Inception Report – Action plan – Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2025 – 2027
- Action Plan: Action plan – Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2025 – 2027
Overview
Name of Evaluator
Rocío Annunziata
Member Name
Buenos Aires, Argentina
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... Title
Action plan – Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2025 – 2027
Section 1.
Compliance with
co-creation requirements
1.1 Does a forum exist?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
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... of the Fourth Open Government Action Plan was shaped by two multi-stakeholder forums. The Open State Roundtable (MEAB) had been operating since 2019 (established by Resolution 23/SSGECI/19), bringing together representatives from the three branches of government and three civil society organizations. This body served as the basis for convening preparatory instances ahead of the April 2025 co-creation workshops: the Co-creation Meeting on the Strategic Vision for the Fourth Action Plan in November 2024, and the meeting held in early 2024 to prioritize proposals submitted through the Open Call. Alongside the launch of the Fourth Action Plan, the creation of a new forum—the Open Government Forum (FOGA)—was announced. This space functions as a permanent platform for dialogue among government, civil society organizations, academia, the private sectorGovernments are working to open private sector practices as well — including through beneficial ownership transparency, open contracting, and regulating environmental standards. Technical specificat... More, and other stakeholders, with the purpose of promoting, envisioning, and designing open government policies and tools.
Provide references here (e.g. interviews):
This initial evaluation followed a feedback process with stakeholders, as recommended by the IRM in a Box Guide. The document was shared with all participants in the co-creation process, and their suggestions were incorporated. The research underpinning this report draws on document analysis, non-participant observation of all stages of the co-creation process, and 23 interviews with governmental actors from the three branches of government, as well as all participating civil society organizations. The supporting evidence is provided through open links leading to a dedicated folder for each point of the form, although in some cases the same evidence supports multiple points.
1.2 Is the forum multi-stakeholder?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
Both the MEAB and the FOGA are multi-stakeholder forums with an active role for civil society, academia, and all three branches of government. The MEAB included as permanent members Democracia en Red, Directorio Legislativo and Mundo Sur. In the 2025 co-creation process, additional organizations joined, including some participating for the first time in an Open Government Plan, such as Colossus Lab, Fundación Éforo, and Fundación T.E.A., as well as organizations with prior experience in earlier plans (ACIJ, Poder Ciudadano, Conocimiento Abierto, INECIP, FUNDAR).
Launched in 2025, the FOGA has a more open participatory dynamic, enabling organizations and individuals to engage without acting as representatives, while also allowing topics and agendas not included in the commitments to be addressed. It also serves as a space to monitor progress on the Plan’s milestones and seeks to incorporate private sector actors.
Provide references here (e.g. interviews):
1.3 Does the forum hold at least one meeting with civil society and non-governmental stakeholders during the co-creation of the action plan?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The co-creation process of the IV Open Government Action Plan began in late 2024 with preparatory meetings, particularly the Strategic Vision Co-Creation Meeting held in person on 25 November 2024, with actors from all three branches of government and civil society. In February 2025, an Open Call for proposals was launched through an online consultation, receiving 54 proposals, and a methodology was established to prioritize them. In March 2025, a MEAB meeting was held to prioritize the proposals and define the topics for the co-creation tables. On 29–30 April 2025, the eight co-creation tables of the IV Action Plan took place, again involving representatives from the three branches of government, academia, and civil society. The draft plan emerging from these sessions was subsequently shared virtually for consultation with the participants. Finally, the IV Action Plan was officially launched on 21 May 2025.
Provide references here (e.g. interviews):
1.4 Has the action plan been endorsed by the stakeholders of the forum or steering committeeThe Steering Committee is OGP’s executive decision-making body. Its role is to develop, promote and safeguard OGP’s values, principles and interests; establish OGP’s core ideas, policies, and ru.../group?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
Non-government stakeholders endorsed the Action Plan before it was submitted to OGP. According to interviews conducted, civil society actors who participated in the co-creation tables were consulted on the drafting of the commitments and were able to provide comments in a document shared with government actors during May 2025, before the launch of the IV Action Plan. They also stated that they will continue participating in the development of the various commitments. Some of these actors, such as Fundación Poder Ciudadano and ACIJ, are listed in the final version of the IV Action Plan as organizations involved in the commitments.
Provide references here (e.g. interviews):
Section 2.
Recommended practices
in co-creation
2.1 Does the government maintain a Local OGP website or webpage on a government website where information on the OGP Local process (co-creation and implementation) is proactively published?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The OGP Local Government Point of Contact (DGAIGA) maintains a website that proactively and regularly provides information on the co-creation process and the progress of each milestone and 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.... The site is fully accessible. Updates on ongoing and completed activities are also regularly shared on X and LinkedIn. The monitoring platform is structured so that citizens can track the progress of each commitment and milestone, and it is kept up to date. As a suggestion to improve clarity, the platform could include a warning button to inform users that by clicking on each commitment or milestone, progress reports can be viewed. According to the OGP Local Handbook, it is recommended to include a note with the date of the last update and a section to receive feedback from citizens.
Provide references here (e.g. interviews):
2.2 Did the government provide information to stakeholders in advance to facilitate informed and prepared participation in the co-creation process?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
Before each meeting, the government shared information on the thematic agenda and schedule. To attend the co-creation tables, interested individuals had to register via a form, which provided information on the thematic areas to be addressed. The tables covered the following topics:
- Fourth Open Climate Action Plan;
- Access to JusticeAccessible justice systems – both formal and informal – ensure that individuals and communities with legal needs know where to go for help, obtain the help they need, and move through a system tha... More;
- Institutional Innovation Lab;
- Co-creation of standards for publishing the dataset of public information requests (Article 16 of Law 104);
- Update of Law 1845 on personal data protection;
- Updates and improvements to the Legislature website and Legischat;
- 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...;
- 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 system and automated registry of gifts. Non-governmental actors, although familiar with the issues to be addressed, were not aware in advance of the specific commitment proposals that would serve as the starting point for the discussion.
Provide references here (e.g. interviews):
2.3 Did the government ensure that any interested member of the public could make inputs into the action plan and observe or have access to decision-making documentation?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
Citizens had the opportunity to contribute to the Action Plan at four points during the process: the Strategic Vision Co-Creation, the Open Call for proposals (online, receiving 54 proposals), the co-creation tables (eight working tables over two days), and the public consultation (comments or suggestions on the draft Plan prior to its launch).
Since the DGAIGA website was being redesigned to host an improved monitoring platform, participation invitations were primarily disseminated via email (starting from the MEAB contact list and expanded with participants from previous activities), WhatsApp, X, and LinkedIn. This approach allowed the general public and civil society organizations to participate in the Open Call for proposals and the co-creation tables, and after the tables, participants were invited to take part in the public consultation.
Provide references here (e.g. interviews):
2.4 Did the government proactively report back or provide written feedback to stakeholders on how their contributions were considered during the creation of the action plan?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
In February 2025, the government launched an open call for proposals from all interested stakeholders, established a methodology to prioritize these proposals, and convened a meeting of the Open State Roundtable in March to discuss the prioritization. The prioritization was based on the following criteria: institutional complexity, social integration, feasibility, relevanceAccording to the OGP Articles of Governance, OGP commitments should include a clear open government lens. Specifically, they should advance at least one of the OGP values: transparency, citizen partic..., and impact.
This process allowed different areas of the three branches of government to work on drafting commitment proposals, which were then discussed in the co-creation roundtables in April 2025. According to interviews and the evaluator’s observations, during the roundtables, participants were able to see how some of their contributions were reflected in the notes that later shaped the draft text of the commitments. Subsequently, those who had participated in the roundtables had access to the preliminary version of the IV Action Plan and were able to provide comments and questions.
Provide references here (e.g. interviews):
2.5 Was there an iterative dialogue and shared ownership between government and non-governmental stakeholders during the decision making process, including setting the agenda?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The co-creation process was participatory and deliberative, as there were multiple instances for both governmental and non-governmental actors to present ideas and make suggestions. The dialogue was iterative, allowing for communication and feedback between government and civil society, with each stage shaping the next one. The co-creation of the Strategic Vision defined the framework for developing commitments; the open call for proposals (25 proposals were submitted by Executive Branch agencies, 9 from the Legislative and Judicial Branches, and 20 from civil society organizations and individual citizens) established the working themes to organize the co-creation roundtables; discussions in the co-creation roundtables influenced the preliminary drafting of commitments and milestones; and the public consultation shaped the final version of the Fourth Action Plan. In several cases, commitments and their milestones were improved with recommendations from civil society.
Provide references here (e.g. interviews):
2.6 Would you consider the forum to be inclusive and diverse?
Moderately
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The mechanisms for participation in the co-creation process and the FOGA are inclusive, as any organization or individual who wishes to do so may take part. However, no formal positions are established for vulnerable groups, such as women, LGBTQIA+Increasing opportunities for participation and creating accountability mechanisms for the LGBTQIA+ community in policy-making and service delivery can ensure that their voices are heard and changes ar..., youthRecognizing that investing in youth means investing in a better future, OGP participating governments are creating meaningful opportunities for youth to participate in government processes. Technical ... More, persons with disabilities, or Indigenous communities. Interviewed stakeholders agreed in noting an underrepresentation of civil society and an overrepresentation of governmental actors from different agencies and branches in the co-creation tables. In general, the organizations that did participate focus their work on issues of democracy, institutional quality, and 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..., rather than on specific problems such as the environment or disability. The interviews also revealed that civil society organizations are facing a difficult context due to resource constraints. For a future process, it is suggested to aim for the inclusionOGP participating governments are working to create governments that truly serve all people. Commitments in this area may address persons with disabilities, women and girls, lesbian, gay, bisexual, tr... More of more issue-specific organizations and non-organized citizens.
Provide references here (e.g. interviews):
Section 3.
Initial evaluation
of commitments
1 Commitment :
Institutional Innovation Laboratory to promote Accessible and Inclusive ElectionsImproving transparency in elections and maintaining the independence of electoral commissions is vital for promoting trust in the electoral system, preventing electoral fraud, and upholding the democr... More (ARBA0009)
1.1 Is the commitment verifiable?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The commitment is part of the broader Institutional Innovation Laboratory (LABIIN) project, implemented by the Directorate General of Political and Electoral Affairs, which originated as an initiative under the Federal Open State Program commitment of the V National Open Government Action Plan (2022–2024). The laboratory was already operational; the commitment developed under the framework of the IV Action Plan aims to use this space to experiment with the issue of electoral accessibility through meetings and various feedback mechanisms with civil society organizations representing persons with disabilities, followed by simulations and testing of voting tools and assistive devices. The commitment is verifiable, and the milestones have clear dates aligned with the tasks they entail. It is noteworthy that the milestones are arranged chronologically, following the steps of an action plan. The first milestone has already been achieved, and the second is currently in progress.
Website “Laboratorio de Innovación Institucional”
Provide evidence for your answer:
1.2 Does the commitment language/activities clearly justify relevance to OGP values?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The commitment is relevant to OGP values, particularly in enhancing 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. On one hand, it improves participation in its own development, as LABIIN is designed as a space for experimentation and feedback with civil society. On the other hand, the report generated at the end of the commitment could influence the design of more inclusive and accessible voting tools, potentially improving electoral participation conditions for persons with disabilities. In its formulation, it is emphasized that the objective is not merely to produce a written document, but to ensure that at least one co-created solution is implemented. Although organizations representing persons with disabilities did not participate in the co-creation of the commitment, its implementation entails their involvement.
Provide evidence for your answer:
1.3 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:
a continuation of ongoing practice in line with existing legislationCreating and passing legislation is one of the most effective ways of ensuring open government reforms have long-lasting effects on government practices. Technical specifications: Act of creating or r..., policies or requirements.
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
Although the commitment is innovative in its content and for adding a new area of work to LABIIN, it is presented as a continuation of a policy already being implemented (and some voting simulations with persons with disabilities were in fact carried out before the development of the commitment began). It should be noted, however, that the commitment has the potential, as an expected outcome—albeit beyond the commitment itself—to generate new assistive tools at the time of voting, which could improve the exercise of the rights of persons with disabilities. It is also worth noting that, according to interviewed stakeholders, this commitment arose from a demand from civil society directed at LABIIN.
Provide evidence for your answer:
1.4 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:
is a positive change to a process, practice or policy but will not generate a binding or institutionalized change across government or specific institution(s).
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The commitment aims to explore, together with civil society and through testing of tools, solutions to address the barriers related to the accessibility of persons with disabilities in the voting process Given that the commitment pertains only to the experimentation stage within the framework of an institutional innovation laboratory, it could be said that there is not yet sufficient information to determine whether it will be binding, since the City of Buenos Aires has electoral bodies that are autonomous from the government. Nonetheless, the outcomes generated by this commitment have significant potential to produce binding changes in the electoral system of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, while also potentially generating spillover impacts in other jurisdictions.
Provide evidence for your answer:
1.5 Are there any recommended changes to the design of the commitment to help improve its implementation?
No design changes are recommended, as the commitment is very well structured with clear, results-oriented stages. However, it is important to emphasize that the development of the commitment must involve the interested and affected parties, namely persons with disabilities and their representative organizations. During the co-creation table for this commitment, non-governmental actors highlighted the absence of specialized organizations, but the General Directorate of Political and Electoral Affairs reaffirmed its commitment to involve them from the outset (Milestone 2, according to the final wording of the IV Plan). An added value of this commitment is that it strongly links the directorate overseeing LABIIN with the Undersecretariat for Full Participation and Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities (COPIDIS) (indeed, on August 26, 2025, LABIIN and COPIDIS held a meeting, and as part of milestone 2, a co-creation session is planned within COPIDIS’ Honorary Advisory Committee, which includes two representatives from each type of disability).
2 Commitment :
Fostering an Open State to Strengthen Institutions (ARBA0011)
2.1 Is the commitment verifiable?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
This commitment is subdivided into 4 sub-commitments, each driven by a government branch:
- Updates and improvements to the Legislature’s website (Legislative Branch);
- Transparency system and automated registry of gifts (Office of Public Integrity – Executive Branch);
- Transparency in the Superior Court of JusticeTo address barriers that prevent citizens from having their justice needs met, OGP participating governments are working to expand transparency, accountability, and inclusion into all systems of justi... of the City of Buenos Aires (Tribunal Superior de Justicia);
- Co-creation of standards for publishing the dataset of public information requests (Judicial Branch).
Despite the complexity of involving all three branches with different sub-commitments and having a total of 20 milestones, the commitment is clearly drafted and verifiable. Overall, the commitment seeks to enhance the actions implemented by the three branches of government in active transparency and accountability. Five milestones are already in progress, and two have been completed. It is worth noting that certain milestones, such as hackathons involving civil society organizations, journalists, and the general public, were proposed by civil society.
Website “Apertura del Estado para el fortalecimiento institucional”
Provide evidence for your answer:
2.2 Does the commitment language/activities clearly justify relevance to OGP values?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The commitment aims to improve transparency and accountability across the three branches of government, making it undoubtedly relevant to OGP values. The Executive Branch commits to improving the registration mechanism related to the Gift Regime; the Legislature commits to improving the clarity of its website, which contains many active transparency elements, to make it more accessible to citizens; Superior Court of Justice of the City of Buenos Aires (Tribunal Superior de Justicia) commits to publishing judicial and budgetary activity; and the JudiciaryWhile a majority of open government reforms occur within the executive branch, OGP members are increasingly taking on commitments to increase the openness of the judicial branch. Technical specificati... as a whole will establish unified criteria for a public information requests repositoryAccess to relevant information is essential for enabling participation and ensuring accountability throughout the OGP process. An OGP repository is an online centralized website, webpage, platform or .... All three sub-commitments include participatory moments as a means, not as an end (i.e., all involve consultations, co-creation tables, surveys, and other mechanisms as part of implementation), thereby indirectly fostering participation.
Provide evidence for your answer:
2.3 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:
a continuation of ongoing practice in line with existing legislation, policies or requirements.
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The four sub-commitments aim to strengthen or build upon existing practices: the improvements to the Legislature’s website are based on the finding that, while it provides a large amount of information, it is disorganized and seldom consulted by users; the Gift Registration system is a proposal based on the fact that, although regulations exist, they are rarely applied in practice, as the number of registered gifts is very low.; the need to establish standards for publishing the public information requests dataset within the Judiciary arises from the use of different criteria across agencies, which hinders clarity for citizens. Publishing budgetary and judicial activity data by the Superior Court of Justice of the City of Buenos Aires (Tribunal Superior de Justicia) is a new initiative, although it builds on a project initiated in 2024 as part of an OGP challenge.
Provide evidence for your answer:
2.4 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:
will result in a change of the rules, practices, or policies that govern a policy area, public sector and/or relationship between citizens and is binding or institutionalized across government or specific institution(s).
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
Although none of the four sub-commitments generate new binding regulations, they aim to effect cross-cutting changes in practices across all three branches of government. These sub-commitments build on and deepen the ongoing work of each branch in transparency, developed under previous Action Plans. They also consolidate a distinctive feature of Buenos Aires’ Open Government Action Plans: the joint work of all three branches. The sub-commitments seek to gradually transform how the government communicates relevant information to citizens, making it clear and accessible, fostering critical civil society engagement, and supporting an informed public sphere. The automated registry of gifts sub-commitment additionally aims to change executive staff practices regarding accountability.
Provide evidence for your answer:
2.5 Are there any recommended changes to the design of the commitment to help improve its implementation?
Although all sub-commitments include milestones that promote civil society participation, the organizations that typically participate (due to their specialization) do not necessarily represent the experience of ordinary people or users. It is recommended to seek ways to hold citizen assemblies or focus groups with participants selected by lottery to gather the perceptions of ordinary people regarding the accessibility and usefulness of the published information. It is also recommended that the websites where datasets, judicial activity information, the gifts registry, and legislative data are published offer some functionality allowing a degree of user interaction, including at least the option to query or report incomplete or confusing data. To foster citizen ownership of the published data, research challenges using these datasets can be organized to allow storytelling based on the data.
3 Commitment :
Access to Justice: Clear and accessible information for the effective exercise of rights (ARBA0010)
3.1 Is the commitment verifiable?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The commitment aims to reduce the gap in Access to Justice by organizing and making available all information on the mechanisms for accessing rights and services available to the population in the City of Buenos Aires, ranging from conflict resolution to social programs. The commitment is clear and verifiable, although the linkage between the social programs dimension and the access to the judicial system could be better specified, along with the corresponding coordination between the two responsible agencies. The milestones constitute concrete activities. Several of the milestones focus on the co-creation of the digital tool and its testing, but there are no milestones related to agreements with other agencies of the Executive Branch that provide services or guarantee rights. Currently, 3 out of 11 milestones are already in progress.
Provide evidence for your answer:
3.2 Does the commitment language/activities clearly justify relevance to OGP values?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
This commitment is relevant to OGP values, particularly because it seeks to promote transparency and accessibility of information for the most vulnerable groups. As stated in the commitment itself, it aims to strengthen the “right of access to information as a precondition for the exercise of other rights, such as justice and access to social programs.” Secondarily, the commitment promotes greater accountability by disseminating the services and programs implemented by the Executive Branch, and encourages participation by providing civil society with tools to advocate for the effective exercise of their rights. It is worth noting that this commitment arose from a combination of a civil society proposal (submitted during the February 2025 Open Call for proposals) and an initiative from a recently established agency within the Executive Branch, the General Directorate for Access to Justice.
Provide evidence for your answer:
3.3 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:
a new regulationGovernment reformers are developing regulations that enshrine values of transparency, participation, and accountability in government practices. Technical specifications: Act of creating or reforming ..., policy, practice or requirement.
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The commitment is innovative, as no similar initiative has been developed to date, and the responsible agency itself is a new addition to the organizational structure of the Executive Branch of the City of Buenos Aires. It represents the crystallization of the Access to Justice approach as access to citizens’ rights in a broad sense, ranging from assistance in understanding judicial processes and conflict resolution, to claims for school scholarships or social housing programs, for example. It is worth mentioning the precedent of a repository within the framework of the Council of the Judiciary, with which the responsible agency is signing an agreement as one of the milestones. The approach of this commitment is also novel in the context of typical OGP commitments, as it makes a type of information transparent and systematic that directly affects citizens’ rights and living conditions.
Provide evidence for your answer:
3.4 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:
will result in a change of the rules, practices or policies that govern a policy area, public sector and/or relationship between citizens and is binding or institutionalized across government or specific institution(s).
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
Although the commitment will not become legally binding, it requires the government agencies providing social services to make information systematically available, changing practices across departments, and prioritizing accessibility and clarity for citizens. The commitment itself is not a new program but a repository, yet it has the potential to generate a significant impact if it successfully brings together in a single platform all relevant information on civil, political, and social rights that a citizen might need.
Provide evidence for your answer:
3.5 Are there any recommended changes to the design of the commitment to help improve its implementation?
The commitment, as currently designed, is ambitious and faces one of its main challenges in coordinating with all agencies of the Executive Branch. The General Directorate for Access to Justice will need the cooperation of all agencies to provide information and keep it updated. One suggestion that emerged during interviews for this assessment is to include the right to citizen and community participation, with a section that consolidates all information on mechanisms or spaces where residents of the City can engage for various purposes (complaints, reports, proposals, initiatives, consultations, debates, etc.).
4 Commitment :
Evaluation and recommendations for strengthening the protection of personal data in the City (ARBA0007)
4.1 Is the commitment verifiable?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
This commitment aims to foster a debate on the current implementation of Personal Data Protection Law 1,845 in the City and its updating needs, including perspectives from various stakeholders and focusing on building consensus for its reform. Since the commitment is intended only to generate inputs for the City Legislature to later incorporate in its treatment of the law’s amendment, it is concrete, clear, and verifiable. The responsible body is the General Directorate for Access to Information and Open Government. The milestones are concrete and achievable within the planned timeframes (1 of the 6 milestones is already in progress).
Webiste “Fortalecer la protección de datos personales en la Ciudad”
Provide evidence for your answer:
4.2 Does the commitment language/activities clearly justify relevance to OGP values?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
This commitment is highly relevant to OGP values, particularly regarding transparency and access to information, as this value cannot be considered separately from the issue of personal data protection, which is becoming increasingly complex and fast-evolving due to technological changes. The commitment will not directly produce a legislative change, but it will foster a specialized, open, and public debate on the topic. In this regard, given how the commitment is designed and its milestones, it will also promote the value of participation and could influence a future amendment to the Personal Data Protection Law, informed by citizen inputs and contributions.
Provide evidence for your answer:
4.3 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:
a new regulation, policy, practice or requirement.
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The commitment does not aim to create new legislation but rather to generate a debate to support the amendment of an existing law. However, given that this law is highly outdated and there are bills submitted to the Legislature that have not been addressed, this commitment could provide an impetus for the Legislature to take action and update the regulation. Therefore, it is considered to aim at creating new regulations (rather than continuing an already implemented policy).
Provide evidence for your answer:
4.4 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:
will result in a change of the rules, practices or policies that govern a policy area, public sector and/or relationship between citizens and is binding or institutionalized across government or specific institution(s).
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The commitment itself will not result in a new rule, regulation, or policy, but it serves as an input and a driving force for updating a law. In this sense, it has the potential to produce a cross-cutting and institutionalized change.
Provide evidence for your answer:
4.5 Are there any recommended changes to the design of the commitment to help improve its implementation?
This commitment faces at least two challenges. First, the debates generated may not reach the legislators responsible for decisions regarding the update of the PDP Law. For this, the coordinating role of the Legislature and the history of inter-branch collaboration characteristic of OGP in Buenos Aires is crucial. Broad dissemination of the organized debate sessions is necessary. Second, by concentrating these debates within specialized civil society organizations, the perspective of the general public—who may not be familiar with technical aspects but could be affected by inadequate PDP regulation—may be missing. In this regard, and as recommended for other commitments, it would be beneficial to seek ways to engage the general population through randomly selected citizen assemblies, focus groups, and/or broad public consultation.
5 Commitment :
Participatory and Transparent Climate Action: 4th Climate Action Plan (CAP) of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (ARBA0008)
5.1 Is the commitment verifiable?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The commitment aims to strengthen citizen participation and access to climate information through the update of the BA Climate Change Platform and the creation of participatory spaces, within the framework of the implementation of the City’s IV Climate Action Plan. The clarity of the commitment’s wording improved significantly after the co-creation meeting, in which civil society organizations helped refine the objectives and milestones, as this commitment does not produce the Climate Action Plan itself but is part of it. As currently formulated, the commitment is feasible and verifiable, and the milestones are achievable within the planned timeframe. Four of the six milestones are already in progress. What remains unclear in the written formulation is whether citizen participation will focus on discussing the Climate Action Plan or on the usefulness and design of the BA Climate Change Platform.
Provide evidence for your answer:
5.2 Does the commitment language/activities clearly justify relevance to OGP values?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
This commitment has two main components and addresses all three OGP values. The update of the BA Climate Change Platform and its datasets will strengthen transparency and access to information. The milestone that allows users to submit complaints to the Ombudsman or requests for public information through the platform will promote accountability, in addition to citizen participation. The commitment also proposes two types of participatory mechanisms: discussion tables with civil society organizations, academia, and residents, and participatory activities in primary and secondary schools, thus advancing the value of participation. It is worth noting that civil society had a significant influence on the final version of the commitment, including participation in schools, the involvement of residents in the discussion tables, and the possibility of submitting complaints through the platform.
Provide evidence for your answer:
5.3 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:
a continuation of ongoing practice in line with existing legislation, policies or requirements.
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
This commitment is part of the City of Buenos Aires’ IV Climate Action Plan, and its main activity is the update of an existing platform that had some issues, such as outdated datasets, limited clarity for users, and low interactivity. The proposed participatory mechanisms, both in schools and in the discussion tables, constitute new activities; however, they are not expected to continue once the commitment ends (at least as currently planned).
Provide evidence for your answer:
5.4 Please select one option that best describes the commitment:
is a positive change to a process, practice or policy but will not generate a binding or institutionalized change across government or specific institution(s).
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
As indicated in the IRM “In a Box” guide, tools such as websites or data publication represent positive changes in practices or policies, but they do not produce binding or institutionalized changes in government. However, it is important to highlight the potential impact of a website that is kept up to date with climate change data, which can be used by academic and civil society actors to inform strategies, and by government actors to design policies. One aspect that can have a tangible positive impact is the platform’s interactive option for submitting complaints and information requests. An additional value of this commitment is that it addresses an issue that is not frequently covered in OGP action plans and is of great social relevance and urgency.
Provide evidence for your answer:
5.5 Are there any recommended changes to the design of the commitment to help improve its implementation?
This commitment has a potential impact and is relevant for OGP because it aligns with the values it promotes (transparency, participation, and accountability), provided that society is broadly engaged. Recommendations to improve its implementation include:
- Launching communication campaigns to disseminate the process and the updated platform;
- Aiming for the platform to allow deeper and more direct interaction, including some degree of citizen participation, ideas, proposals, comments, and, eventually, complaints that are recorded and reach the competent agencies;
- Institutionalizing the participatory space with children and adolescents (so that it goes beyond isolated activities).
During the co-creation meeting, there was agreement on the importance of involving children and adolescents in environmental and climate change issues, and the commitment could be significantly strengthened by establishing a permanent participation program in schools.
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