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Draft OGP Strategy 2023 – 2028

Creating OGP's Future Together

Starting: 21 Dec Ending

0 days left (ends 15 Feb)

Comment and give your opinion on the draft strategy by going to the discussion

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In May, we reached out to the community to help us develop a new five-year strategy. One of the key aims of the strategy is ensuring a vision and strategic direction that resonates with and has roles for the entire Partnership. We thank everyone who has taken part in this co-creation process so far, and we are excited to announce that the draft strategy is now available for review. 

Among the headlines, you’ll see there are four shifts that were prominent in conversations:

  1. Expanding the open government community to become a much broader, more interconnected movement of open government reformers

  2. Moving from individual actions and OGP commitments to making open government the norm across all levels and branches of government

  3. Building on diverse policy priorities to set partnership-wide, collective policy goals for all national and local members

  4. Becoming the home for inspiration, innovation, evidence and stories on open government

You can read the background and context to the draft strategy here.

The draft strategy will remain open for comment until February 15. You can comment on the draft strategy on Discuto or download it as a PDF on the OGP website here. Please share your feedback on Discuto or in an email to strategy@opengovpartnership.org

Inputs received will be used to finalize the strategy for approval by OGP’s Steering Committee by the end of March. The final strategy will also include information on the fiscal framework and resource mobilization plan, the approach to implementation, and measuring results. Finally, it will include roles for different actors in the Partnership in the implementation phase.

To know more on how this draft has been shaped by consultations to date, please see the Phase 1 and Phase 2 reports.

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P12

Visible, genuine and continuous political leadership – individually and collectively – is critical for shaping, delivering and sustaining ambitious open government reform. Over the last few years this has waned, with the risk of making OGP a less attractive platform for reformers to pursue their agendas. In the coming years, the Partnership will need to collectively invest in mobilizing a much broader spectrum of political support for open government and OGP, including from mayors, members of parliament, ministers and heads of government/state. This will also help to make the Partnership less vulnerable to political changes.

Concretely, this means collectively investing more in understanding how to make open government more politically relevant, backing this up with the compelling value propositions, political incentives, powerful evidence and inspiring stories to appeal to political leaders with different backgrounds and priorities, and thereby equipping the community with the tools needed for outreach to a broader cadre of prospective and future leaders. It means the OGP Support Unit and Steering Committee, working  with local actors to identify and spotlight such leaders much more prominently in OGP activities. 

Secondly, it means raising and codifying expectations of political leadership from the OGP Steering Committee, requiring them to bring cross-government support domestically as well as internationally to lead on outreach to their peers in the wider Partnership and to bring political weight and heft to the launch and implementation of the new strategy. 

Thirdly, it means using OGP regional events and summits to bring in more political actors and politically relevant discussions to these fora, and secure concrete commitments from leaders. This includes capitalizing on the political convening power of other platforms and partners.

Fourthly, it means strengthening engagement with the foreign offices of members to ensure continuity of support across administrations and linkages with other international priorities and pledges.

Relatedly, this means investing in senior civil servants in a similar manner, given their important role in advising and engaging their political principals, leading policy change, and providing continuity across changes in political administration.

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1.2.    Enhance the leadership skills and competencies of open government leaders, building cohorts that advance open government action through multi-stakeholder collaboration

P13

To promote open government as a norm, investing in reformers who can drive, scale and sustain ambitious open government reforms and encourage others to do the same is essential. The strategy consultations pointed to strong support for investing in the ability of reformers to deliver by building their commitment, knowledge, skills and leadership capabilities. Open government approaches are often not known or attractive enough for public officials to adopt. This is even more pertinent in the difficult political environment that reformers in many contexts need to navigate. Similarly, such skill and competency building can benefit civil society advocating for and partnering on implementing open government reforms. While peer exchange and learning – focusing on sharing knowledge and knowhow, and technical assistance through partners – have long been part of the OGP offering, efforts to do so in a systematic way that builds a broader range of skills and capabilities are still nascent.

In the coming years, the OGP Support Unit will invest in developing the leadership and adaptive skills as well as key technical competencies and skills of core community leaders, in partnership with others. The target group will be – both at the national and subnational levels –  senior bureaucrats, civil society leaders, (junior) ministers, emerging political leaders, parliamentarians, and critical reformers in other sectors, each with the potential to inspire others or move open government reforms forward. The focus will be on enhancing their leadership and adaptive capabilities to navigate complex change, secure the political and public support needed to help spread open government reforms, and acquire fundamental open government skills such as embedding inclusive public participation in government practices, policies and services, connecting to people’s movements, meaningful and proactive transparency, and expanding civic space.

Building on the successful pilot phase of the Open Government Leadership Collaborative (OGLC), the OGP Support Unit will purposefully expand its executive leadership programmes, selecting regional and/or thematic cohorts of reformers that can drive change in their contexts, creating a network of alumni that support one another. Over time, OGP will explore partnerships with leadership institutes (e.g. African Leadership Institute) in delivering such programs and consider introducing a certification scheme for quality control and recognition. 

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1.3.    Partner with schools of government, public service academies, and other learning institutions to spread open government skills and knowledge

P14

Where the above mentioned curated leadership programme will focus on building the skills and knowledge of a small core group of leaders, scale will come through partnerships with schools of government, public policy and political academies, and other learning partners. The focus here will be to expose both current and new actors and leaders to open government thinking and approaches, create networks of alumni that have participated in open government and OGP courses and bring those skills and knowledge into their domain of work, and thereby grow the open government movement. The ultimate aim here will be to ensure the diffusion of open government skills across government and beyond.

There are already several countries where civil servants are being officially trained on open government (e.g. Estonia, Kenya, Spain, Nigeria) and other learning partners and networks such as ReSPA in the Balkans region, CEPAL in the Americas, etc. working towards similar aims, working with a broader range of stakeholders and often using OGP material. The OGP Support Unit will encourage other countries to adopt similar approaches and provide high-quality base material to do so. It will also formalize a select number of partnerships nationally and internationally (e.g. Apolitical) to accommodate multi-level and differentiated approaches and a variety of audiences (e.g. political leaders, senior officials, working level officials, and civil society). The content will emphasize core open government approaches, knowledge, value propositions and experiences, as well as skills needed to deliver (e.g., coalition building, effective and inclusive public participation).

An OGP and open government 101 course focused on onboarding new Point of Contacts, members or administrations, or civil society actors new to open government, will also be rolled out.

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1.4.    Explore how we can build better public support for open government values and reforms

P15

For open government to truly be accepted as a norm, there needs to be strong public demand for it that creates incentives for political leaders and public officials to adopt and advance reforms. For many such reforms to succeed, active public participation in designing, implementing or overseeing them is also key. The OGP Support Unit will partner with others to invest in creating the value propositions, evidence and stories to appeal to the informed and engaged public from different backgrounds and with different priorities. It will provide these materials to the community for use in their direct engagement activities at national/local level with the public and with the media. These will also go on to inform the curricula for open government leadership courses, both those offered to small cohorts and en masse through partnerships with learning institutions. Additionally, in a few countries a more proactive approach to building public support will be piloted.

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1.5.    Invest in strategic alliances and partnerships as reinforcers and amplifiers of open government principles

P16

Consultations have shown strong appreciation for the role OGP has played in catalyzing the broader open government field, connecting conversations as well as reformers, to partners and platforms. This role is recognized as having been important in diffusing open government principles and support for it beyond OGP. Moving forward, the OGP Steering Committee, Support Unit and members will take a more intentional and strategic approach in leveraging alliances, platforms and partnerships as a prime opportunity to strengthen the movement, further advance thematic priorities and diffuse open government approaches.

The OGP Steering Committee and Support Unit will systematically forge stronger and more strategic linkages with a handful of critical global and regional agendas and platforms (e.g., G7, S4D, COP, IACC) that aim to advance relevant themes/policy areas. Effort will be placed on ensuring that in big moments the Partnership leverages its collective power and voice, using the strength and access of the Steering Committee and the broader action network, for example, to maximize advocacy opportunities for ensuring these platforms require their participants to advance open government policies and practices. OGP can serve as the connective tissue between these platforms and be positioned as a domestic implementing mechanism. Efforts will also be made to ensure that they embed open government principles in their own processes (for e.g. advocating for them to engage civil society as equal partners to governments).

The OGP Steering Committee and Support Unit will also invest in creating stronger partnerships with key allied organizations and institutions – old and new – that have the ability to support reformers driving change. This includes international organizations (e.g., EU, WB, OECD), technical implementation partners (e.g., GIZ, Expertise France) at global, regional, and national levels. Together, we will also deepen relationships with organizations with aligned missions that can amplify and anchor open government as a norm by embedding open government principles in their own strategies and operations. Existing examples include the OECD Recommendation of the Council on Open Government (and their open government scans) or the inclusion of open government criteria in the World Bank IDA18. As part of this effort, OGP will explore the development of a global coalition to advance the norms, rights and practices of public participation.

At the local level, the OGP Support Unit will expand its strategic alliances approach with local and/or regional associations. These associations play an important role both in the diffusion and in the institutionalization of public policy within their countries. Partners could include local associations which agglomerate subnational governments, relevant autonomous institutes (e.g., INAI, Mexico) or national governments. They would be advocates and custodians for an OGP-like co-creation process and action plans, adopted at scale and adapted to local needs.

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Strategic Goal 2: Catalyze transformative action towards making open government the norm at all levels and branches of government

P17

Action plans by OGP members have been at the heart of OGP. They have ensured that open government goes beyond rhetoric and that governments are required to work with civil society at regular frequency to commit to changes that they can later be held accountable by domestic stakeholders through the Independent Reporting Mechanism and other monitoring efforts. We have learned that the core OGP model of co-creation between governments and civil society, when led effectively, does produce strong results.

While consultations have clearly emphasized that one of OGP’s unique value propositions is its model of co-creation, action, and accountability and that this on action must be maintained in the future, there are some limitations in the current model. For example, action plan processes have often led to standalone commitments rather than broader ambitious reforms that are implemented and sustained over longer time frames; there are no clear ways to recognize or incentivize open government reforms or innovation taking place outside the OGP action plan; and open government is still not being embedded in how governments approach governance or policymaking in general.

Moving forward, OGP will continue to emphasize and support the co-creation of transformative open government reforms through OGP plans and beyond, and encourage and incentivize all members to mainstream open government principles and practices across all areas of governance. For actions beyond the action plan, OGP will continue to emphasize co-creation, implementation and accountability and will only recognize those efforts that follow these principles. 

For the 2023-2028 strategy period, OGP will: 

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2.1.    Strengthen the action framework with attractive fit-for-purpose options, to enable all levels and branches of government across different contexts to advance open government

P18

Over time, OGP will ideally be in a position to offer a single, flexible action framework that can be used by all branches and levels of government. During the strategy period, OGP will start moving in that direction.  

  • We will improve the current OGP action plan model and accompanying guidance and support, to provide a clearer menu of options for members to pursue in different contexts. Meeting the different needs in different contexts, that also change over time, presents significant challenges for continuing a one-size-fits all approach. In recent years, the OGP Steering Committee already approved a series of changes to the current action plan model to make it more flexible, adaptable and effective for members. In the coming year the OGP Support Unit, with the Criteria and Standards subcommittee of the OGP Steering Committee, will more clearly articulate different options for action within and beyond the current OGP Action Plan model. The menu of options will range from a) a more focused/narrow plan – for members with low capacity, low political support or political support limited to a sectoral pocket, b) an improved version of the current action plan to make it more flexible but impactful, c) to an Open Government Strategy – where a member is ready to move towards a longer-term, cross-government commitment. These options will come with improved guidance, support, services, and incentives, and updated rules and monitoring methods that are fit-for-purpose. The goal here will be to make the platform more attractive and easier to use, and support greater ambition, rather than lowering the bar of participation.

When OGP started, it primarily involved the executive branch of government. Now, in a growing number of countries, open government action plans are created across all levels and branches of government. During the strategy period, we will continue to encourage this diffusion of open government principles and practices across all branches and levels of government. 

  • The OGP Support Unit, in collaboration with domestic civil society and partners will continue to promote parliamentary engagement in OGP.  Parliaments can legislate, ensure parliamentary oversight, open up parliamentary processes and foster the cross-party dialogue and support needed to advance and institutionalize open government reforms. The OGP Support Unit’s focus will be on encouraging parliamentary participation in the national (or local) OGP process in an integrated manner, in line with OGP’s 2021 Memorandum on Parliamentary Engagement. Over the course of the strategy period, we will explore how the engagement of the judiciary in OGP – still nascent in most contexts – may be improved. 
  • OGP Local will also continue to be important and central to OGP's success and there will be continued focus on attracting and investing in open government local members. The OGP Local track will be grown sustainably and will serve as a cohort of champions who inspire the field and kick-start action. This will be done by redesigning the track, setting a cap to the number of members at any given time, upgrading ‘self-service’, with more agile rules for entry and exit to attract and retain potentially high performing jurisdictions. This will create the pathway for motivated Locals to join with relative ease, prioritizing support to where there is energy and ambition. The OGP Support Unit will develop an integrated approach to support and services for all members, including on guidance, inspiration and innovation, recognition and leadership development. A strong emphasis with OGP Local will be on encouraging and supporting reforms that mainstream and embed public participation in local government.
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2.2.    Record, incentivize and recognize action beyond OGP action plans and processes, and beyond OGP members

P19

The OGP Support Unit will work with the rest of the Partnership to invest in better incentivizing, capturing, recognizing and inspiring open government action happening outside the OGP process and plans. 

As a first phase, this will entail country stakeholders capturing and sharing promising and inspiring open government efforts being made outside of OGP action plans, and supporting the reformers driving these efforts through OGP’s leadership development and other types of support.  Actions captured and recognized by OGP will be required to follow the OGP philosophy of co-creation and our values. The OGP Support Unit and IRM, in collaboration with relevant partners and experts, will provide guidance and resources on embedding open government principles and practices in key country strategies and reforms.  In a second phase, OGP will consider if and how it should play a role – directly or through partners – in measuring open government progress within and beyond action plans on key open government topics or indicators. OGP will also design incentive programs for members to take action on key improvement areas, through and beyond OGP action plans. 

The Partnership will also support and incentivize open government action – and co-creation – by non-members by sharing our tools and approaches, capturing and sharing their reform stories and achievements, and making them part of the community in an effort to encourage the adoption of open government approaches beyond our current membership.  Priority will be on encouraging the self-service use of the OGP model and knowledge resources by eligible and near eligible countries, and current members providing bilateral support, hopefully inspiring such countries to formally join. The Steering Committee will also deliberate upon specific options for participation for non-universally recognized countries. At the local level, membership pathways for local jurisdictions from non-member countries will be developed. 

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2.3.    Support members' advance towards open government as a norm, particularly in windows of political opportunity or transition and in countries with vibrant open government ecosystems

P20

The ultimate vision for OGP will only be realized when open government is embedded in how governments govern – from open government action plans and strategies to ensuring that open government principles and practices are embedded in everything governments do. 

Political transitions and windows of political opportunity in particular offer conditions to enable such shifts.  The consultations have reinforced that all parts of OGP can be strategic and agile in more quickly identifying and preparing for windows of political opportunity and acting upon them so governments embed open government in how they implement their reform manifestos and agendas rather than see open government and OGP processes and plans as parallel, unrelated efforts. The OGP Support Unit will invest in designing a strategic collective approach together with  national actors and partners – including civil society and social movements –  and global partners to engage swiftly before, during and after these windows emerge at the country or local level. Currently, the level, duration and intensity of support and who to whom it is  directed often falls short. At moments like these, OGP members and the Support Unit will not necessarily be tied down by the action plan model and rules, and instead focus on using open government approaches to deliver on reform agendas or manifesto pledges. Elements of a renewed Partnership-wide approach could include a combination of rapid response approaches, recognition and incentives, political outreach, and dedicated peer support from the Steering Committee, donors and others. 

For more regular political transitions, the OGP Support Unit will further codify and strengthen our approach to introduce OGP and open government values, advantages and approaches to the incumbent political leaders, aligning it to their political priorities. The Support Unit will invest in preparing different actors in the OGP ecosystem to engage and secure the commitment of political leaders pre- and post transitions. This will include the Steering Committee playing a more political and outward-facing leadership role in engaging high-level government peers, communicating OGP’s value proposition, and securing their commitment. The work of an ‘inspiration hub’ (see Strategic Goal 4 below) will include providing value propositions, data and stories to support domestic efforts to introduce open government thinking to political parties and candidates. In line with a more networked and distributed model of support, OGP multi-stakeholder forums (MSF) members and civil society will be primed to support their peers undergoing transitions. The OGP Support Unit will also develop recommendations for members to institutionalize OGP through administrative, regulatory or legal instruments to ensure continuity of open government and OGP commitments across political cycles. Finally, with partners, and local actors, the OGP Support Unit will continue to focus on strengthening parliamentary engagement in OGP to ensure cross-party support for embedding open government in key governance processes, strategies and programs. 

The OGP Support Unit, with the Steering Committee and partners, will additionally invest in deepening open government action, and moving towards making open government the norm, with a handful of countries where there is a vibrant open government ecosystem and community across all levels and branches of government, or in countries where windows of opportunity emerge. In this approach, governments will be encouraged to cross-fertilize and cooperate on reforms across levels and branches, and mainstream open government in key national and local strategies. 

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Strategic Goal 3: Drive collective ambition and sustained results on open government norms in key policy areas

P21

OGP will continue to uphold one of its central design principles – a domestically-owned framework and process of determining priorities – and remain open to action across a broad spectrum of policy areas, acknowledging that members will have different priorities and maturity levels depending on their context. However, to enable and show collective progress, the OGP Steering Committee will also prioritize a subset of critical and promising themes on which the entire Partnership will be challenged to advance ambitious action.

For the 2023-2028 strategy period, OGP will: 

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3.1.    Set thematic priorities and cultivate coalitions to define and drive collective ambition and sustained results