In early 2020, OGP started looking for new candidates to fill three seats in the OGP Civil Society Steering Committee. The list of candidates this year was particularly strong and we are grateful to the impressive civil society leadership OGP can rely on. Following a thorough selection process, we are pleased to announce that Lysa John (Secretary General, CIVICUS), Stephanie Muchai (East Africa Lead on Open ContractingA transparent procurement process, known as open contracting, increases competition, improves public service delivery, and ensures governments better value for their money. Technical specifications: C..., Hivos), and Blair Glencorse (Founder and Executive Director, Accountability Lab), are joining the OGP 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... starting October 1, 2020. They will serve on the Steering Committee for three years. 

To support the Civil Society Steering Committee members, Anabel Cruz (Director, Instituto de Comunicación y Desarrollo, Uruguay) and Olúseun Onígbińdé (Director, BudgIT, Nigeria) were appointed as additional members with a term of one year. Their particular regional and thematic expertise will add great value to the work of the Steering Committee and provide extra bandwidth and perspectives from civil society. 

These five civil society leaders join the Steering Committee at a critical time, as countries around the world continue to struggle with COVID-19’s detrimental public health and economic impacts. From working with governments and civil society to ensure they adapt open gov approaches to their COVID-19 response and recovery mechanisms to offering support to those taking their co-creation processCollaboration between government, civil society and other stakeholders (e.g., citizens, academics, private sector) is at the heart of the OGP process. Participating governments must ensure that a dive... online, OGP’s mission is as relevant today as it was before the pandemic. 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, accountability and participation are the founding principles of OGP – so during the selection we listened and engaged with the community the Civil Society Steering Committee serves. 

More than 100 people from the OGP civil society community joined the candidates in webinars to discuss regional challenges in areas such as civic space, genderOGP participating governments are bringing gender perspectives to popular policy areas, ensuring diversity in participatory processes, and specifically targeting gender gaps in policies to address gov... and inclusionOGP participating governments are working to create governments that truly serve all people. Commitments in this area may address persons with disabilities, women and girls, lesbian, gay, bisexual, tr..., and leveraging open government at the local level.  

We heard concerns that participatory democracy hasn’t been embraced fully in some countries and some are even criminalizing dissent and posing significant threats to media freedoms. As we continue to make sure measures that have been taken to restrict freedoms to curb contagion are proportionate, scrutinized, and time-bound, the need for enhanced collaboration between civil society and governments is a key priority.  

A strong civil society is a prerequisite for enhanced collaboration, but candidates noted that all too often we are witnessing devolving engagement as a result of limited resources and capacity to engage other groups. With the help of our Steering Committee, OGP will focus on providing support to civil society as we anticipate the pandemic to affect funding, priorities and available resources across the sector. 

Gender was the fastest growing policy area in 2019 in OGP. As of today, OGP members have made 127 commitments that include gender and inclusion perspectives, from interventions to reduce gender-based violenceReforms that combat gender-based violence are essential for fostering an inclusive society and government that respects human rights and promotes gender equality. Technical specifications: Commitments... to initiatives to increase women-owned businesses’ access to public procurementTransparency in the procurement process can help combat corruption and waste that plagues a significant portion of public procurement budgets globally. Technical specifications: Commitments that aim t... bids. But there is still much to be done. The candidates noted that we need to continue to harness the collective voices of youthRecognizing that investing in youth means investing in a better future, OGP participating governments are creating meaningful opportunities for youth to participate in government processes. Technical ..., women, people with disabilitiesA government is not open unless it is accessible to all, and governments are working to ensure people with disabilities are afforded equitable services and opportunities to participate. Technical spec... and other represented groups. This means reaching out to individuals in those groups and going beyond elite and in-city actors. They also proposed thinking outside the box and working with for example artists networks and the private sectorGovernments are working to open private sector practices as well — including through beneficial ownership transparency, open contracting, and regulating environmental standards. Technical specificat.... 

OGP recognizes that citizens interact most closely with government at the local level, which is why the Steering Committee Co-Chairs made scaling OGP Local a priority for this year. The incoming Steering Committee members underscored the importance of engaging organizations and government institutions subnationally and providing avenues for communities to enhance their open gov efforts and for everyday citizens to be more involved in open government processes.

As OGP reaches its ten-year anniversary and continues to support its members both in government and civil society in these unprecedented times, the need for proactive, diverse, and effective leadership is even more important. We believe the selected candidates bring a wealth of experience that will, alongside the other members of the OGP Steering Committee, make the Partnership stronger and will help guide OGP on the right path as it tackles the challenges ahead. 

For more information about the selection process please refer to this page.