Thank you to all who applied to the 2021 OGP Impact and Local Innovation Awards! This was a competitive process which generated 45 applications for the Impact Awards and 60 for the Local Innovation Awards. Over 8,000 members of the OGP community voted in the Impact Awards, and 11,000 in the Local Innovation Awards. We have now contacted the winners of the Awards to coordinate their participation in the 2021 OGP Summit. We are looking forward to sharing the full results of the Awards with the OGP community during the Summit, so stay tuned!
As open government reformers worldwide work to meet the challenges of our new age, the focus remains bringing together governments and civil society to jointly improve the transparency, accountability, participatory nature, and impact of open government work. This difficult moment provides an important opportunity to improve how co-creation and implementation processes work, which will help achieve real and sustainable impact. Through the Local Innovation Awards, OGP will look for innovative and impactful initiatives, and provide targeted support for empowering these reformers to drive results and share progress with the global community.
We define innovations in open government as a service, platform, rule or system that is/can:
- New: it has not been done before in the context,
- Relevant: it addresses a current problem,
- Feasible: it can be done within the context and resources, and
- Create value: it serves people’s and governments’ needs.
These awards focus on promoting innovation in open government at a time where both the challenge and need are greatest. The COVID-19 pandemic has created new challenges in co-creation processes and implementation, and has also created significant economic strain on public finances. Further, with increased emergency spending, the potential for corruption and inefficiency in public procurement is higher than ever. We are particularly interested in supporting innovative commitments centered on these themes:
- Civic space and building resilient and citizen-centered democracies;
- Service delivery, especially related to the pandemic response;
- Closing the feedback loop between citizens and governments;
- Promoting diversity, equity and tackling inequality
We are especially interested in innovative commitments for these key themes. However, we will accept innovative applications in other themes.
The Innovation Awards contains two tracks: Spotlight Awards and Accelerator Awards.
Spotlight Awards
Who can apply: OGP Points of Contact (POC) of Local members co-creating in 2021
Innovation requires creativity and inspiration, along with the drive to want to do things differently. This track highlights innovative commitments from OGP Local participants to showcase their creativity and inspire other governments and civil society organizations to innovate.
The most innovative commitments co-created in 2021 will be chosen through a competitive “People’s Choice” award selection process, in which members of our community will vote on their top pick. OGP Local members can select two commitments to be considered for the People’s Choice Award.
The winners of Spotlight Awards will have the opportunity to share their commitments and stories with the open government community at the OGP Global Summit. This will include:
- Participation in the 2021 OGP Global Summit, or to another global event, including presenting Lightning talks
- Early visibility of innovative ideas on OGP’s website for peer exchange and learning in real time
Accelerator Awards
Who can apply: OGP Points of Contact (POC) of Local members co-creating in 2021
Innovation in open government is not easy, as innovative open government commitments can take more effort and resources to implement. This track helps overcome the challenges in implementing innovative commitments through providing technical support for implementation. OGP Local members may submit two commitments with a high potential for results and which would benefit from Accelerator support for consideration.
A jury will select two commitments for Accelerator support. The awards will consist of:
- A technical mentorship/consultancy paid for by OGP Support Unit (up to USD $10,000) to support the implementation of the commitments.
Selection Criteria and Scoring Matrix
OGP will review applications based on the following criteria.
| Criteria | Definition: Is/Does this project … ? |
|---|---|
| Themes | Involve one of the three key themes, or a closely related one? |
| New | Improve government in a way that has not been tried before in your location? |
| Relevant | Focused on resolving a current and urgent issue in your community? |
| Feasibility | Able to be implemented within the existing context and with the existing resources? This includes:
|
| Creates value | Add value to the government and improve the lives of citizens, especially those who have been historically marginalized? |
How to apply
- Applications may be filled out ONLY by the OGP POC to ensure coordination between government, civil society, and other relevant stakeholders.
- You may submit a maximum of TWO commitments for consideration for each award type. You may submit the same commitments for consideration under both awards, or different commitments for each award type.
- Applications will be accepted July 1st through 23:59 EDT Friday, September 17th.