Inception Report – Action plan – Kaduna State, Nigeria, 2024 – 2025
- Action Plan: Action plan – Kaduna State, Nigeria, 2024 – 2025
Overview
Name of Evaluator
Prof. Hauwa Evelyn Yusuf
Member Name
Kaduna State, Nigeria
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 – Kaduna State, Nigeria, 2024 – 2025
Section 1.
Compliance with
co-creation requirements
1.1 Does a forum exist?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
Since the first action plan, there has been an open community on 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 Kaduna, comprising government and non-government actors. Furthermore, a directory of all stakeholders, which is consistently updated by the secretariat, is engaged via email for virtual and physical engagements. Before the selection of a 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..., this community, comprising stakeholders across sectors, engages in OGP Local initiatives and continues to do so under the steering committee. The State Steering Committee, made up of Government and Civil Society members, therefore serves as the forum for co-creation and implementation of the State Action Plan in Kaduna. The Government co-chairsThe Steering Committee is led by a pair of lead co-chairs, one from government and one from civil society, who are part of a leadership troika comprising the current (lead), incoming, and outgoing co-... More are from the MDAs that are leading each 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... area, while the Civil Society Members are selected through a transparent and independent process using the Rubric Score sheet and OGP Kaduna Selection Guideline.
Provide references here (e.g. interviews):2
Civil Society State Steering Committee Successful Candidate
1.2 Is the forum multi-stakeholder?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The State Steering Committee is made up of Government and Civil Society Organizations represented in equal numbers. The Co-chairs of the commitment areas total 10 (5- Government and 5-Civil Society) and then the overall Co-chairs (1-Government and 1-Civil Society). Furthermore, the OGP Kaduna Community continues to exist as a multistakeholder platform exploring the use of technology for consistent and instant information sharing and engagement. -WhatsApp and email directory.
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:
During the co-creation of the Kaduna OGP Third Action Plan, the OGP Secretariat, with support from Partnership to Engage and Learn (FCDO-PERL), facilitated two validation sessions (both Physical and virtual).
In addition, the Improving Service Delivery Commitment area was supported by Partnership for Learning for All (FCDO-PLANE) and Lafiya Program to validate and realign the milestones under the commitment area.
OpenGov 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 Innovation Hub was accorded the opportunity to co-create milestones that are youth-specific in the State Action Plan to expand the space based on the co-creation principle of OGP.
Other Technical Working Groups, such as Access to Information for Citizens Engagement and Open ContractingA transparent procurement process, known as open contracting, increases competition, improves public service delivery, and ensures governments better value for their money. Technical specifications: C... More Data Standard (OCDS) and Open Contracting for Infrastructure Data Standard (OC4IDS), validated the Milestone of its commitment area.
Provide references here (e.g. interviews):
First Validation Meeting Report
Second validation meeting (Virtual) Recording
Service Delivery Validation Meeting Report
OpenGov Youth Specific Milestones
1.4 Has the action plan been endorsed by the stakeholders of the forum or steering committee/group?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The Action Plan was endorsed by the Civil Society Co-chair and the Co-chair of Improving Service Delivery in the Health and EducationAccountability within the public education system is key to improving outcomes and attainment, and accountability is nearly impossible without transparent policies and opportunities for participation ... Sector, who doubles as the Secretary of the Civil Society State Steering Members.
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 Kaduna Secretariat maintains a Google Drive 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 ... that is accessible to all members of the public without any barrier. The repository is updated regularly and as soon as activities are implemented. For easy access, it has been partitioned using folders for citizens to access information real time.
Provide references here (e.g. interviews):
Kaduna Planning and Budget Commission
2.2 Did the government provide information to stakeholders in advance to facilitate informed and prepared participation in 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...?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
For all the validation sessions that were held, citizens had the opportunity to be informed ahead of time. This also required collaboration to identify critical stakeholders that were to attend from the Government, Civil Society, and persons with disability. Due to limited funding, the document was also on Google Drive to allow citizens and civil society organizations to make inputs into the Action Plan. The Second Validation meeting was held virtually and attended by many citizens, making significant contributions and seeking clarifications where necessary.
Beyond validating the action plans, the plans themselves were drawn up through a co-creation process beginning from the various technical working groups on each of the commitments under the steering working group.
Provide references here (e.g. interviews):
Invitation Letter to First Validation meeting
Invitation to Second Validation Meeting
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:
The Invitation letters were made public using the OGP Repository and WhatsApp groups. The document was uploaded to Google Drive for citizens to have access and make comments without barriers. Furthermore, the government leveraged non-state actors’ efforts through mass media updates and engagements to call the attention of the public to the development of the action plan.
Provide references here (e.g. interviews):
Proposed Commitment Areas by citizens group and Justification (Harmonized)
Documented Observations from Second Validation meeting
OGP State Action Plan for public comment
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:
Communication on feedback was given as replies to emails using the [email protected] email. The Final draft of the Third State Action Plan was also made available to allow citizens to follow up on the inputs they have made. This was done before uploading to the OGP Kaduna dashboard.
Provide references here (e.g. interviews):
Email correspondences
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:
Kaduna State has leveraged the support of the Partnership to Engage Reform and Learn (FCDO-PERL) governance programme to improve governance in the State. PERL supported citizens to develop the Proposed commitments of the third State Action Plan and the justifications for each of the commitments in the State Action Plan. Subsequently, validation sessions were organized after aligning the SAP III to the SUSTAIN Manifesto of the current administration. Technical Working Groups also had the opportunity to align milestones based on priorities for ownership during implementation. The OpenGov Youth Hub had the opportunity to submit milestones that will be implemented in collaboration with the leadership of the Technical Working Group.
Provide references here (e.g. interviews):
Proposed Commitment Areas by citizens group and Justification (Harmonized)
OCDS and OC4IDS TWG validated copy
OpenGov Youth Specific Milestones
2.6 Would you consider the forum to be inclusive and diverse?
Very
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The first validation meeting was physical, which had limited attendance due to funding constraints, but there was adequate representation across relevant stakeholders, including persons with disability, youth, and other civil society partners, during the development of the Action Plan.
Provide references here (e.g. interviews):
Section 3.
Initial evaluation
of commitments
1 Commitment :
Strengthening participatory budget process
1.1 Is the commitment verifiable?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
Milestones were developed using the Results-Based Management approach. The Milestones were designed using the output results that are produced as a result of OGP activities. The Open Government community considered this approach to enable us to provide information on the quantity and quality of services provided, and to determine the effectiveness of the open governance activities at the end of the State Action Plan, to know what has changed against what was planned.
Provide evidence for your answer:
State Action Plan III (Pages 7-9)
1.2 Does the commitment language/activities clearly justify 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... to OGP values?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
The participatory budget commitment area speaks to Technology/innovation for 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 Public AccountabilityAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, public accountability occurs when ”rules, regulations, and mechanisms in place call upon government actors to justify their actions, act upon criticisms ... More, as captured under section No. 12 of the commitment area template. This is because the Budget is the document that is used to determine how services will be delivered to the people annually. Citizens being empowered to make inputs into it for better service delivery is essential to hold public officials to account in terms of spending. The publishing of quarterly budget performance demonstrates the desire of the government to remain accountable to the people who elected it to power, even down to the audit process. The whole process leverages technology through the citizen demand portal. Furthermore, the commitment is ambitious in its expectations to empower citizens to participate in the entire budget cycle, which includes the audit.
Provide evidence for your answer:
State Action Plan III (Pages 6-7)
Commitment 1 Kaduna Action Plan
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:
This is an ongoing practice based on the provisions of Section 121 (1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Chapter 3 of the Financial Instructions 2005 assigned the Executive Arm of Government the responsibility of preparing Annual Budgets for presentation to the Kaduna State House of Assembly.
Provide evidence for your answer:
1.4 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:
Open Budget in Kaduna redefined the approach to Governance by making sure inputs from the rural communities inform the Annual Budget. This is a game-changer as a result of open governance. This influence is considered important as the participatory Community Development Charter is now part of the budget calendar in Kaduna State.
Provide evidence for your answer:
5% of capital expenditure (evidence from refresher training 2025-2027)
1.5 Are there any recommended changes to the design of the commitment to help improve its implementation?
Yes! To improve the level of implementation, MDAs are required to adhere to key fiscal objectives. As they are to ensure 5% of its Capital Expenditure goes to projects under the Community Development Charter (CDC) emanating from the 2025-2027 Budget Refresher Training held at the Planning and Budget Commission Conference Hall.
2 Commitment :
Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) and Open Contracting 4 Infrastructure Data Standard (OC4IDS)
2.1 Is the commitment verifiable?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
Milestones were developed using the Results-Based Management approach. The Milestones were designed using the output results that are produced as a result of OGP activities. The Open Government community considered this approach to enable us to provide information on the quantity and quality of services provided, and to determine the effectiveness of the open governance activities at the end of the State Action Plan, to know what has changed against what was planned.
Provide evidence for your answer:
State Action Plan III (Pages 17-21)
2.2 Does the commitment language/activities clearly justify relevance to OGP values?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
- Access to Information – This commitment is relevant to disclosing contract and project data in a timely and efficient manner for citizens to have access to the data, encourage effective civic participation, and guarantee value for money. This will create a platform and level playing field for citizens to leverage, engage, and hold government accountable.
- Technology/innovation for accountability – This commitment is relevant to using technology to drive innovation in managing disclosed data by procuring entities in the State. The CoST Infrastructure 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 Initiative will support the use of technology by integrating the e-procurement system and OCDS to align with OC4IDS. Also, it will provide data visualization for all disclosed projects to provide insights into the disclosure journey. This will increase public oversight of government and help reduce corruption by enabling greater transparency in the State and Local Government Areas.
Provide evidence for your answer:
State Action Plan III (Page 16)
Commitment 2 Kaduna Action Plan
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 commitment to adopting and implementing the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) and Open Contracting for Infrastructure Data Standard (OC4IDS) is to continue to address the persistent challenges of lack of transparency, leading to inefficiencies, corruption risks, and diminished public trust in 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 and infrastructure development in the State that will exponentially lead to better contract outcomes that guarantee value for money, transparency, accountability, and robust civic participation.
Provide evidence for your answer:
Commitment 2 Kaduna Action Plan
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:
The activities will strengthen the approach to social accountabilityTransparency of public service delivery is not enough on its own; giving citizens opportunities to monitor progress on the ground and hold their governments accountable improves the quality of these s... and empower citizens with more information across the Infrastructure Sector in the State. The OC4IDS portal is expected to disclose at least forty (40) mandatory data points for each infrastructure project from Project Identification to Decommissioning.
Provide evidence for your answer:
Commitment 2 Kaduna Action Plan
2.5 Are there any recommended changes to the design of the commitment to help improve its implementation?
Given that the commitment was a rollover, the Commitment was expanded to include the Open Contracting for Infrastructure Data Standard (OC4IDS). The CoST Infrastructure Transparency Initiative is providing the State with the needed technical support to design the disclosure portal and analytical dashboard, as well as train civil society organizations to understand the system and use it to hold duty bearers to account. The likely challenge could be in the inability to publish procurement information on the OCDS/OC4IDS portal in a timely manner.
3 Commitment :
Access to information for citizen engagement
3.1 Is the commitment verifiable?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
Milestones were developed using the Results-Based Management approach. The Milestones were designed using the output results that are produced as a result of OGP activities. The Open Government community considered this approach to enable us to provide information on the quantity and quality of services provided, and to determine the effectiveness of the open governance activities at the end of the State Action Plan, to know what has changed against what was planned.
Provide evidence for your answer:
State Action Plan III (Pages 30-31)
Commitment 3 Kaduna Action Plan
3.2 Does the commitment language/activities clearly justify relevance to OGP values?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
- Civic Participation – Citizen Engagement commitment provides platforms and opportunities for citizens to participate in shaping decisions that concern them. The citizen feedback tools that exist in the state align with civic participation.
- Technology and Innovation for Transparency and Accountability – Technology has been identified as an enabler in driving Open Governance. The use of innovative technology is at the heart of the Citizens Engagement process in Kaduna State. The Citizens’ engagement platforms also create opportunities for information sharing for effective public participation.
Provide evidence for your answer:
State Action Plan III (Page 29)
Commitment 3 Kaduna Action Plan
3.3 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 seeks to strengthen citizen engagement systems in Kaduna State beyond having a commitment in the State Action Plan. The Commitment seeks to further improve government responsiveness and engagement of the citizens in public service deliveryTo ensure that citizens of all groups are better supported by the government, OGP participating governments are working to improve the quality of and access to public services. Commitments in this are... More by ensuring that the Freedom of Information Law is domesticated in the State. The desire is to strengthen available online platforms to provide citizens with access to relevant information about government activities and policies, as well as to improve the systems in general to address tech infrastructure gaps. This platform will also provide an avenue for citizens to provide feedback and make suggestions without barriers.
Provide evidence for your answer:
Commitment 3 Kaduna Action Plan
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:
Given the absence of a freedom of information law in the State, this commitment will support the institutionalization of access to information, which will provide an opportunity for ordinary citizens to engage and improve government responsiveness through the FOI and the use of technology.
3.5 Are there any recommended changes to the design of the commitment to help improve its implementation?
The commitment title was expanded to include “Access to Information for Citizens Engagement” to enable the current administration to pass the Freedom of Information (FOI) Bill into law and Institutionalize Access to Information in the State.
4 Commitment :
Strengthening Social Protection Systems in Kaduna State
4.1 Is the commitment verifiable?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
Milestones were developed using the Results-Based Management approach. The Milestones were designed using the output results that are produced as a result of OGP activities. The Open Government community considered this approach to enable us to provide information on the quantity and quality of services provided, and to determine the effectiveness of the open governance activities at the end of the State Action Plan, to know what has changed against what was planned.
Provide evidence for your answer:
State Action Plan III (Pages 41-45)
Commitment 4 Kaduna Action Plan
4.2 Does the commitment language/activities clearly justify relevance to OGP values?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
- Civic Participation – This commitment is relevant to civic participation as it enables identified poor and vulnerable citizens, people living with disabilities, to benefit from social services provided by the government as a matter of right.
- Public Accountability – This commitment is relevant to Public Accountability because it provides mechanisms and systems to track social services provided by the Government. This creates an open channel to report on services that are not efficiently provided and provide feedback to the government for action.
Provide evidence for your answer:
State Action Plan III (Page 40-41)
Commitment 4 Kaduna Action Plan
4.3 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 Social Protection Commitment is a rollover commitment that seeks to achieve a dedicated budget line item for social protection programs, operationalization of the Social Register as a primary database of the poor and vulnerable households for all pro-poor interventions, establish an agency for social security, establish a social security trust fund, and the implementation of the Youth-focused Programs over the plan period.
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 activities of the commitment area will translate to ensuring a life of dignity for all residents of Kaduna State by reducing the level of poverty in the state, increasing the number of vulnerable residents that are able to access social protection services on the basis of rights, and increasing the number of beneficiaries who graduate from the social register on account of an improved standard of living.
4.5 Are there any recommended changes to the design of the commitment to help improve its implementation?
The commitment area was aligned with the SUSTAIN Manifesto of the current administration to ensure political will and high-level buy-in during implementation.
5 Commitment :
Improving Service Delivery on Education and Health Sectors
5.1 Is the commitment verifiable?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
Milestones were developed using the Results-Based Management approach. The Milestones were designed using the output results that are produced as a result of OGP activities. The Open Government community considered this approach to enable us to provide information on the quantity and quality of services provided, and to determine the effectiveness of the open governance activities at the end of the State Action Plan to know what has changed against what was planned.
Provide evidence for your answer:
State Action Plan III (Page 57-60)
Commitment 5 Kaduna Action Plan
5.2 Does the commitment language/activities clearly justify relevance to OGP values?
Yes
Provide a brief explanation of your answer:
- Civic Participation – The commitment is relevant to civic participation because it enables citizens to monitor budgetary provisions used to provide services that meet their needs from the Community Development Charter up to the Budget and procurement processes. This will increase the level of confidence in the government and stimulate wider engagement by citizens.
- Public Accountability – This commitment is relevant to public accountability as it enables the participation of citizens in the oversight of the financial management of the services provided by educational and health institutions in terms of receiving and expending public funding.
Provide evidence for your answer:
State Action Plan III (Page 56)
Commitment 5 Kaduna Action Plan
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:
The commitment area is a rollover from the second State Action Plan. The focus is to build citizens’ trust in governance to ensure quality Education and health services are delivered in a transparent and accountable manner while ensuring citizens’ engagement in the implementation of various policies and access to useful procurement information that can 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... informed decision making, provide reliable feedback, and improve accountability and transparency of the service delivery processes through public participation.
5.4 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 activities will:
- Promote the Inclusiveness of People Living With Disabilities (PLWD)
- Increase the level of citizens’ participation in the education delivery chain to ensure transparency and accountability
- Access to enhanced school facilities for all
- Increase the level of responsiveness to the needs and expectations of schools and ultimately
- Increase the level of citizens’ feedback and evaluation of education service delivery.
On Service Delivery in Health, the commitment will improve service delivery and help the government achieve value for money, provide civic spaces that allow citizens’ participation, feedback, and evaluation of health care service delivery. This ultimately checks unethical conduct and sharp/corrupt practices in the processes of contract delivery.
5.5 Are there any recommended changes to the design of the commitment to help improve its implementation?
For ownership of results during implementation, the Accountability Mechanisms in Health (Kaduna Maternal Accountability Mechanism-KADMAM) and Education (Kaduna Basic Education Accountability Mechanism-KADBEAM), in collaboration with MDAs under the Health and Education sector, jointly validated the Milestones of the commitment area. Furthermore, the likely challenge that may impact the implementation is the broad nature of the commitment, given that these sectors are very wide because of the critical role of human capital development in the state.
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