Develop and train citizens in using electronic portal for participation in drafting regulations (RS0045)

What is the public problem that the commitment will address? With the adoption of the Law on the Planning System of the Republic of Serbia and amendments to the Law on Public Administration in 2018, as well as the accompanying bylaws adopted in 2019, consultations were introduced as an additional mechanism for the participation of citizens and other interested members of the public in drafting public policy documents and regulations. In this way, citizens are enabled to participate in the adoption of regulations and public policy documents from the earliest stage of their preparation, in addition to the previously existing opportunity to participate in public debates regarding the draft law. Until the enactment of the mentioned regulations, and in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Public Administration and the Rules of Procedure of the Government, state administration bodies were obliged to publish invitations and reports on public debates in the preparation of draft laws on the national portal eGovernment, while the remaining phases, such as collecting citizens' comments, took place in direct communication between the proposer and the submitter of the comments. With the adoption of new regulations and the introduction of mandatory consultations in the preparation of regulations and public policy documents, but also the mandatory conduct of public debates in the development of public policy documents, the existing eGovernment portal with its functionalities in this domain has become insufficient to adequately address the needs of inclusive and participatory policy making process. In addition to the above-mentioned information, one of the segments of the identified issue has to do with the fact that, in terms of the place of publication of certain content i.e. information related to ongoing public debates and consultations, the existing regulations direct users both to using the proposer's website and to using the current eGovernment portal, resulting in an uneven practice. Finally, the need for additional improvement in this area stems in particular from the circumstances caused by the COVID-19 virus 29 pandemic, as a result of which a significant part of activities in the process of adopting regulations and public policy documents will need to be carried out with all prevention measures in place, especially physical distancing.

What is the commitment? The commitment implies the development and systematic use of the eParticipation portal, as a unique platform for citizen participation and conducting all phases of consultations and public debates in the preparation of regulations and public policy documents, raising the capacities of citizens, CSOs, business sector representatives and other interested members of the public for using this portal, which will be realized within the authority of the Serbian-Korean Information Access Center. Although it can be assessed that certain technical changes to the regulations are needed within this framework, in order for this process to begin as soon as possible, the General Secretariat of the Government will send an appropriate act to all state administration bodies to encourage the systematic use of the eParticipation portal. The expected result consists of the use of the eParticipation portal during the implementation of all regulations and public policy documents’ drafting phases, from announcing the start of work, to inviting and conducting public consultations and public debates, to publishing reports on conducted consultations and public debates. Overall, it is expected that the implementation of this commitment will facilitate the availability, transparency and use of all relevant information by participants in public debates and consultations, and thus raise the level of their quality. The general goal of the commitment is to improve the conditions for public participation in the processes of drafting public policy documents and regulations, as well as the transparency of the processes themselves.

How will the commitment contribute to solving the public problem? The establishment of the new eParticipation portal is in itself a significant contribution to improving public participation in relevant decisionmaking by the authorized institutions. First of all, its development and systematic use enables the electronic conduct of all consultations and public debates phases, provided by the existing regulations. In this way, on the one hand, preconditions are created for more efficient, economical and transparent adoption of regulations and public policy documents, while, on the other hand, it enables citizens to participate and monitor decision-making processes in a simpler way and with investing less resources. In addition, the implementation of training sessions covering the use of the eParticipation portal intended for citizens, civil society and other interested members of the public, which will be realized within the Serbian-Korean Information Access Center, will encourage their 30 participation in decision-making processes while improving the knowledge and skills needed to use this portal. Finally, the commitment holds a special value if we take into account the global situation caused by the COVID-19 virus and the experiences that have shown the need, but also the significant potential that such ways of public participation in decision-making processes bring.

Why is this commitment relevant to OGP values? The commitment is relevant in relation to three key values of the OGP. First of all, the publication of all relevant information on public debates and consultations and their implementation through a single platform improves access to information held by administrative bodies. At the same time, the realization of the commitment enables the public to participate equally and in a unique way in the process of drafting public policy documents and regulations electronically (online), which significantly improves the core value of the Partnership in the form of citizen participation in decision-making processes. As the commitment refers to the implementation of rules, regulations and mechanisms based on which the representatives of the competent state administration bodies are required to respect the adopted manner of communication and involvement of citizens, the commitment is relevant in relation to public accountability . Finally, taking into account that the implementation of the commitment implies unified use of the eParticipation Portal in all phases of drafting public policy documents or regulations, it is relevant in relation to the use of technologies and innovations, as holds additional value in relation to the three basic values of OGP.

Additional information The implementation of the commitment fulfills one of the IRM recommendations which suggested the need for greater use of existing and previously developed mechanisms for the implementation of initiatives that directly engage citizens, such as the official portal for public debates, i.e. eGovernment. The development of the eParticipation Portal was supported within the GIZ project "Support to Public Administration Reform in Serbia."

Milestone Activity with a verifiable deliverable Start date: End date: 1. Established technical possibilities for citizens’ electronic participation in consultations and public debates - eParticipation Portal developed In progress I quarter of 2021 2. Piloting the eParticipation Portal I quarter of 2021 I quarter of 2021 3. Encouraging the systematic use of the eParticipation Portal within the state I quarter of 2021 I quarter of 2021

Action Plan Review

Commitment 3: EParticipation Portal

Commitment cluster 2 and 3: Improved public participation in the creation of public policy

(General Secretariat of the Government; Office of Information Technology and eGovernment; Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government; and GIZ project “Support of the Public Administration Reform in Serbia")

For a complete description of the commitments, see commitment 2 and 3 in the action plan.

Context and objectives

Over the past several years, Serbia has improved its legal framework to better engage the public in the policymaking process. However, despite improvements, the regulatory framework is yet to be implemented consistently, and its impact remains to be seen. [12] Indeed, as established by the Law on the Planning System, the Law on State Administration, and their respective regulations, as of 2019, Serbia’s state administration bodies are required to use the eGovernment portal [13] to consult the public on the preparation of laws, regulations, and policy documents and to report back on these consultations. [14] However, the eGovernment portal lacks the functionality to consistently and effectively accompany all of the consultation processes the law requires. [15]

Commitment 3 seeks to address the portal’s shortcomings by improving its capabilities through the creation of a single platform to enable access to information related to, and a space for, all phases of consultation and public debate to inform national laws, regulation, and policy documents. This is intended to operationalize the administrative bodies’ legal obligations and to improve how the public is engaged in the country’s policymaking process. Meanwhile, commitment 2 seeks to facilitate further improvements by establishing a mechanism to systematically monitor the quality of all consultations and public debate processes.

The Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government (MPALSG) proposed commitment 2 during the co-creation process. In turn, Civic Initiatives, a CSO focusing on promoting democracy and civic education, submitted the original proposal for commitment 3. [16] The commitments are complementary to commitment 14 of the previous action plan to amend the Law on Referendum and Civic Initiatives to electronically enable all existing forms of civic engagement for referendums and civic initiatives. As of early 2021, the draft amendment was still pending an additional round of inter-institutional review and government approval. [17]

Potential for results: Substantial

Currently 50% of adopted laws in Serbia undergo public debate. Meanwhile the percentage of policy documents and regulations that undergo consultations is around 85% and 35%, respectively. [18] Because there is no single system for aggregate data collection on consultations and public debates in the creation of public policy, it is difficult to comprehensively assess how these engagements are conducted. Commitments 2 and 3, thus, constitute an important step in strengthening public participation in the creation of public policy. On one hand, a well thought-out eParticipation platform (commitment 3) could result in the operationalization of administrative bodies’ legal obligations to improve how they inform and engage the public throughout the policy creation process by enabling a central place to conduct this work online. On the other hand, the implementation of a mechanism to systematically monitor the quality of all consultations (commitment 2) could allow the identification of strengths and shortcomings and the implementation of relevant solutions to existing challenges. In turn, better and continuously improving channels for consultations and public debate should help improve Serbians’ participation in the government’s decision-making process. These commitments, thus, represent an important opportunity for the country, as only about 3% of Serbians claim to have ever participated in public debate related to government decisions. [19] Furthermore, these developments could help the relationship the public has with institutions like the government and the Parliament, which currently only around 27% Serbians says they trust. [20] Due to these commitments’ significant relevance and potential reach, the IRM considers them to have the potential to achieve substantial results.

Currently, citizens can share their inputs regarding policy proposals directly to the administrative bodies overseeing the proposals through the webpages of those bodies, and they may only use the eGovernment portal to find out information about consultations and public debates related to these proposals. The eGovernment portal, thus, faces significant limitations to fulfill its mandate. According to Civic Initiatives, one of the main remarks from CSOs about the portal is that it lacks critical material and functionalities necessary for these consultation and public debate processes. [21]

This commitment envisions that the eParticipation platform provide all key material related to each consultation and debate and enable electronic participation in, and monitoring of, the entire policy proposal process. Many of the current portal’s limitations are primarily of a technical nature and include limited visibility, accessibility, and navigability. Among other improvements, the new eParticipation platform could allow administrative bodies overseeing policy proposals to directly manage the consultation and debate procedures, provide feedback on the inputs received, and answer any questions asked throughout these processes. [22] In essence, the new platform could enable administrative bodies to improve the quality of engagement they have with citizens during the consultation and debate of policy proposals. Improvements that could result from the implementation of the eParticipation platform should manifest some improved metrics compared with the current portal. These include the number of visitors to the platform, the average time spent in it, its bounce rate, and the number of returning visitors. But perhaps more significant may be the number of administrative bodies conducting consultation processes on the new platform and the public’s assessment of how well the new platform is informing it about policy proposals, how easy it is for the public to provide feedback, and how easy it is for it to understand how feedback is incorporated.

Although the eParticipation platform could result in important improvements in how the public is engaged online, commitment 2 could lead to the systematic monitoring of the quality of public participation, online or otherwise, in the creation of public policy. The insights drawn from this monitoring could help inform further improvements, which should in turn contribute to more effective participation from the public.

Opportunities, challenges, and recommendations during implementation

The implementation of these commitments could result in both an enabling platform to better engage the public in policymaking, as mandated by law, and in a mechanism to assess the quality of these engagements. However, the existence of this platform and mechanism does not necessarily guarantee improved citizen engagement. For the eParticipation commitment to achieve its full potential, the government will need to ensure that a wide number of administrative bodies adopt the platform, that the public knows about and understands how to engage through the portal and, ultimately, that it is motivated to do so. Similarly, it will be critical for the monitoring commitment to not only institutionalize its mechanism but also to lay the ground for improvements of the mechanism itself. To ensure these determining factors, the IRM recommends the following:

Ensure the institutionalization of the monitoring mechanism for public participation and plan to strengthen it with future improvements. Though it is understood that the commitment seeking to establish this monitoring mechanism anticipates that the mechanism will be permanent, the milestones, as stated, exclusively guide actions for the year 2021. For the commitment to fulfill its potential the mechanism should continue operating in the future, so actions to ensure that the mechanism is institutionalized should be taken either in this action plan cycle or in the next one. Furthermore, the mechanism should plan for future improvements to increase its influence. One possible route for strengthening it may be that, beyond monitoring, the mechanism eventually conducts evaluations of topics dealing with public participation in the creation of public policy, as needed.

Results Report

Commitment 3. eParticipation portal

● Verifiable: Yes

● Does it have an open government lens? Yes

● This commitment has been clustered as: Improved public participation in the creation of public policy

● Potential for results: Substantial

● Completion: Complete

● Did it open government? Marginal

Commitment cluster 2 and 3: Improved public participation in the creation of public policy (General Secretariat of the Government; Public Policy Secretariat; Office of Information Technologies and eGovernment; Ministry of Public Administration and Local Self-Government; and GIZ project “Support of the Public Administration Reform in Serbia")

Context and Objectives:

Under this cluster, the General Secretariat aimed to create a central e-participation portal (“eConsultations”) for administrative bodies to improve public participation throughout the policy cycle. [1] Commitment 2 involved collecting data from eConsultations on public debates and consultations in drafting regulations and policy documents for the Report on the Government's work for 2021. Commitment 3 envisaged creating and piloting eConsultations, as well as organizing trainings for citizens on how to use eConsultations.

Did It Open Government? Marginal

Of the envisioned activities, half were substantially or fully completed. [2] In connection with Commitment 3, the Government passed the “Decision on the establishment of the eConsultation Portal” (Official Gazette of RS, No. 62/21). [3] The Public Policy Secretariat (PPS) launched and piloted eConsultations in December 2021. [4] The General Secretariat, PPS and the Office for Information Technologies and e-Government sent a joint letter to all ministries and special organizations reminding them of the obligation to use eConsultations in accordance with the aforementioned decision. [5] Regarding Commitment 2, which aimed to monitor the effects of eConsultations, the General Secretariat did not include data from eConsultations in the 2021 Annual Report because eConsultation was established only in December 2021. [6] The implementation of other activities remained limited, including amendments to the instructions for the creation of the annual report, data collection on consultations and processing, and publishing the report with data from eConsultations. Despite the intention of the General Secretariat to add an annex to the report where all data stemming from eConsultations across all ministries would be available, some information on public participation was spread over the 2,000-page Report on the Government’s Annual Work Plan instead. [7]

By December 2022, only a limited number of citizens had registered on eConsultations and actively participate in decision-making processes since it was launched in December 2021. [8] Moreover, interviewed civil society stakeholders noted that, in practice, civil servants are still not fully trained to use eConsultations. [9] The lack of training on eConsultations for civil servants is reflected in the fact that documents not intended for public consultations are often published on eConsultations. [10]

This cluster was a step toward greater government openness, but its impact on citizen participation so far remains marginal. After a year of operation, eConsultations has not attracted many citizens and CSOs to participate in policy-making processes. [11] The General Secretariat has not published official data on the impact of eConsultations on public policy-making, and statistics on public consultations. Moreover, the challenges foreseen in the IRM Action Plan Review turned out to be stumbling blocks, notably insufficient human resources and trained administrative staff in state bodies, as well as a lack of awareness among citizens to participate in online consultations. Nonetheless, in its 2022 Report on Serbia, the European Commission noted that the scope of public consultations in Serbia has improved overall. [12]

Looking Ahead:

Although eConsultations has been operational for only one year, key deficiencies are already noted. By addressing these deficiencies in the coming years, eConsultations could yield better public participation. Specifically, the IRM recommends 1) promoting eConsultations among citizens to increase quantity and quality of their participation; 2) ensuring that each public institution is allocated enough human resources to use eConsultations effectively; and 3) carrying out additional training for administrative staff within state bodies to use eConsultations in accordance with the legal framework.