The Path to Openness: AGESIC

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Since the creation of AGESIC, we have understood that democracy involves structures that change and should adapt – though no longer according to the schemes of projects or isolated policies, but to the evolution which is determined by the demands of citizens.

In our agency, our mission is to lead an implementation strategy for Digital Government with a public administration centered on citizens. We aim to change the relationship between citizens and the State based on the possibilities that information technologies open to us. In this regard, new technologies are for us not ends in themselves, but rather tools that allow us to achieve truly meaningful changes in people’s lives.

We understand that in order to do this we must discover a form of government with inclusive policies which foster participation, equity and capacity development – always with an eye toward improving the quality of life of all people in our country.

In our work, citizens are not a passive receiver of government measures, but rather builders of democracy, self-assured actors in the decisions of the State. A government should be open by default and it should establish clear lines of action and goals which to make this a natural thing.

Before the formation 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, in Uruguay we had already begun to put the principles of 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 collaboration into practice. This was through policies designed to reduce breaches, foster equity and democratize access to public services.

In this regard, in 2008 Uruguay approved two fundamental laws which guaranteed citizen rights and were the foundation of the openness policies that the country would adopt later: the Personal Information Protection Law and the Access to Public Information Law.

To formalize our 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... to government openness policies, in 2011 we joined the Open Government Partnership. This was to carry forward an integrated strategy which incorporates actors from government, academia and civil society, and which includes: concrete objectives and actions, working groups, public consultations, approved laws, the promotion of open dataBy opening up data and making it sharable and reusable, governments can enable informed debate, better decision making, and the development of innovative new services. Technical specifications: Polici... in the government, and capacity buildingEnhancing the skills, abilities, and processes of public servants, civil society, and citizens is essential to achieving long-lasting results in opening government. Technical specifications: Set of ac... through datacamps, hackathons and competitions. These actions reflect objectives and goals that form part of a strategy that we not only consider necessary, but fundamental to giving citizens power with regard to government accountability and to making them influential actors in government decisions.

Since the development of the first Action PlanAction plans are at the core of a government’s participation in OGP. They are the product of a co-creation process in which government and civil society jointly develop commitments to open governmen... until now, Uruguay has been at the forefront of Open Government in Latin America. It has achieved a good balance between the various lines of action of Open Government and concrete steps taken to consolidate its fundamental precepts.

It is expected with social evolution that a line of continuity be maintained to give a basis to the ideals of every government project, but at the same time, that we remain adaptable to change and are attentive to forms of governance that put citizens at the center – making him or her an important actor in government decisions. By following the path to openness, we will achieve the tangible goal of strengthening the pillars of democracy in our countries.