Implementation Assessment of the Open Government Act (NL0060)

Brief Description of the Commitment

One year after the enactment of the Dutch Open Government Act (Wet open overheid or Woo), an implementation assessment is planned. The implementation assessment is a new evaluation tool aimed at quickly assessing how the implementation has actually taken place and how it is currently progressing. The Woo implementation assessment will take the form of a factual inventory study to identify the challenges and best practices experienced by users and implementers. The research will be carried out by an independent external research agency. At the start of the implementation assessment, a participatory element is ensured at the front end through exploratory discussions with various parties. This allows their input to be taken into account in the survey and interviews. Additionally, the end of the implementation assessment also includes a participatory validation session to brainstorm scenarios with different parties. The implementation assessment is expected to result in an independent report that uncovers the challenges and best practices in the practical application and execution of the Woo. Additionally, the research report should provide concrete recommendations for addressing the identified challenges.

Problem Definition

1. What problem does the commitment aim to address? • The commitment aims to identify the challenges experienced by users and implementers of the Woo. The focus is on uncovering unintended side effects for the users of the law and the feasibility of implementing the Woo for government bodies. Additionally, the research will also gather best practices regarding the Woo from both parties. - Mapping best practices in handling Woo requests is also a proposal put forth by the civil society coalition Talking About Information. This coalition has identified that learning from best practices is relevant for governments to facilitate faster processing of information requests. • The implementation assessment will take the form of an inventory study conducted to identify challenges for the target audience (Woo requesters such as journalists and researchers, as well as citizens) and in the implementation practice (for all parties covered by the Woo: ministries, provinces, municipalities, water authorities, and since the implementation of the Woo, the High Councils of State and the States General). • Although the Woo is a new law, some of the challenges experienced have existed for a longer time as they were also applicable under the Public Access Act (Wet openbaarheid van bestuur or Wob). However, these (older) challenges, if identified by users and/or implementers as challenges of the Woo, will be included in the inventory study of the Woo implementation assessment.

2. What are the causes of the problem? • Many Woo requesters (citizens, journalists, researchers) experience challenges in the implementation of the Woo. The handling of Woo requests often exceeds the legal and/or agreed-upon timeframe, resulting in prolonged waiting periods for requested information. • At the same time, various ministries and other government bodies are currently raising concerns about the feasibility of the current legal framework of the Woo. Due to extensive requests and the broad definition of documents that may be requested under the Woo, government bodies have to gather and evaluate various types of information, which compromises the feasibility of the Woo for these bodies.

Commitment Description

1. What has been done so far to solve the problem? • To gain more insight into the openness of government information in other countries and draw lessons from abroad where possible, several international study visits have been conducted, particularly to Scandinavian countries. • Additionally, Leiden University has conducted an international comparative law study on freedom of information legislation. The purpose of this study is to learn where the Dutch disclosure system could be adjusted to improve both access to government information for everyone and feasibility for government bodies. • The research focuses on how the United Kingdom, Sweden, France, Germany, Estonia, and Slovenia have legally ensured the disclosure of government information at the national level and how this legal framework is implemented in practice.

2. What solution are you proposing? • Currently, there is a lot of attention in politics and the media regarding the challenges surrounding the implementation of the Woo. The implementation assessment aims to directly identify the issues and successes experienced by users and implementers (the “best practices”). This will shed light on the obstacles faced by Woo requesters. The same applies to the challenges faced by different levels of government and how they relate to each other (issues experienced by ministries may not apply to municipalities to the same extent). This factual inventory is crucial for making strategic policy decisions regarding the Woo. • For the implementation assessment of the Woo, it is important to consider all perspectives on the use and implementation of the law. This includes various users and employees in different government bodies, all of whom have valuable insights into various aspects of implementation. • As part of the assessment, concrete recommendations should be provided for the identified challenges based on the factual inventory study. These recommendations should be derived from the outcomes (challenges and best practices) of the implementation assessment. The international comparative law study on freedom of information legislation conducted by Leiden University can be used as input for this purpose.

3. What results do we want to achieve by implementing this commitment? • The inventory study should result in an independent report that highlights the challenges and best practices in the use and implementation of the Woo. It should primarily focus on the experiences of users and implementers of the law, as well as utilize existing quantitative data such as the number of Woo requests, their scope, and the duration of processing. • Additionally, the research report should provide concrete recommendations for the identified challenges, distilled from the outcomes of the implementation assessment, while taking into account the findings of the international comparative law study on freedom of information legislation conducted by Leiden University.

Commitment Analysis

1. How will the commitment promote transparency? An independent research agency will conduct a factual inventory of the challenges and best practices related to the Woo for users and implementers. This will result in a factual inventory study. Based on this study, the research agency will also provide concrete recommendations regarding the identified challenges. These recommendations, along with the further outcomes of the implementation assessment, will serve as input for strategic policy decisions aimed at improving both the access to public information in the Netherlands and the feasibility for governing bodies.

2. How will the commitment help foster accountability? The research report containing the outcomes of the implementation assessment will be submitted to the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK). The Minister of BZK will forward the report to the House of Representatives (Tweede Kamer), making it publicly accessible. Subsequently, it can serve as input for the dialogue between users and implementers of the Woo.

3. How will the commitment improve citizen participation in defining, implementing, and monitoring solutions? To ensure the perspective and experiences of users of the law are included in the inventory study, an adequate number of Woo requesters (citizens, journalists, and researchers) should be consulted about their experiences with the Woo, including both the challenges they have encountered and the best practices they have identified.

Commitment Planning (Milestones | Expected Outputs | Expected Completion Date)

Delivery of research report by research agency | The research report will provide a factual inventory of challenges and best practices among users and implementers of the Woo. Based on this, concrete recommendations will be made for the identified challenges. | 2023