Montenegro Design Report 2018-2020

Montenegro’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... ended a prolonged period of OGP inactivity in the country. The plan addresses budget 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, public participationGiving citizens opportunities to provide input into government decision-making leads to more effective governance, improved public service delivery, and more equitable outcomes. Technical specificatio..., and electronic services. Most commitments derive from the country’s ongoing Public Administration Reform and the EU accession process. Moving forward, Montenegro could use the OGP process to advance long-term strategic goals, and strengthen transparency in public spending, access to information, and public participation tools.

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. Montenegro joined OGP in 2012. Since, Montenegro has implemented one action plan. This report evaluates the design of Montenegro’s second action plan.

General overview of action plan

Montenegro’s second action plan includes commitments closely related to their public administration reform and the country’s EU integration process. Activities include expanding online public participation tools, improving budget transparency, and a study on whistleblower protection. Other activities involve internal administration reforms such as the national identification document, fee collection, and online taxPlacing transparency, accountability, and participation at the center of tax policy can ensure that burdens are distributed equitably across society. Technical specifications: Commitments related to c... filling; in this context, many milestones are technical portal improvements or studies for recommendations.

The cocreation process was led by the Operations Team (OT), which serves as Montenegro’s multistakeholder forum. Civil society stakeholders had opportunities to participate and submit proposals during the OT meetings and through additional online consultations. However, the short timeframe of the plan’s development prohibited greater engagement, an area for improvement in the future.

Notably, 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... 2 includes the expansion of online public participation and e-petition tools. Commitment 6 involves developing visual presentations of the state and local budgets, and publishing citizen brochures, as well as conducting a comparative study on whistleblower protection.

Table 2. Noteworthy commitments

Recommendations

The IRM recommendations aim to inform the development of the next action plan and guide implementation of the current action plan. Please refer to Section V: General Recommendations for more details on each of the below recommendations.

Table 3. Five KEY IRM Recommendations