Section Overview
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- Collaboration between government, civil society, and other stakeholders is at the heart of the OGP process and is referred to as co-creation.
- A strong and inclusive co-creation process is associated with well-designed and more ambitious commitments. Stronger results are achieved when collaboration continues through the implementation of reforms.
- The OGP Participation and Co-Creation Standards guide co-creation throughout all stages of the OGP process.
- All OGP members must meet the minimum requirements of the Standards. However, the true ambition of OGP lies in going beyond the minimum requirements to fully realize the five Standards.
- Compliance with each Standard and the minimum requirements is assessed by the IRM.
CONTENTS
Overview
Standard 1
Standard 2
Standard 3
Standard 4
Standard 5
Collaboration between government, civil society, and other stakeholders is at the heart of the OGP process and is referred to as co-creation. Research based on OGP data over the first ten years shows that a strong and inclusive co-creation process is associated with well-designed and more ambitious commitments. Research also shows that stronger results are achieved when collaboration continues through the implementation of reforms. Public participation enhances public services when everyone has a voice and officials listen, consider, and respond.
The OGP Participation and Co-Creation Standards guide this collaboration throughout all stages of the OGP process. This Handbook includes references to the Standards throughout, highlighting their application at key moments in the OGP process, such as establishing a multi-stakeholder forum and during the development and implementation of action plans. These standards help to ensure a consistent approach to co-creation, transparency, and accountability across the members of the Partnership.
The Standards are structured in a way that encourages members to strive for ambition while ensuring that minimum requirements are met and exceeded where possible. In its elaborated form, each Standard includes information on:
- ambition;
- scope of application of the standard;
- approaches on how to apply the standard;
- minimum requirements for participation and co-creation; and
- assessment of compliance with the standard.
The OGP Procedural Review Policy outlines the circumstances and steps taken when a country is not acting in accordance with the OGP process. The IRM assesses two of the three triggers for a country to be considered acting contrary to the OGP process, as outlined in the OGP Procedural Review Policy (see also OGP Membership Accountability Mechanisms). First, a country must meet all the minimum requirements established in the OGP Participation and Co-Creation Standards. Second, a country is considered acting contrary to process if it fails to make progress on any of the commitments in an action plan. The IRM notifies the Support Unit when it has determined that a country is not acting according to process based on these triggers.
The section below showcases the Standards and corresponding minimum requirements.
For the full version of the Standards including their scope, information on why they are important, what an ambitious application looks like, and approaches to implement them, please refer to the full OGP Participation and Co-Creation Standards webpage.
Establishing a space for ongoing dialogue and collaboration between government, civil society, and other non-governmental stakeholders.
A space for ongoing dialogue with participation from both government and civil society members, and other non-governmental representatives as appropriate, that meets regularly (at least every six months) is established. Its basic rules on participation are public.
Providing open, accessible, and timely information about activities and progress within a member’s participation in OGP.
A public OGP website dedicated to the member’s participation in OGP is maintained.
A publicly available document repository on the OGP online site, which provides access to documents related to the OGP process, including, at a minimum, information and evidence of the co-creation process and of the implementation of commitments, is maintained and regularly updated (at least twice a year).
Providing inclusive and informed opportunities for public participation during development of the action plan.
The MSF where established, or the government where there is no MSF, publishes on the OGP website/webpage the co-creation timeline and overview of the opportunities for stakeholders to participate at least two weeks before the start of the action plan development process.
The MSF where established, or the government where there is no MSF, conducts outreach activities with stakeholders to raise awareness of OGP and opportunities to get involved in the development of the action plan.
The MSF where established, or the government where there is no MSF, develops a mechanism to gather inputs from a range of stakeholders during an appropriate period of time for the chosen mechanism.
Providing a reasoned response and ensuring ongoing dialogue between government and non-governmental stakeholders during co-creation of the action plan.
The MSF where established, or the government where there is no MSF, documents and reports back or publishes written feedback to stakeholders on how their contributions were considered during the development of the action plan.
Providing inclusive and informed opportunities for ongoing dialogue and collaboration during implementation and monitoring of the action plan.
The MSF where established, or the government where there is no MSF, holds at least two meetings every year with civil society to present results on the implementation of the action plan and collect comments.
Good to Know
Ambition is the Key to Impactful Open Government Reforms
The true ambition of OGP lies in going beyond the minimum requirements to fully realize the five standards. By moving beyond minimum requirements, OGP members can create more impactful and transformative open government reforms. Each of the following sections dives into concrete stages of the OGP process. Each section outlines the rules and requirements of each stage and provides recommendations to go beyond and fully realize the relevant Standard(s).