Defining the Open Government strategic priorities in Tunisia (TN0056)

Description of the commitment: This is a commitment to develop an Open Gov. strategy in Tunisia rooted in a comprehensive indicator-based short, medium and long term vision the implementation of which could be measured. This strategy will lead to: - Establishing a benchmark to coordinate reforms in this field at the national and local levels, - Determine the goals and priorities that must be effectively implemented, - Provide a strategic framework for OGP action plans that are prepared and implemented every two years. - Promote and entrench an open government culture across the public sector and among all stakeholders. During all phases of implementing this commitment, a participatory process based on the principle of co-creation will be followed, bringing together the various parties involved in the implementation of the commitment, in particular the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development-OECD, representatives of public structures and representatives of civil society within the joint advisory committee in charge of monitoring the development and implementation of the Fourth OGP National Action Plan.

Problem/Background: - The lack of a strategic framework and a roadmap based on which OGP action plans are prepared and implemented, - The variation in levels of government openness, both on the part of public structures and between them, - Perceiving open government as a purely technical issue of concern to only an elite of civil servants, - The proliferation of Open Gov. initiatives and activities in many countries that strive to consolidate this concept. However, there are no clear and common goals that bring all these countries together.

Identification of commitment objectives/expected results: This commitment will make it possible to: - design a long-term vision to ensure the coherence and effectiveness of OGP activities over several years, especially with regard to developing and implementing OGP action plans, - Attain a standard level of maturity in terms of government openness, - Cooperate within a standard, joint and consistent framework with the other countries interested in open government.

How will the commitment contribute to solve the public problem: - Operationalize the concept of open government for the benefit of all public officers, without exclusion, - Systematically collect data and information on the implementation of Open Gov. initiatives and developing a set of indicators to measure their impact.

Relevance with OGP values: - Participation: This commitment will initiate a participatory, coordinated and integrated process to design a strategic plan for the development of a range of Open Gov. initiatives in cooperation with the various stakeholders. - Transparency: The publication of this strategy will also ensure the transparency of the implementation process of the various initiatives, notably through CSOs.

Source of funding /Relation with other programs and policies: OECD

Stages and implementation timeline: Completing the 2020 Open Government Survey End of July 2021; Organizing online workshops on the open government strategy in Tunisia and on comparative experiences in the field August 2021; Presentation of the Scan on the diagnosis of open government in Tunisia End of August 2021; Organization of consultative workshops on the results of the survey project related to the state of open government in Tunisia. September 2021; Compilation of inputs for the strategy based on the results of the workshops and formulation of the first version of the strategy October 2021; Presentation of the first version of the open government strategy in Tunisia and collection of notes and proposals for amendments on this version November 2021; Announcing the launch of the Open Government Strategy in Tunisia January 2022

Action Plan Review

8. Defining the Open Government strategic priorities in Tunisia

Commitment 8: Defining the open government strategic priorities in Tunisia [The E-Government Unit at the Presidency of Government]

For a complete description of the commitment, see Commitment 8 in: https://www.opengovpartnership.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Tunisia_Action-Plan_2021-2023_EN.pdf

Context and objectives: 

Tunisia has embarked on a notable open government process since joining OGP in 2011, particularly regarding open data and access to information. Tunisia has also sought to disseminate open government values through various efforts, such as training civil servants on open government and facilitating the creation of action plans at the municipal level. [26]

However, the institutionalization of open government values across government bodies is uneven, as underscored by the current political crisis. The temporary suspension of activity of both the parliament and the central anti-corruption authority (INLUCC) in 2021 presents a particularly important juncture for normalizing open government values at the highest levels of government and prioritizing coordinated and measurable open government reforms.

This commitment aims to develop a national open government strategy with the participation of civil society and the public. The strategy will be informed by a diagnostic of the current open government landscape and consultations with national and international partners. According to Khaled Sellami, General Director of the E-Government Unit, the strategy will identify priorities and coordinate open government efforts across government. The strategy will also identify open government indicators to better measure the impact of reforms over time and across OGP action plans. [27] The participatory approach to design the strategy makes this commitment relevant to the OGP value of civic participation.

Potential for results: Modest

Tunisia has designed 61 commitments across four action plans since joining OGP in 2011. Due to the two-year action plan cycle, reforms are often designed and measured based on their short-term results. Additionally, an increasing number of government agencies and civil society partners have become involved in Tunisia’s OGP process. The development of an open government strategy aims to provide an overarching framework to design and measure open government reforms over a greater period of time and among various stakeholders.

At the time of writing in October 2021, some activities towards developing the open government strategy were underway. The government launched a public consultation from October 1 to November 1, 2021 and received 23 responses on open government priorities and suggestions for reform at both the national and local level. [28] Respondents represented government, civil society, the private sector, and academia. The survey highlighted transparency and participation as open government priorities and “digital platforms and portals” as the most “useful and accessible” open government tool for respondents. Respondents indicated priority policy areas for open government reform to be health (71%), transportation (71%), and education, justice, and social affairs (57% each). [29]

Allessandro Bozzini notes that OECD has already conducted an open government diagnostic that surveyed government institutions engaged in open government work. The diagnostic has not yet been published at the time of writing, as the temporary suspension of INLUCC’s activities inhibited the completion of the report. OECD is also supporting the government throughout the strategy consultation and drafting process. The E-Government Unit and OECD will organize several thematic roundtables to discuss the priorities, guidelines, and areas of intervention to be included in the strategy. [30] According to Rim Garnaoui, the Government of Tunisia has also held a webinar with Canada and other countries to gather comparative experiences. [31]

The strategy is expected to be published in early 2022 and accompanied by awareness-raising efforts to disseminate it among those not already involved. [32] The finalized strategy will be presented to the Council of Ministers for validation, which would institutionalize the unified open government strategy across government. The governance framework for the strategy will be determined as the strategy is prepared. The strategy will offer a set of priorities and indicators to coordinate open government efforts throughout government and provide a tool to measure their impact. The government will periodically revisit the strategy in a participatory method to ensure that the priorities and objectives remain relevant and will use OGP Action Plans to pursue the identified priorities. [33] At the time of writing in October 2021, the newly appointed Prime Minister had just formed a new Council of Ministers after three months without a cabinet. [34]

This commitment is evaluated to have a modest potential for open government results. Allessandro Bozzini states that this strategy has the potential to raise greater awareness around the meaning and importance of open government at the higher levels of government. This will broaden the scope of stakeholders involved in open government efforts and better coordinate reforms across bodies and levels of government. [35] The temporary suspension of parliamentary and INLUCC activities will complicate commitments in this action plan that rely on these bodies to proceed. However, this commitment presents a window of opportunity to continue collaborative efforts to further government transparency, accountability, and civic participation, despite the ongoing political crisis. The strategy also presents an opportunity to invest government attention and resources in independent transparency and accountability institutions. Oversight of this commitment by Khaled Sellami, OGP Point of Contact and Director of the E-Government Unit at the Presidency of Government, contributes in part to this commitment’s potential for results. The placement of this reform within Tunisia’s OGP structure and the executive branch indicates the necessary political will and experienced management to facilitate its completion.

Notable early results of this commitment would include not only the co-creation of an open government strategy, but also evidence that the strategy facilitates an increasingly coordinated open government approach across government. Early results would also include civil society stakeholders’ confidence in the process and inclusion in setting priorities and designing reforms. Such evidence could include intra-governmental communication and projects, participation by agencies and institutions new to open government work, and reforms aligned with short-, mid-, and long-term open government indicators. Evidence could also include statements and actions from the highest levels of government indicating a commitment to government transparency, accountability, and civic participation.

Opportunities, challenges and recommendations during implementation

In the summer of 2021, the President of Tunisia dissolved the parliament, dismissed the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, and froze the work of INLUCC in response to citizen protests around economic stagnation and government corruption, among other issues. [36] In October, the President appointed a new Prime Minister, who formed a new Council of Ministers. However, the continued closure of the legislative branch and the anti-corruption body will complicate the design and implementation of a whole-of-government open government strategy. The Prime Minister stated that anti-corruption will be the priority for the government. [37] The reestablishment of parliament and resumption of INLUCC’s work are critical for the mutually supportive aims of open government and anti-corruption. Comprehensive implementation of this commitment will require the full functioning of Tunisia’s democratic and anti-corruption bodies.

In 2019, Argentina committed to design a national Open Government Strategy based on the findings of an OECD open government survey. The strategy specifically aims to align national and local open government reforms and broaden the community of reformers. [38] Other OGP members that have undertaken an open government strategy include Finland, Cali (city in Colombia), and Canada. [39]

To realize the full potential of this commitment, the IRM recommends that implementors take the following into consideration:

· Use the co-creation process to broaden municipal participation in open government reform and create spaces for municipalities already engaged to share their experiences, progress, and lessons.

· Facilitate civil society participation beyond the “usual suspects” and involve civil society, not only in identifying key priorities, but also in designing the strategy.

· Use the co-creation process as an opportunity to communicate open government’s value proposition to new government and non-government partners by highlighting progress made thus far and engaging ministries and agencies not yet involved, such as the Ministries of Education, Agriculture, and Health.

· Align the strategy with Tunisia’s 2023 OGP Action Plan in terms of both content and logistics, while considering the likely changes to OGP processes that will allow for more flexibility regarding the length and timing of submission for future OGP action plans. [40]

· Identify opportunities to align the open government strategy with the government’s anti-corruption priorities for mutually supportive reforms and increased political will.

Results Report

Commitment 8. Defining the Open Government strategic priorities in Tunisia

Commitment 8, focused on defining open government strategic priorities, saw a commendable level of activity in the preparatory stages but stopped short at validation and implementation of the open government strategy. ^[26] The strategy was developed through a participatory approach, involving various public structures and civil society in consultations and workshops, with the OGP Tunisia steering committee playing a key role. To begin, the E-Government Unit, along with the Access to Information Authority (INAI) and services related to constitutional institutions and civil society at the Presidency of the Government, completed an open government survey by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in February 2022. In parallel, a public consultation was organized through the national participation portals from 1 October to 1 November 2021. This initiative engaged citizens in identifying priority reforms for the open government strategy. ^[27]

With OECD support, the E-Government Unit held a series of workshops to develop and finalize the strategy. Two workshops in May and June 2021 facilitated an exchange of experiences on Canada’s and Spain’s open government strategies. An initial open government diagnostic was presented at three workshops in December 2021 to assess Tunisia through the axes of open government, transparency, public participation, and accountability. The final stages involved compiling inputs and the development of the initial strategy draft, with two workshops on 29 March and 11 April 2022 formulating the strategic vision and defining the mission, objectives, and axes for the open government strategy. In these workshops, insights were synthesized and a coherent strategic framework for open government was developed. ^[28] The strategy was finalized and validated at a technical level at a workshop in July 2022. [29]

While these activities indicate a proactive approach in gathering insights and shaping the strategy, the effectiveness of this commitment ultimately depends on the tangible open government outcomes achieved. ^[30] Focused on the five pillars of transparency, integrity and accountability, citizen participation, local open government, and the extractive and renewable energy industries, the strategy faced challenges inherent in its ambitious scope and the complexity of its implementation across various sectors and levels of government. While comprehensive, the strategy does not explicitly address the recent significant institutional changes in Tunisia since 2021 and was never officially adopted by the government. [31] Ongoing evaluation and adaptation of the strategy can ensure that it remains responsive to emerging challenges and opportunities in the dynamic landscape of governance in Tunisia. ^[32]