Launch of OGP Government Champion Award!
The civil society members of the OGP steering committee are proud to announce the inaugural OGP Government Champion Award! Now is the time to consider nominating OGP government offices, departments, or teams you feel are going “above and beyond” the Partnership’s expectations with respect to partnering with civil society to genuinely co-create National Action Plans and co-monitor their implementation. If you feel you’ve been able to work in true partnership with your government counterparts on OGP and have appreciated their creativity and willingness to engage, this is your chance to honor and celebrate that 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... and leadership.
Why we’re doing this: Presented by the civil society members of 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... during the Civil Society Day at the OGP Global Summit, the Award aims to raise awareness around the ideal co-creation dynamic between government and civil society that OGP aspires to. The Award is also intended to provide high-level political visibility to the key change agents within leading OGP governments that have taken co-creation to heart and are embracing it as fully as possible.
What we’re looking for: The Award is intended to highlight OGP government departments, teams, and/or offices that have a) fully embraced co-creation by sharing responsibility, authority, and “the pen” with counterpart civil society actors in the NAP development process; b) have successfully fought their own bureaucracies for increased space and voice for civil society in the NAP/OGP process; and/or c) have embraced civil society recommendations for NAP commitments including recommendations that are politically sensitive and/or difficult for government.
In short: we’re looking for OGP government teams that go beyond baseline box ticking in their embrace of co-creation. These are the teams, offices, and/or departments that willingly take on the thorny advocacy asks of their civil society counterparts, adjust the OGP process and schedule to accommodate civil society suggestions, and arrive at decisions concerning the content of their NAP based on a compelling rationale that is communicated clearly and regularly to civil society throughout the process. They serve as true partners of civil society in the OGP process, not as adversaries or grudging bedfellows.
The process: A public nomination period begins at 8:15 am EDT on September 19 and runs through close of business Saturday October 4. Anyone can nominate an OGP government team or department, but nominations can only come from non-governmental actors or individuals (i.e. no self-nominations are allowed by governments). An Award selection committee drawn from the OGP civil society steering committee cohort will then select three semi-finalists. The Award winner will be determined by a public vote. The winning government will be presented with the Award at the OGP Civil Society Day in Mexico City on October 27th 2015.
How to submit a nomination: We’re asking for a brief written summary (no more than 750 words) and a short homemade video (no more than 90 seconds). Semi-finalist nominators will have their submission videos played at the beginning of the OGP Civil Society Day in Mexico City and, if attending in person, will also be asked to present a 120-second lightning talk to make the case for their nominated government.
We’re running the Award nomination process and public voting on this website: https://app.wizehive.com/contests/ogp-champions. Please don’t email nominations or votes! (Note: the “Enter Now” tab will appear on the site at 8:15 am EDT on September 19th, don’t worry! But you can preview the rest of the contest now at the URL above.)
For more information and details: Contact OGP steering committee member and award czar Nathaniel Heller (nheller@r4d.org or on Twitter) for questions and queries.