Support program for open territorial collectivities (MO0065)

Challenge:

The adoption of the Constitution in 2011 marked a significant shift for the Kingdom of Morocco, placing participatory democracy, good governance, and accountability at the forefront of priorities. These principles were translated into a series of reforms, including:
▪ Organic laws related to territorial collectivities in 2015.
▪ Law 31-13 on the right of access to information in 2018.
▪ Law 54.19 on the public services charter in 2021.

The new development model of 2021, resulting from a consultative process among all vital forces of the Kingdom, encouraged the adoption of open government principles. The Kingdom's territorial organisation is decentralised and based on advanced regionalisation. According to Chapter 135 of the Constitution, Morocco's local authorities include:
▪ 12 Regions
▪ 75 Prefectures and Provinces
▪ 1,503 Communes

As part of its mandate to support local authorities, the General Directorate of Territorial Collectivities of the Ministry of Interior has dedicated one of its strategic pillars to strengthening and consolidating principles of openness at the territorial level. In this context, the Support Programme for Open Territorial Collectivities (PACTO) was launched in September 2022 by the General Directorate of Territorial Collectivities, in partnership with the Association of Moroccan Regions and Impact Association for Development, to institutionalise and consolidate principles of openness among Moroccan local authorities. This is achieved by mobilising collective intelligence to develop, implement, monitor, and evaluate openness programmes in a participatory manner for open and inclusive territorial development, involving territorial actors in spaces of exchange and dialogue. As part of this programme, the Moroccan Network of Open Territorial Collectivities (REMACTO) was created in October 2022. It comprises 63 territorial collectivities (12 regions, 4 provinces, and 47 communes). A dedicated digital space for the network has been developed and integrated into the national portal of local authorities: https://ctouvertes.collectivites-territoriales.gov.ma/index.php?lang=fr. This platform serves as a space for information and participation of citizens and civil society in the development, monitoring, and evaluation of openness programmes of local authorities. It is also a space for exchanging and sharing good practices, where each local authority member of the network benefits from a dedicated space. Among the 63 territorial collectivitiesthat have joined the network, 52 have developed their openness programmes, of which 45 have been adopted by the elected councils. These programmes have generated nearly 400 openness projects. Through PACTO, Morocco won an honorary prize at the World Summit of the Open Government Partnership in Estonia in 2023. Despite these achievements, several challenges remain, including:
▪ Disparities in the institutionalisation and implementation of openness principles at the territorial level.
▪ The need for collective effort among territorial collectivities and civil society actors to achieve effective local development, taking into account the priorities of the population and involving them in finding solutions tailored to their needs.
▪ The generalisation of institutionalisation and the consecration of openness principles, given the number of Moroccan local authorities.

Proposed solution:

Under this commitment, the principles of openness will be strengthened and institutionalised at the territorial level through spaces of exchange and dialogue between territorial collectivities and civil society organisations. This will involve co-creation, co-monitoring, and co-evaluation of openness programmes, as well as expanding the Moroccan network of open territorial collectivities for learning and sharing experiences and best practices.

Scheduled Activities (Activity | Start Date | End Date)

Expansion of the Moroccan network of open territorial collectivities by enrolling 63 new territorial collectivities (3 prefecture and province councils, and 60 communes) | January 2024 | January 2024
Organisation of a regional communication meeting on the support programme for open territorial collectivities | February 2024 | February 2024
Organisation of training workshops for territorial collectivities and consultative bodies on the methodology of co-constructing openness programmes | February 2024 | February 2024
Co-construction of openness programmes for the second group, first phase: collection of ideas and proposals in person and via the digital platform | March 2024 | May 2024
Co-construction of openness programmes for the second group, second phase: consultation on the draft openness programme in person and via the digital platform | May 2024 | June 2024
Organisation of a training session for trainers for 20 focal points of the programme on facilitating multi-stakeholder workshops to support and assist territorial collectivities joining the programme in managing their openness processes | September 2024 | September 2024
Approval of openness programmes by local authorities | December 2024 | December 2024
Self-evaluation of the support programme for open territorial collectivities and openness programmes Launch of a call for new territorial collectivities to join the programme | January 2025 | March 2025

Expected results:
▪ Strengthened trust between citizens and territorial collectivities.
▪ Increased citizen involvement in identifying needs and finding appropriate solutions.
▪ Improved quality of public services and territorial development projects and programmes.

Performance indicators:
▪ Number of new territorial collectivities joining REMACTO.
▪ Number of territorial collectivities supported.
▪ Number of openness programmes developed.
▪ Number of territorial collectivities adopting their openness programmes.

Impact indicators:
▪ Institutionalisation of openness at the territorial collectivities level.
▪ PACTO’s contribution to strengthening openness at the national level.