Announcing Commencement of Subnational Pilot Program in 15 Countries

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Today OGP is announcing 15 subnational governments that will be part of a pilot program, designed to identify and involve more people in open government efforts around the world. OGP received 45 applications for this program and the final cohort represents a huge diversity of interest, with good regional balance and a variety of different approaches to open government. Many more have expressed an interest in being involved as part of a wider network of reformers working in and around subnational governments.

Governments chosen for the subnational pilot project are: Austin, US; Buenos Aires, Argentina: Jalisco, Mexico: La Libertad, Peru; Ontario, Canada; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Egeyo-Marakwet County, Kenya; Kigoma Municipality, Tanzania; Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana; Madrid, Spain; Paris, France; Scotland, UK; Bojonegoro, Indonesia; Seoul, Korea and Tbilisi, Georgia.

OGP is currently a 69 country partnership aiming to secure concrete commitments from governments to promote transparencyAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, transparency occurs when “government-held information (including on activities and decisions) is open, comprehensive, timely, freely available to the pub... More, empower citizens, fight corruption and harness new technologies to strengthen governance. These 15 subnational governments will be working with civil society organisations to develop their own, specific commitments to open government, which will be assessed by OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM)The Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) is OGP’s accountability arm and the main means of tracking progress in participating countries. The IRM provides independent, evidence-based, and objective .... They will become part of a broader network of subnational governments, civil society organisations, academics, and others, who are passionate about changing and improving the culture of government and see OGP as a route to do this.

Every one of the subnational governments chosen for this project has already distinguished itself by recognising that open and responsive governments are better governments. OGP is tapping into a growing desire from governments who are looking for new ways to interact with citizens, build trust and harness the opportunities provided by new technologies to improve the lives of all citizens.

Incoming OGP Chief Executive, Sanjay Pradhan, said: “I am so excited about this wealth of interest in transforming people’s experience of their governments at a local level. I know from my earliest experiences in Bihar, India, how important transparency and accountability are at all levels of government, and how much their absence impacts all levels of society. Strengthening open government at the local level can directly improve citizens’ lives because many crucial public services are administered locally. I am thrilled that OGP is able to support and encourage some of the most interesting reform and innovation we’re seeing anywhere in the world.”

This first cohort will join a broader network of reformers and work with OGP to advance their existing open government programs. They have each committed to work with civil society groups and citizens, in order to share ideas about how to reform government and to develop specific commitments. OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism, will assess the implementation of these commitments and hold the governments to account for their progress.

OGP will also be creating a broader network of reformers working in and around subnational governments. OGP will also encourage national governments to involve more subnational participants in the development of commitments in National Action Plans.  At the end of the pilot period (end 2017) OGP’s Steering CommitteeThe Steering Committee is OGP’s executive decision-making body. Its role is to develop, promote and safeguard OGP’s values, principles and interests; establish OGP’s core ideas, policies, and ru... will review how each of these elements of the pilot have worked and decide what the ongoing role for subnational governments should be.

Letters of application from the pilot cohort can be found here.

Background

While OGP has learnt a lot about how to support participating governmentsOGP participating countries and locals – often referred to as OGP members – are committed to working with civil society to strengthen their adherence to open government values. To join OGP as a pa... to make ambitious commitments, share ideas and experience, and how citizens and civil society organisations are using OGP to spur change, the Steering Committee is keen to test new ways in which OGP can have an impact on people’s lives. The OGP pilot program for subnational governments is one way of doing that. The amount of interest shown by subnational governments, and civil society organisations and others, demonstrates that that there does seem to be space and demand for OGP to play a role and bring the model that is working nationally to a more local level.

The objectives of the pilot program are to:

• Foster more diverse political leadership and commitmentOGP commitments are promises for reform co-created by governments and civil society and submitted as part of an action plan. Commitments typically include a description of the problem, concrete action... from different levels of government to OGP and to hold governments accountable at a local level, where many citizens are directly accessing services and information.
• Learn how OGP can best support subnational governments in making their regions more open, accountable and responsive to their citizens and determine the best structure for subnational participation in OGP.
• Discover and promote new and innovative open government techniques and practices emerging at the subnational level around the world.
• Create practical opportunities for subnational governments to learn from each other, share experiences, and build upon the open government work of their counterparts.
• Support and empower subnational government reformers with technical expertise and inspiration and create the right conditions and incentives for them to make concrete commitments to open government.
• Broaden and deepen participation of civil society organizations (CSOs) in OGP.

In addition to the participation of the governments announced today, OGP is also creating a ‘Leaders’ tier’ of subnational governments, civil society organisations, academia and others. This network will be invited to participate in learning and network events, such as global and regional OGP summits, and OGP will create opportunities for ongoing interaction and work between them. They will be encouraged to work with their national governments to develop and include subnational commitments in their respective national action plans. We hope that this will result in an increase in the number of subnational open government commitments in national action plans by the end of the pilot period.

This approach allows us to test two methods for strengthening OGP engagement at the subnational level: first, developing specific subnational commitments on open government using OGP’s existing model and support structure; and second, building a global network of subnational governments to foster peer learning and encourage closer involvement with national action plans.