthermore, the "Transparent Administration" section provided by Legislative Decree No. 33/2013 does not provide spaces for participation. It currently contains some of the least consulted information on PA websites and does not provide elaborations that facilitate the real understanding of facts, representing a particularly burdensome administrative burden for entities. For these reasons, it is necessary for the Forum for Open Government and the OGP Community to actively participate in rethinking and improving the current transparency model, proposing a new configuration based on public value knowledge and informed citizen participation, and promoting the experimentation of dashboards and "smart transparency" digital tools. This does not mean reducing transparency spaces but increasing their usability and utility for citizens, PAs, and central institutions.

Description of the commitment:

The main goal is divided into two macro-activities, which are closely related to each other. The second represents the first concrete experimentation of some elements of the model provided by the first. 1) "New Transparency Model": Preparation of a hypothesis for a comprehensive revision of the transparency model in force for public administrations, rationalising obligations, privileging the knowledge of data/indicators on the public value produced, providing web spaces for comparison and civic participation, rationalising and simplifying the information/data published, with interoperability of the information heritage available to national databases. The expected result is a technical proposal from the OGF that is decisive in the current debate and in the subsequent legislative reform process. 2) "Experimentation of dashboards for transparency": Experimentation of dashboards and platforms for reuse and publication of data from national databases to improve their comprehensibility even in a benchmarking logic, knowledge of the progress of policy implementation, and simplification of publication burdens for entities. The expected result is the design of new digital tools, such as a dashboard, and the expansion of the number of administrations that decide to experiment with their use.

How will the commitment address the problem?

1) "New Transparency Model": The proposal for a new transparency model will contribute to promoting the modeling and creation of types of websites focused on citizen participation, the knowledge of public value and the impacts of policies on the territory, and the quality of life of citizens, thus contributing to the implementation of the democratic principle and the strengthening of the principles of good governance and effectiveness in the use of public resources. 2) "Experimentation of dashboards for transparency: The introduction of new methods for disseminating data represents a decisive step towards promoting real transparency of public policies and the use of resources. In this regard, the experimentation of dashboards and tools for the reuse of public data is a first step towards the simplification, standardisation and comparability of the information published by PAs on their websites. In addition, these tools guarantee better administrative sustainability of publication burdens with particular regard to smaller entities, even in a glocal perspective of the territories.

Why is the commitment relevant to the OGP values?

Participation, accountability and transparency are the principles that guide this commitment in full coherence with OGP values. The introduction of the concept of Public Value provided for by the PIAO "Integrated Plan of Activities and Organisation" ex art. 6 of Legislative Decree 81/2021 (PNRR milestone) has consolidated a trend, already emerged for some time and consistent with the European approach, to measure and evaluate the work of public administrations based on the final results and the impacts of policies on citizens rather than based on the administrative acts produced. This new paradigm also impacts citizens' need for knowledge, which is increasingly focused on the effects of the entities' administrative choices on the quality of their own lives and on social, environmental, and economic well-being. Moreover, the knowledge of the effects of public policy choices fully contributes to implementing the democratic principle, which is included among the cornerstones of transparency provided by Legislative Decree no. 33/2013 (art. 1 para. 2). The commitment will contribute to promoting the transparency and usability of essential data on public value, final results, and the impacts that public spending produces. This will guarantee conscious participation in activities, inclusiveness, and civic monitoring, also through dashboards that can be consulted and based on certified data consistent with OGP values. It will also allow a sort of comparative self-diagnosis to support PAs.

Description of the activies and outputs:

1. New transparency model:
Start of a study on a new transparency model by the Open Government Forum, Preparation of a proposal by the OGF
Output: Proposal document (March 2025)
Submission for consultation to the OGP Community
Output: Consultation report and proposal document (June 2025)
Presentation of the proposal to ANAC, the Public Administration Department, the
Conference of Regions, UPI and ANCI
Output: Presentation event program (October 2025)
Dissemination of the OGF/OGP proposal through a national conference with the presence of the main interlocutors in the matter
Output: Conference (April 2026)
2. Dashboard experimentation
Analysis and verification of dashboards
Output: Analysis report (December 2024)
Dissemination of the experimentation
Output: Program of initiatives to promote the use of the dashboard (February 2025)
Final evaluation of the outcome of the experimentation
Output: Evaluation report (June 2026)