Declaration of Principles for Interaction and Dialogue with NGOs (NO0043)

NGOs are independent players in civil society. At the same time, Norway has a long
tradition for close interaction between the voluntary sector and the public authorities in
a number of different areas. In order to promote greater predictability and a common
understanding in the interaction and dialogue between the authorities and the NGOs, a
declaration of principles is to be prepared. The declaration of principles is to include the
role of the NGOs in Norwegian society and the special characteristics of voluntary
work. The declaration of principles will be based on the fundamental principles laid
down in the Council of Europe’s “Code of Good Practice for Civil Participation in the
Decision-Making Process” prepared by international NGOs
The Ministry of Culture has responsibility for the work on a declaration of principles for interaction and dialogue with NGOs. The declaration of principles will be submitted to the Government.

8. Declaration of principles for interaction and dialogue with NGOs

Commitment Text:

NGOs are independent players in civil society. At the same time, Norway has a long tradition for close interaction between the voluntary sector and the public authorities in a number of different areas. In order to promote greater predictability and a common understanding in the interaction and dialogue between the authorities and the NGOs, a declaration of principles is to be prepared. The declaration of principles is to include the role of the NGOs in Norwegian society and the special characteristics of voluntary work. The declaration of principles will be based on the fundamental principles laid down in the Council of Europe’s “Code of Good Practice for Civil Participation in the Decision-Making Process” prepared by international NGOs.

COMMITMENT DESCRIPTION
The Ministry of Culture has responsibility for the work on a declaration of principles for interaction and dialogue with NGOs. The declaration of principles will be submitted to the Government.

KEY IMPACT BENCHMARK
Work is to be started on a declaration of principles for dialogue and interaction with voluntary organizations.

Responsible institution: Ministry of Culture

Supporting institution(s): None

Start date: 1 January, 2013              End date: 31 December, 2014

Editorial note: The text of the commitments was abridged for formatting reasons. For the full text of the commitment, please see http://bit.ly/1QlVIja.

Policy Aim

There is a strong practice of civil society engagement by the Norwegian government, though it tends to happen in an ad hoc manner across various agencies and institutions, depending on specific political processes and individual relationships. In December 2013, the Association of NGOs in Norway (Frivillighet Norge) issued 11 demands for simplification in the relations between Norwegian government and civil society.^{[Note 44: ”Frivillighet Norges elleve krav til forenkling og avbyråkratisering,” Frivillighet Norge, December 6, 2013, accessed September 9, 2016, http://bit.ly/L6ph8Y. ]} This commitment aims to prepare a Declaration of Principles for Interaction and Dialogue with NGOs in direct response to these demands.

Status

Mid-term: Substantial
A draft of the Declaration of Principles for Interaction and Dialogue with NGOs was published in December 2014. ^{[Note 45: “Regjeringens frivillighetserklæring,” Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation, December 5, 2014, accessed September 8, 2016, https://www.regjeringen.no/no/aktuelt/Regjeringens-frivillighetserklaring/id2343197/. ]} The draft was prepared, but not finalized, resulting in substantial completion of the commitment. Civil society representatives were invited to provide feedback on the declaration by early 2015.

End-of-term: Complete
127 civil society organizations participated in the consultation on the draft declaration by offering comments on the draft, which are available as individual files on the government’s website.^{[Note 46: ”Høring – Frivillighetserklæringen,” Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation, December 5, 2014, accessed September 8, 2016, https://www.regjeringen.no/no/dokumenter/Horing---Frivillighetserklaringen/id2342823/. ]} The consultation period ended in March 2015, after the action plan implementation period.

Did it open government?

Civic participation: Marginal

It is not clear that this commitment had a significant impact on opening government. Though this declaration is a positive first step towards simplifying relations between government and Norwegian civil society, interviews conducted in preparation of this report confirm that this will not enable interaction for additional actors, dramatically reform the premises on which civil society and government interact, or otherwise be a “game changer” for civic participation in Norway.^{[Note 47: Stian Slotterøy Johnsen (General Secretary, Norwegian Association of Voluntary Organizations), interview by Christopher Wilson, phone interview, September 13, 2016.]} On the other hand, government focal points report significant attention and coordination initiated across government agencies, including working groups and the contributions of input from other government agencies, to the draft declaration.^{[Note 48: ”Høring – Frivillighetserklæringen.” ]} The IRM researcher understands this to constitute a positive, but marginal, improvement in civic participation.^{[Note 49: Håvard Bjerke (Legal Adviser, Ministry of Justice), interview by Christopher Wilson, phone interview, September 8, 2016.]}

Civil society appears generally satisfied that the government is working towards simplification, but notes that work is proceeding slower than it should.^{[Note 50: See for example, the 2015 annual assessment released by the Norwegian Association of NGOs, “Statusrapport for frivilligheten: Frivillighet Norges årsrapport 2015,” Frivillighet Norge (2015), p 10, accessed September 9, 2016, http://www.frivillighetnorge.no/filestore/Dokumenter/200982-FrivillighetNorgeArsrapport2015_V6.pdf. ]} A representative for the Norwegian Association of NGOs noted that, while a declaration is positive, much of the language remains quite abstract and lacks details, and that a binding contract between the civil society sector and national and municipal governments would be a more powerful mechanism for enhancing accountability and cooperation than a declaration. Notably, this representative also suggested that this declaration might not have been produced without the international attention associated with the OGP.

Carried forward?

This commitment has not been carried forward in the Norwegian government’s third national action plan, which is available on the OGP website.^{[Note 51: ”Norway’s third action plan Open Government Partnership (OGP),” Ministry of Local Government and Modernisation, accessed September 4, 2016, http://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2001/01/Norway_2016-17_NAP.pdf.]}