Latvia Design Report 2019–2021 – For Public Comment

In 2020, 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 ... published the Design Report for Latvia’s fourth 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... (2019-2021). The report covers the development of the action plan and the design of its commitments.

In Latvia, the IRM researcher’s, Indra Mangule, findings are summarized below:

“Latvia’s 2019-2021 action plan addresses relevant national issues 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..., 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 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, and participation in local government. The co-creation processCollaboration between government, civil society and other stakeholders (e.g., citizens, academics, private sector) is at the heart of the OGP process. Participating governments must ensure that a dive... introduced a new multistakeholder forum and civil society and government officials collaborated closely on the development of commitments. Greater involvement from high level and political officials could ensure more impactful commitments related to 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 greater ambitionAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, OGP commitments should “stretch government practice beyond its current baseline with respect to key areas of open government.” Ambition captures the po... for 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... regulationGovernment reformers are developing regulations that enshrine values of transparency, participation, and accountability in government practices. Technical specifications: Act of creating or reforming ....”

And in Latvian:

“Latvijas 2019. – 2021. gada Rīcības plānā aplūkoti jautājumi par atvērtajiem datiem, publiskā iepirkuma pārredzamību un līdzdalību vietējās pašvaldībās. Koprades procesā tika izveidots jauns ieinteresēto pušu forums. Apņemšanās tika izstrādātas, pilsoniskās sabiedrības pārstāvjiem sadarbojoties ar valdības amatpersonām. Ja procesā iesaistītu augsta līmeņa ierēdņus un politiķus, būtu iespējams plānā iekļaut efektīvākas apņemšanās attiecībā uz sabiedrības līdzdalību un ambiciozākus plānus saistībā ar lobēšanas regulējumu.”

The version of the report for public comment is available below in English and in Latvian.  The two-week public comment period closed Friday 23 October.