France Design Report 2018-2020
- Action Plan: France Action Plan 2018-2020
- Dates Under Review: 2018-2020
- Report Publication Year: 2019
- Researcher: Sofia Wickberg
France’s second 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... primarily focuses on 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... and digitalization efforts. Notable commitments call for publishing data on 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... More, involving the public in sustainable development policies, and setting up a register of lobbyists. Moving forward, the government could diversify the thematic scope of commitments and engage a wider range of civil society.
| Table 1. At a glanceParticipating since: 2014 Action plan under review: 2 Report type: Design Number of commitments: 21Action plan development Is there a multi-stakeholder forumRegular dialogue between government and civil society is a core element of OGP participation. It builds trust, promotes joint problem-solving, and empowers civil society to influence the design, imple...? No Level of public influence: Involve Acted contrary to OGP process: No Action plan design Transformative commitments: 2 (10%) Potentially starred commitments: 2 (10%) Action plan implementation Completed commitments: N/A Commitments with major DIOG:* N/A Commitments with outstanding DIOG:* N/A * DIOG: Did it open government? |
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 (OGP) is a global partnership that brings together government reformers and civil society leaders to create action plans that make governments more inclusive, responsive, and accountable. The Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM)The Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) is OGP’s accountability arm and the main means of tracking progress in participating countries. The IRM provides independent, evidence-based, and objective ... monitors all action plans to ensure governments follow through on commitments. France joined OGP in 2014. This report evaluates the design of France’s second action plan.
General overview of action plan
The development of France’s second OGP action plan coincided with a presidential campaign and legislative election, and, later, a change of government. The period of political campaigning and the subsequent change of government contributed to prolonging the elaboration of the plan from February 2017 to April 2018. The new government’s increased focus on the state modernization agenda is reflected in the commitments focusing on e-government and the digitization of public services.
Etalab, an office within the office of the prime minister, leads OGP activities in France. Its mandate largely involves implementing technological solutions to improve 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. There is no formal multi-stakeholder forum for OGP in France. However, Etalab organized a multi-stakeholder event, the Ministère Ouvert, in February 2017 to initiate a dialogue between government agencies and civil society on the second action plan.
The development of France’s second action plan took place over 14 months and involved consultations held mainly online. Etalab set up the Forum Open d’Etat, a multi-stakeholder platform bringing together government officials, civil society organizations (CSOs), business and citizens to discuss actions taken by public administration. Overall, consultations enriched the content of the action plan. Etalab incorporated some but not all suggestions from CSOs.
France’s second OGP action plan focuses mainly on transparency initiatives, digitalization of public services, and open data. Commitments in the current plan cover topics such as public procurement, development aidMore and better information about aid helps partner countries and donor institutions plan and manage aid resources more effectively, parliaments and civil society to hold governments accountable for t..., citizen engagement in climate change and sustainable development policies, transparency of algorithms, and openness around lobbyingLobbying transparency allows the public to ensure that there is diversity of participation and contribution to public decision-making. Technical specifications: Policies and actions affecting lobbying... and public officials. Several commitments involve the provision of mechanisms for user feedback. Some initiatives prioritized by civil society groups — including beneficial ownershipDisclosing beneficial owners — those who ultimately control or profit from a business — is essential for combating corruption, stemming illicit financial flows, and fighting tax evasion. Technical... More transparency and reporting by the extractive sector — were not carried over from the previous action plan.
Table 2. Noteworthy commitments
| 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... description | Moving forward | Status at the end of implementation cycle |
| 2. Increase transparency in public procurement
Centralize and standardize procurement data |
The government could clarify what type of procurement data will be included in the single flow. It could also launch an information campaign for the general public and smaller-sized companies, with information on how they can make use of the single flow of data. In addition, more clarity is needed on the training of officials involved in the digitization of public procurement. | Note: this will be assessed at the end of action plan cycle. |
| 17. Citizen involvement in decision on energyEnsuring universal access to sustainable, dependable, and affordable energy is critical to every aspect of prosperity. Increasing public oversight and transparency in the energy sector can help to ens... More transition and sustainable development
Public monitoring and assessment of the national plans on climate change and United Nations Sustainable Development GoalsOGP countries are experimenting with open government innovations to accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly SDG 16+ which includes peaceful, just and inclusive societies... (SDGs); access to various strategic datasets |
The government needs to clarify and operationalize a mechanism for civil society to take part in the monitoring and assessment of the National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change and in the elaboration of the action plan concerning the SDGs. | Note: this will be assessed at the end of action plan cycle. |
| 20. Lobbying transparency
Publish information on interest groups undertaking lobbying activities |
The government needs to prioritize setting up the register of lobbyists. To achieve higher impact, the register could include information on specific laws that interest groups seek to influence. | Note: this will be assessed at the end of action plan cycle. |
Recommendations
The IRM recommendations aim to inform the development of the next action plan and guide implementation of the current action plan.
Table 3. Five KEY IRM recommendations
| 1. Formalize the multi-stakeholder forum, taking advantage of the Forum Open d’Etat to develop future action plans and monitor the implementation of commitments. |
| 2. Create momentum around OGP in France by involving high-level governmental officials and reaching out to civil society actors beyond the open data community. |
| 3. Future action plans could be designed to ensure the implementation of promises from the Great National Debate. Given popular demand for more citizen voices in decision making, commitments could operationalize pledges such as the facilitation of the referendum of shared initiative, the council of citizen participationAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, citizen participation occurs when “governments seek to mobilize citizens to engage in public debate, provide input, and make contributions that lead to m... More and other forms of direct democracy in local and national politics. |
| 4. Enhance ethics and integrity in public service. Future commitments could include clarifying ethics rules for elected officials, high level civil servants and the Parliament’s staff. The next action plan could be used to strengthen the role of ethics commissioners within the public service and further enhance the transparency of lobbying activities. |
| 5. Align the action plan on existing initiatives and demands from civil society (i.e. ensuring transparency of the beneficial ownership register, open justiceAn open, independent, and impartial justice system serves as a foundation for better access to justice by fulfilling all people’s civil liberties and allowing individuals to more effectively protect..., extractive industry) |
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