Robin Hodess: We Need Substance to Democracy, Openness and Transparency
15 Years of OGP
Fifteen years ago, the Open Government Partnership (OGP) began with a simple but bold idea: governments work better when they are transparent, accountable, and open to citizen participation. What started with eight founding countries has grown into a global movement of 73 countries, more than 135 local governments, and thousands of civil society organizations working together to make governments more open. Over that time, they have co-created thousands of reforms that strengthened right to information laws, opened up public spending and company ownership, expanded inclusive participation, and more.
OGP’s 15th anniversary arrives at a pivotal moment. Democracies worldwide are grappling with declining trust, polarization, and increasingly complex challenges. Open Government is not just more relevant; it is more necessary than ever. This milestone is both a recognition of what has been built and a call to go further, scaling ambitious reforms, strengthening democratic institutions, and advancing solutions on issues such as digital governance, civic space, economic transparency, and public service delivery. Learn more.
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Anniversary Stories
Explore 15 years of open government in practice through stories from across policy areas and issues. Discover how governments, civil society, and reformers have worked together through OGP to turn ambitious ideas into meaningful reforms, and the results these efforts have delivered for people and communities.
Read all stories
Anniversary Insights
Hear from OGP’s CEO, Ambassadors, and other leaders as they reflect on the Partnership’s journey over the past 15 years. Explore their perspectives on the progress made, the challenges facing open government today, and the role OGP can play in shaping more open and accountable governance in the years ahead.
Looking Forward
The work of open government is far from finished. Explore resources, updated frameworks, and practical tools designed to help reformers build on the progress of the past 15 years, tackle emerging challenges, and advance open government reforms for the next generation. Together, these resources can help build more open, prosperous, and resilient societies.
Next week, we’re bringing OGP’s 15th anniversary to the heart of New York.
On the margins of the @unitednations General Assembly, we will convene the OGP Leaders Roundtable on September 23.
Bringing together high-level representatives from government, civil society, philanthropy and international organizations, the Roundtable creates space to take that reality seriously and ask where open government can make a difference, including:
🌍 How can we build more inclusive and resilient institutions and societies?
💻 How can we ensure digital transformation remains democratic and accountable?
📈 How can openness contribute to prosperous and competitive economies?
We’re excited to mark 15 years with the people who have helped shape the Partnership, and to have the conversations that will help shape what comes next.
#OGP15 #UNGA
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OGP was created with a special quality: a unique platform where civil society organizations could sit with governments and heads of state as equals.
Fifteen years on, OGP Envoy Aruna Roy reflects on why OGP matters.
For her, the ability to ask questions, challenge those in power and have frank conversations about transparency and accountability has been central to what OGP has built.
The context has changed. Democratic values are under pressure in many parts of the world, and demands for transparency and accountability can face growing resistance.
That makes the space for government and civil society to come together even more important.
Over the past 15 years, OGP has grown from a small group into a global partnership. For Roy, the challenge now is to build on that experience with even greater persistence, continuing to share ideas, learn from one another and push for more open and accountable government.
#OGP15
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Digital Public Infrastructure is becoming part of how people access public services, make payments, prove their identity and share information.
But how can we make sure these systems are designed in ways that people can trust?
Join OGP on October 15 at 3:00 PM CEST to explore how open government approaches can help make Digital Public Infrastructure more transparent, inclusive and accountable.
The webinar will launch the new Open Gov Guide chapter on Digital Public Infrastructure and look at practical questions for governments and civil society:
🔹 How can transparency and public participation shape DPI from the start?
🔹 What safeguards are needed to protect privacy, human rights and inclusion?
🔹 How can people and civil society monitor, question and improve digital systems?
🔹 What can governments and reformers do through OGP commitments?
The conversation will bring together DPI safeguards experts, government reformers and civil society voices, with examples and resources to help turn these principles into action.
If you work on digital government, public services, technology or open government, join us to explore how we can build digital systems that people can trust.
🔗 Link in bio to register.
#OpenGov #DigitalPublicInfrastructure #dpi
@letscodevelop
@undp
@un_oict
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The UN remains essential. But in a world where global consensus is becoming harder to achieve, can smaller coalitions help us get things done without leaving democracy behind?
On International Day of Democracy, Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand and OGP Ambassador, looks at the growing role of plurilateralism in global governance.
From critical minerals and climate to trade and human rights, countries are increasingly working through smaller groups that can move faster and act together.
But speed cannot be the only measure of success.
For these arrangements to strengthen democracy,@helenclarknz argues, they need to deliver concrete action, give different stakeholders a voice, and have independent mechanisms to monitor progress.
She points to OGP, alongside initiatives such as the @eitiorg and @fatf_gafi, as examples of how this can work.
The future of global cooperation does not have to be a choice between multilateralism and plurilateralism.
What matters is building partnerships that can act while strengthening democracy.
Read Helen Clark’s full opinion piece, originally published by @prosyn.
Link in the bio.
#InternationalDayOfDemocracy #Democracy #OpenGov #OGP15
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How can we create space for difficult conversations, listen across differences and build trust in increasingly polarised societies?
Join us for a practical webinar exploring the Dialogue Circle method, developed in Finland and now used across the Baltic Sea region.
You’ll experience the method first-hand in a small breakout group and hear how Dialogue Circles have evolved into national dialogue processes that bring people together around shared topics and inform public institutions’ work.
We’ll also explore how dialogue skills can help reduce polarisation, strengthen democratic participation and build interpersonal trust.
As part of our Europe Dialogues series, this session looks at how new approaches to dialogue can help strengthen democratic life across Europe.
📅 28 October
🕐 1–2:30 PM CEST
🔗 Link to register in the bio.
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“In times of crisis, strong institutions and public trust are essential foundation of a resilient state.”
Marking 15 years of OGP, Prime Minister of Armenia @nikolpashinyan_official reflected on what this means for Armenia’s democratic development.
Over the past 15 years, Armenia has used open government reforms to make public finance and procurement more transparent, improve access to information and open data, strengthen tools to prevent corruption, and create more opportunities for citizens to shape public policy.
These reforms matter because trust in government is built through the institutions and decisions people interact with every day.
As new pressures challenge democracies, from conflict and disinformation to polarization, Armenia’s experience points to a simple lesson: openness, accountability and participation help build institutions that can earn and maintain public trust.
#OGP15 #Armenia
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As we mark #InternationalDemocracyDay this month, @undpasiapacific and OGP will co-convene a regional dialogue on citizen empowerment across Asia and the Pacific.
Bringing together representatives from government, civil society, academia, and the development community, the discussion will explore what citizen empowerment looks like in practice, highlight promising innovations from across the region, and consider how these approaches can be embedded more systematically through open government reforms.
The conversation will be informed by Jon Alexander`s recent paper:
📖 DOCE Beats DOGE: The Case for Meaningful Government Transformation Through Citizen Empowerment
The paper challenges governments to move beyond viewing citizens primarily as recipients of public services and instead recognise them as active partners in solving public challenges.
Stay tuned for key insights from the dialogue.
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