Dialogue with Civil Society (SE0020)

• What’s in the 2019 Action PlansSectoral Dialogues with Civil Society (August 1, 2020)

One particular aspect of OGP is precisely the promotion of open and transparent dialogue
with civil society and citizens. In a specific communication, the Government has asserted that
Swedish civil society is fundamentally stable and that Swedish policy has helped to improve
the conditions in which civil society organisations operate, but that Sweden also has
challenges that must be taken seriously, including a lack of public sector awareness of civil
society and its conditions. Conducting an open dialogue between the Government Offices
of Sweden and civil society representatives thus strengthens our OGP commitments and
demonstrates the Government’s desire for collaboration on this issue. It is also necessary to
conduct a dialogue with civil society in order to incorporate a citizen and user-centred
perspective in work going forwards. It is naturally important that input and opinions have
been received ahead of drawing up the OGP Action Plan, but it is at least as urgent, if not
more so, to engage in an ongoing dialogue with civil society in order to pick up on its needs
in practical work in the future.

The Government has developed and implemented a specific method for different forms of
dialogue with civil society known as sakråd, i.e. a focussed discussion seeking to improve the
Government’s underlying decision-making data and improve coordination between ministries
in dialogue with civil society. The Government has also worked with civil society
organisations to reach agreement on dialogue and consultation between the Government and
civil society organisations at national level. The agreement operates under the name Nationellt
organ för dialog och samråd mellan regeringen och det civila samhället (National body for dialogue and
consultation between the Government and civil society) (NOD). NOD aims to solve
problems together and supplement existing dialogue structures, including a formalised
dialogue format with civil society called Partsgemensamt forum (Joint-party forum) (PGF). In
PGF the dialogue itself is key. The intention is for the discussions to help to develop political
work to improve conditions for civil society organisations so that they can give people a
voice, provide services to their members and provide welfare services.

Twice per calendar year, the State is to invite participants to a relevant dialogue in such
formalised focussed discussions to obtain civil society input on the opportunities and
challenges of digitisation, especially linked to open data, innovation and collaboration. The
dialogue meetings must be documented. A final report with results, a summary and lessons
learned from the dialogues must be drawn up by the Ministry of Infrastructure.
• Responsible actor: Government Offices of Sweden (Ministry of Infrastructure).
• Other actors: Ministry of Culture, DIGG and other government agencies and
organisations affected.
• Report to be submitted by: December 15th, 2021.
• Contributes towards OGP principles: Transparency, Technology and Innovation,
Participation.

4. Dialogue with civil society on the opportunities of digitisation, open data and collaboration

Main Objective

"One particular aspect of OGP is precisely the promotion of open and transparent dialogue with civil society and citizens. In a specific communication, the Government has asserted that Swedish civil society is fundamentally stable and that Swedish policy has helped to improve the conditions in which civil society organisations operate, but that Sweden also has challenges that must be taken seriously, including a lack of public sector awareness of civil society and its conditions. Conducting an open dialogue between the Government Offices of Sweden and civil society representatives thus strengthens our OGP commitments and demonstrates the Government's desire for collaboration on this issue. It is also necessary to conduct a dialogue with civil society in order to incorporate a citizen and user-centred perspective in work going forwards. It is naturally important that input and opinions have been received ahead of drawing up the OGP Action Plan, but it is at least as urgent, if not more so, to engage in an ongoing dialogue with civil society in order to pick up on its needs in practical work in the future.

The Government has developed and implemented a specific method for different forms of dialogue with civil society known as sakråd, i.e. a focussed discussion seeking to improve the Government's underlying decision-making data and improve coordination between ministries in dialogue with civil society. The Government has also worked with civil society organisations to reach agreement on dialogue and consultation between the Government and civil society organisations at national level. The agreement operates under the name Nationellt organ för dialog och samråd mellan regeringen och det civila samhället (National body for dialogue and consultation between the Government and civil society) (NOD). NOD aims to solve problems together and supplement existing dialogue structures, including a formalised dialogue format with civil society called Partsgemensamt forum (Joint-party forum) (PGF). In PGF the dialogue itself is key. The intention is for the discussions to help to develop political work to improve conditions for civil society organisations so that they can give people a voice, provide services to their members and provide welfare services.

Twice per calendar year, the State is to invite participants to a relevant dialogue in such formalised focussed discussions to obtain civil society input on the opportunities and challenges of digitisation, especially linked to open data, innovation and collaboration. The dialogue meetings must be documented. A final report with results, a summary and lessons learned from the dialogues must be drawn up by the Ministry of Infrastructure."

Editorial Note: For the complete text of this commitment, please see Sweden's action plan at https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Sweden_Action-Plan_2019-2021_EN.pdf

Commitment Analysis

According to the action plan, Sweden still faces challenges regarding lack of public sector awareness of civil society's needs regarding digitisation and open data, and there is limited collaboration on these areas. To address this issue, this commitment calls for holding two dialogues per calendar where civil society and government representatives discuss opportunities and challenges of digitisation, especially linked to open data, innovation, and collaboration. The meetings will be documented, and the Ministry of Infrastructure will produce a final report with results, a summary, and lessons learned from the meetings. This commitment is relevant to the OGP value of civic participation due to the focus on improving civil society's participation in designing digitisation and open data policies.

The commitment specifically mentions that the "sakråd" and the "joint party forum" (PGF) formats for consultations will be used. The sakråd format for consulting civil society was developed and piloted during Sweden's third action plan (Commitment 4). ^[31] Sakråd aims to gather advice from expert CSOs on specific and sometimes highly technical or operational issues. The government also established the semi-public organisation NOD (National Organ for Dialogue). ^[32] According to the point of contact to OGP at the Ministry of Infrastructure, by using these established formats and the wide network that NOD possesses, this commitment aims to ensure structured consultations that add value to all parties. ^[33] In this case, NOD acts as a link in finding appropriate CSOs, sending invitations, providing venues, arranging agenda, and acting as moderator. In addition, the commitment mentions the "joint-party forum" ("Partsgemensamt Forum"- PGF), which has existed since 2010. PGF is another mechanism that serves as a means for government and civil society to discuss civil society's role in strengthening democracy in Sweden. ^[34]

Ultimately, the potential impact of this commitment will largely depend on the extent to which the biannual dialogues improve collaboration between stakeholders in civil society and the government on Sweden's future digitisation efforts. It may also depend on the content in the Ministry of Infrastructure's final report on these dialogues, and if any concrete recommendations are included. However, given the limited scope of the commitment as envisioned in the action plan, the potential impact is assessed as minor. According to the point of contact, the dialogues will increase the digital maturity and awareness of ongoing policy processes among CSOs so that they can more effectively use established channels to monitor progress in the digital field. ^[35]

Commitment 4. Dialogue with civil society on the opportunities of digitisation, open data and collaboration

● Verifiable: Yes

● Does it have an open government lens? Yes

● Potential impact: Minor

● Completion: Limited

● Did it open government? No evidence of early results yet

According to a public official from the Ministry of Infrastructure, this commitment was not fully completed. [27] The government organised a civil society event in 2019; nongovernment organisations including the Red Cross and Save the Children participated, a sign that the events targeted a broader spectrum of civil society beyond civic tech. A second event was held in 2022 (although it was online only) that was oriented towards civic tech organisations and businesses. This is less than the two events per year outlined in the commitment. The government acknowledges that there was no specific follow-up to these events and there are no examples of projects that have sprung from these events. [28]