Local Roundup | April 2025

Here’s our monthly roundup of updates from the OGP Local community for April 2025. Check out previous roundups!

This Month’s Highlights

• At the OGP Africa and Middle East Regional Meeting in Nairobi, government and civil society representatives from 18 cities, municipalities, regions, and states gathered to share inspiration and continue to strengthen the movement for local open government. Explore key highlights.
• Leadership changes often bring uncertainty for reformers, risking setbacks in governance progress. In his latest blog, John Maritim shares strategies to ensure the lasting progress of open government reforms.
• Check out our latest post on infrastructure transparency and how it improves public service delivery with our experts from Kaduna State (Nigeria) and CoSt International.

New Action Plans

This month, five members delivered their first action plans, while Asturias (Spain) submitted its second action plan reaffirming its dedication to open government. 

• Nairobi‘s (Kenya) action plan focuses on establishing an electronic procurement system, creating an open data portal and virtual and in-person public participation forums to enhance civic engagement.
• The first action plans from Orzhytsia and Zvihael (Ukraine) aim to establish a Youth Council, create community spaces for veterans, and introduce and improve a digital school participatory budget.
• Asturias’ (Spain) second action plan features commitments to co-create a participation law, prepare a transparency plan, and create a participation council.
• The Consortium of Oriental + Souss-Massa + Drâa-Tafilalet + Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra (Morocco) has jointly committed to co-create a regional program with civil society to raise awareness and support locally-led solutions for climate adaptation and sustainable water management.
• Cajamarca‘s (Peru) action plan seeks to improve the Regional Climate Change Strategy 2030 by strengthening public integrity and citizen participation, implement an integrity model to fight corruption, address adolescent pregnancy through participatory workshops and outreach to educational institutions.
• Machakos’ (Kenya) first action plan focuses on enhancing public participation through digital feedback mechanisms and a public data dashboard, and creating a centralized open data portal and a centralized digital service platform to enhance service delivery and transparency.

Showcasing Local Members 

• Plateau (Nigeria) has launched a call for nominations to select 40 participants for the First Plateau State Climate Assembly—a platform for citizens and organizations to help shape the state’s climate policies and initiatives.
• Kakamega County Assembly (Kenya) held a public meeting on the county’s Fiscal Strategy Paper as part of the development of the 2025-2026 budget. They also engaged residents through a Customer Clinic to gather feedback on water and sanitation and improve service delivery. 
• Tagbilaran (Philippines) held its third Open Budget Webinar to inform CSOs about the budgeting process and encourage active participation in governance as part of their OGP Local action plan. 
• The State of Goias (Brazil) organized the sixth edition of the Student with Attitude Program, an initiative created to recognize and reward transformative practices in schools. In a virtual exchange, the State of Goiás (Brazil) presented the Program to Kyiv (Ukraine), which seeks to implement  similar initiatives. 
• Zvyahel (Ukraine) held its first citizen assemblies, which focused on creating urban spaces. To do so, they established eight initiative groups and a civil society organization.
• Scotland (UK) showcased the progress of its “Powering Participation” commitment, which emphasized the participation of children and young people. They also published their OGP Journey Report, a review of their progress in open government from 2016 to 2025.
• Machakos (Kenya) officially launched the Revenue Mashinani One Stop Shop initiative, an  OGP commitment enabling citizens to access key services and actively engage in governance through direct service feedback.The event was attended by hundreds of residents and business representatives..  
• Explore valuable insights on OGP action plans in the inception reports from Zagreb (Croatia), Kisela Voda (Macedonia), Žabljak (Montenegro), Valencia (Spain), Austin, TX (USA), Sekondi Takoradi (Ghana) and Khmelnytskyi,
• Read insights from the End of Commitment reports submitted by:
  • Hamburg (Germany) on data dialogues.
  • São Paulo (Brazil) on strengthening of Public Policy Councils, improving bidding and contracting data, monitoring the implementation of the Municipal Agenda 2030.
  • San Pedro Garza García (Mexico) on public service reporting tools, green corridors, and participatory budgeting.
  • Nuevo Leon State (Mexico) on proactive transparency, open data, and youth participation.
  • Monterrey (Mexico) on open government strategy on Green corridors, data infrastructure for urban development and reinforcement of Open Government Committee data for violence against women.
  • Khmelnytskyi (Ukraine) on digital literacy.
• Check out the Final Learning Exercises recently conducted in Jalisco, where the government shares its co-creation experience and challenges.

Strengthening the Open Government Community 

• At the OGP Africa and Middle East Regional Meeting in Nairobi, government and civil society representatives from 18 cities, municipalities, regions, and states gathered to share inspiration and continue to strengthen and build the movement for the future of local open government. Explore key highlights.
• OGP Local members from Buenos Aires (Argentina), Paris (France), Scotland (UK), Bogotá (Colombia) and Plateau (Nigeria) gathered in Buenos Aires with ILDA to draft a document discussing co-create a practical document on the intersection of artificial intelligence and open government in local governance. Stay tuned for the publication!
• OGP Local members gathered for the start of the year OGP Local Global Virtual meeting to connect with peers, exchange updates and opportunities, and prepare for an exciting year ahead.
• OIDP Africa will hold the sixth edition of the Local Leadership Excellence Award, rewarding best practices and innovations in territorial governance in Africa by governments, CSOs, and citizens. Apply before June 16, 2025.
• Open Gov Week: May 19-23, 2025. Join governments and civil society worldwide as we advance transparency, accountability, and civic participation in the face of growing challenges. Throughout the week, bold commitments will take center stage as reformers push the boundaries of open government and take on the Open Gov Challenge.
  • Submit your event on the website and let the community know what you’re planning for Open Gov Week.
  • Join the Open Gov Week events happening close to you or online.

Meet The Challenge

The number of local governments joining the Open Gov Challenge keeps growing! 

Check out the latest Open Government Challenge commitments:

• Regional Climate Strategy for Water, Food Security, and Energy (Tangier-Tétouan-al Hoceima, Morocco)
• Improve Public Participation in the Budgeting Process (Yoff, Senegal)
• Create a More Inclusive Public Procurement Process (Elgeyo Marakwet, Kenya)
• Broaden Public Participation Spaces for Inclusive Decision-Making (Elgeyo Marakwet, Kenya)
• Improve the Monitoring and Evaluation of Public Funds (Elgeyo Marakwet, Kenya)
• Improve the Public Procurement Portal (Nairobi, Kenya)
• Strengthen Public Participation and Civic Engagement (Nairobi, Kenya)
• Improve Public Participation in Decision-Making (Contagem, Brazil)
• Deliberative and Innovative Democracy (Bogotá, Colombia)

You can also join the challenge! Submit your initiatives by May 31, 2025, to be considered for the challenge awards.