Diversity and Inclusion in Co-Creation Process (UK0105)

Objective: Encourage and facilitate wider participation in the development of the UK government’s National Action Plan for Open Government so as to improve outcomes.

What is the problem that the commitment will address? Diversity and inclusion matter for the legitimacy and the effectiveness of open government. It is important that everyone has the right to participate in public life as different groups have different needs and experiences of government and public services. Yet research has shown some groups face barriers to doing so which means they are less likely to participate in public decision-making and advocate for their own needs and demands. In response to this, governments and civil society leaders are seeking to increase the involvement of underrepresented groups in the policy-making process. This leads to higher quality, representative and proportionate decisions and programmes, that meet the needs of a greater number of people from a diverse set of backgrounds. In the last few years the UK government has hosted a series of sessions on gender equality as part of Open Government Week 2019 and the OGP Global Summit in Ottawa to discuss this issue with leading global figures. It has also created a single page for access to disaggregated sets of gendered data. But more can be done to promote the engagement of underrepresented and diverse groups in the Open Government process, as well as provide opportunities to improve accessibility to government through the simplification of language and by bridging the digital divide.

How will the commitment contribute to solving the problem:

1. Attract participants from diverse backgrounds to engage in the development of the Open Government National Action Plan (OGP NAP). This would include: an equality impact analysis of the NAP, to identify where and how policies, proposals and actions may disproportionately impact underrepresented groups; a comparison of representation across NAP working groups against official UK benchmarks (utilising ONS’ Harmonised Standards for collecting demographic data). The purpose would be to inform the planning stage of the next NAP through a stakeholder engagement and communications plan to engage groups that are currently underrepresented in the process and that targets individuals and groups from diverse backgrounds.

2. Mainstream diversity and inclusion considerations across OGP NAP commitments. This should utilise findings from the equality impact analysis to develop diversity and inclusion success measures that will be mainstreamed with our broader NAP commitments - from the overall process, to commitment design and oversight. The standards would include mainstreaming requirements such as data disaggregated by relevant characteristics, as well as requirements for standalone commitments focused on diversity and inclusion issues. The intention would be to create an iterative assurance framework that allows for continuous improvements in diversity in future OGP NAPs.

3. Work with civil society partners to develop indicators of diversity and inclusion for ongoing year-by-year reviews and assessment of the OGP NAP as part of the co-creation process, learning from the development of the Civil Service’s D&I assurance framework Taking a data-driven, evidence-led and delivery-focussed approach to reviewing our D&I outcomes after each NAP cycle, with clearly defined measures of success, will enable us to continually improve our delivery, to incorporate new ideas and ensure incremental increases in diversity alongside regular reporting.

4. Provide guidance and support on the mainstreaming of diversity and inclusion objectives in the OGP NAP as part of the co-creation process. This would include the creation of a D&I Working Group led by the government, bringing together government and civil society representatives on a regular basis (to be determined) to exchange best practice, policy updates, and provide oversight of the NAP process. This will consider the Inclusive Britain policy paper. It would also be expected to explore data-driven approaches to D&I across government with appropriate attendance (GDS). An interim group would be established by representatives from GEO / GDS, supported by the UK OGN to further refine the D&I Working Group’s objectives.

5. Work with key stakeholders to champion the importance of diversity and inclusion in the development of the OGP NAP process. This is likely to be led by the D&I working group and would include ensuring diversity and inclusion issues are discussed at all co-creation forums, and focuses on providing and improving an equality of opportunity for people to inform the OGP NAP co-creation process and deliver better outcomes for all citizens. This could also include working with diverse civil service employee networks and advice as to how civil society can broaden engagement.

Milestones Expected Outputs Expected Completion Date Stakeholders Provide guidance on the integration of diversity and inclusion interests in the OGP NAP as part of the co-creation process. This would include the creation of a D&I Working Group, led by the government. Oct 2022 Government Equalities Office, Cabinet Office, Government Digital Service, Civil Society (UK Open Government Network). Attract participants from underrepresented and diverse backgrounds to engage in the development of the Open Government National Action Plan. Equality impact analysis of the NAP5. Government to support the promotion of engagement in the NAP process. Oct 2022 and ongoing Government Equalities Office, Cabinet Office, Government Digital Service, Civil Society (UK Open Government Network). Work with civil society partners to develop indicators of diversity and inclusion. Work led by the Diversity and Inclusion Working Group. Dec 2022 Integrate diversity and inclusion interests across the OGP NAP commitments. The Diversity and Inclusion Working Group to produce an assurance framework, mandated into the process via the Multi-stakeholder Forum. Prior to next NAP cycle Ensure key stakeholders champion the importance of diversity and inclusion in the development of the NAP process. Integrate Diversity and Inclusion into pre-planning phase of the next National Action Plan. Prior to next NAP cycle