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OGP National Handbook

A Practical Roadmap for National Stakeholders

This Handbook is a practical, self-use resource designed to guide national stakeholders through the OGP process. It outlines the rules, guidance, and best practices for OGP participation, promoting ambitious open government reforms while supporting members in fulfilling minimum requirements. Each section contains clear rules, key recommendations, and links to further resources. Use it as both a reference and a guide for planning, decision-making, and implementation.

The Handbook is designed for key stakeholders involved in coordinating OGP-related activities at the national level. This includes but is not limited to Points of Contact (POCs) and their teams within governments and key civil society organizations (CSOs) playing coordinating roles.

Understanding the Big Picture

Learn more about the “why” and “what” of OGP.

Image for Foundations for Open Government
This section introduces the Open Government Partnership, its foundation, mission, and vision. It explains the guiding principles of transparency, citizen participation, and public accountability, and highlights collaboration between governments and civil society as the core of the OGP model. It also presents OGP’s 2023–2028 Strategy.

Foundations for Open Government

Image for OGP Membership, Governance, and Action Framework
This section explains how national governments join OGP by meeting eligibility criteria and passing the Values Check. It outlines member responsibilities: submitting action plans, ensuring co-creation, showing progress, and upholding OGP values. It also describes key actors, accountability mechanisms, country contributions, and ways members engage through the Action Framework.

OGP Membership, Governance, and Action Framework

Image for OGP Participation and Co-Creation Standards
This section explains how the Participation and Co-creation Standards guide collaboration between government, civil society, and other stakeholders at every stage of the OGP process. It highlights the minimum requirements members must meet, while encouraging them to go further to realize the Standards.

OGP Participation and Co-Creation Standards

About the OGP Process

Explore the different steps of the OGP process.

Image for Creating Space(s) for National Dialogue: <br>The MSF
This section focuses on creating space for ongoing dialogue and co-creation between government, civil society, and other stakeholders, typically through a Multi-Stakeholder Forum. It describes the MSF’s key roles—including strategic planning, engagement, communication, and oversight—and encourages ambition in its design and functioning.

Creating Space(s) for National Dialogue:
The MSF

Image for Ensuring Information Transparency
This section explains how to provide open, accessible, and timely information on OGP activities and progress. Members must maintain a dedicated website and an online repository, both updated regularly. It also offers guidance on content and design to support usability, inclusiveness, participation, and accountability.

Ensuring Information Transparency

Image for Development of Action Plans and Commitments
This section focuses on developing action plans and commitments through co-creation. It outlines key rules, timelines, submission procedures, and the choice of two- or four-year action plans. It also provides guidance and templates to help plan, structure, and formalize ambitious and inclusive commitments.

Development of Action Plans and Commitments

Image for Implementing an Action Plan and Commitments
This section outlines how OGP members sustain inclusive engagement and collaboration throughout implementation and monitoring. It covers planning for implementation, encouraging stakeholder contributions, and producing self-assessment reports.

Implementing an Action Plan and Commitments

Image for Ensuring Accountability and Learning through the IRM
This section introduces the Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) as OGP’s accountability arm, providing independent, evidence-based assessments throughout the action plan cycle. It describes key IRM products—Co-Creation Briefs, Action Plan Reviews, Midterm Reviews, and Results Reports—and explains how the IRM evaluates whether members meet minimum requirements.

Ensuring Accountability and Learning through the IRM

Image for Raising Ambition through the Open Gov Challenge
This section outlines the Open Gov Challenge, a campaign to drive ambitious reforms in ten priority areas. Participation is open to OGP’s national and local members, including institutions at any level or branch of government. It explains how members can use the Challenge to co-create bold, transformative commitments with tangible results.

Raising Ambition through the Open Gov Challenge

Image for Engagement of Other Levels and Branches <br>of Government
This section introduces the engagement of local governments, parliaments, judiciary institutions, and national autonomous bodies in advancing open government. It describes participation opportunities through OGP Local, national action plans, standalone action plans, and the Open Gov Challenge.

Engagement of Other Levels and Branches
of Government

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This section brings together all guidance documents, links, publications, resources, templates, and tools referenced throughout the Handbook.

Resources

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This section provides access to the full OGP National Handbook in PDF format for offline use.

Downloads

Open Government Partnership