OGP’s Articles of Governance Open for 30-Day Public Comment Period

OGP’s Articles of Governance are now open for a 30-day public comment period. The Articles of Governance (http://www.opengovpartnership.org/Articles) were adopted by consensus by 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... in April 2012 and revised in March 2014 to reflect decisions taken by the Steering Committee. These Articles establish the mandate and policies of the Open Government PartnershipThe Open Government Partnership (OGP) is a multi-stakeholder initiative focused on improving government transparency, ensuring opportunities for citizen participation in public matters, and strengthen... More, including the OGP Steering Committee, the OGP Support UnitThe OGP Support Unit is a small, permanent group of staff that work closely with the Steering Committee and the Independent Reporting Mechanism to advance the goals of the Open Government Partnership...., and the Independent Reporting Mechanism. 

The Articles of Governance call for the OGP Support Unit to conduct an annual review of the Articles to incorporate Steering Committee decisions taken in the last year. Based on this review, the Steering Committee has recommended changes reflected in the version on this page (http://www.opengovpartnership.org/Articles). Some of these changes include: 

• Additions of the Response PolicyThe Response Policy is used when an OGP participating country appears to be taking actions that undermine the values and principles of OGP, as articulated in the Open Government Declaration, in a way ... and IRM Charter as addenda at the end of the document. Supporting language to both documents has been added throughout the articles.
• Annual Conference is now described as the Biannual Summit.
• Eligibility criteria has been adjusted to reflect the revised asset disclosureAsset declaration laws are an essential safeguard against corruption that require public servants to disclose information on their wealth, possessions, and other interests. Technical specifications: A... metric.
• Size and rotation schedule of the SC was updated.
• Funding model section was revised to include decision on contributions from all OGP 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.... 

OGP opened a 30-day public comment period on the proposed revisions to the Articles on March 11, 2015. The comment period will close on Friday April 10 at 11pm PST. 

Comments can be either submitted through a form at this site (https://docs.google.com/a/opengovpartnership.org/forms/d/1digkzrcfsddTVg2Am25MUbOXFscVbpTgoUXOGGWCEUE/viewform) or by emailing the Support Unit at info@opengovpartnership.org.  

You can view previous comments at https://docs.google.com/a/opengovpartnership.org/spreadsheets/d/1uSSwQwJQkVlzkJgHGNajcaGGhol1DjxiAnQfw_9wuOo/edit#gid=1665094237