Action plan – Catalonia, Spain, 2026 – 2028

The commitments set out in this Plan reflect a determination to make progress in key areas such as impactful 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, 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 traceability of public action, good governance and institutional integrity, as well as the opening and reuse of public data as a driver of innovation and social progress. These commitments include specific objectives that guide government action and respond to demands expressed by citizens and civil society.

The Plan is the result of a 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... that strengthens its democratic legitimacy. The involvement of responsible units, civil society organizations, and citizens has made it possible to define viable, ambitious commitments aligned with the operational reality of the Administration, reaffirming the conviction that open government is only possible through collaboration and shared responsibility.

The Government assumes political leadership of this Plan and the 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... to ensure its effective implementation, promoting interinstitutional cooperation and ongoing dialogue with stakeholders. With this Plan, the Government of Catalonia reaffirms its determination to place open government at the center of public action and to move forward, with determination and consistency, toward stronger, more trustworthy institutions that serve the public.

Catalonia aims to ensure transparency that makes information clear, useful, and accessible. Citizens should understand what the Administration does, how, and with what results. This includes unified, inclusive portals, accessible visual information, and traceability of public decisions, including algorithms.

2. Meaningful citizen participation
The goal is a country where participation is common, inclusive, and impactful. This requires a modern framework, high-quality processes with real policy influence, innovative mechanisms, and a participatory culture starting in schools and extending across society.

3. Institutions with integrity
Public integrity must be embedded in organizational culture, with strong anti-corruption systems, whistleblower protection, ethical conflict-of-interest management, and professionalized integrity systems.

4. A modern, effective Administration
Open government should align with institutional quality, efficiency, and well-being, including citizen-centered services, responsible digitalization, continuous improvement, and collaborative workplaces.

5. A public-social collaboration ecosystem
Open government should function as a shared ecosystem involving public administrations, civil society, 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 citizens, promoting cooperation, data reuse, innovation, and shared responsibility.

Internal governance has been reinforced through the Interdepartmental Commission on Open Government and the Network of Open Governments, promoting shared criteria across departments and local administrations. Tools such as the Register of Interest Groups and information units ensure traceability in decision-making.

In transparency, the Open Government portal has expanded, including data on senior officials’ meetings, gifts, and invitations. Open data volume and quality have also increased, encouraging reuse by citizens, businesses, and researchers.

Citizen participation has advanced with Participa.gencat as the central platform, offering processes and resources to support institutions and civil society, embedding participation in policymaking.

The Directorate-General has also promoted digital democratic innovation and initiatives like Open Government Week, fostering transparency and collaboration across administration and society.

There is also a need to foster more informed, inclusive, and diverse participation by improving access to clear and understandable information, broadening the representativeness of participatory processes, and strengthening the capacities of both citizens and technical and managerial staff.

In the field of transparency, the main challenge is to provide effective and user-friendly access to public information, centered on citizens’ needs, through improved content structuring, the use of plain language, and enhanced search and data visualization tools.

Another key challenge is to reinforce accountability and traceability in public decision-making by making decision-making processes and policy outcomes more visible.

Finally, the aim is to consolidate a culture of integrity and good governance by empowering ethics committees and increasing their real impact, as well as to promote the reuse of open data by strengthening links with the reuse ecosystem and maximizing its social and economic impact.

In terms of transparency, the objective is to guarantee effective, understandable, and reusable access to public information, improving the citizen experience, the clarity of content, and the traceability of public decisions, with the aim of strengthening democratic oversight and institutional trust.

The government also seeks to reinforce a culture of integrity and good governance by empowering ethics committees, expanding their influence, and promoting institutional practices aligned with public ethics and accountability.

Finally, in the area of open data, the goal is to enhance its social and economic reuse by consolidating a demand-driven strategy, strengthening relationships with the data reuse ecosystem, and improving the evaluation of the impact of open data policies.

The plan advances toward more strategic, informed, and inclusive citizen participation, linked to public priorities and supported by clear feedback and monitoring mechanisms, thereby strengthening democratic legitimacy and public trust. In the field of transparency, it promotes a citizen-centered approach that improves access to, understanding of, and traceability of public information, facilitating democratic oversight and accountability.

The plan also reinforces a culture of integrity and good governance by empowering ethics committees and consolidating institutional practices based on public values. Finally, it promotes a results-oriented approach to data openness, encouraging the social and economic reuse of open data and strengthening collaboration with civil society and other stakeholdersCivil society organizations (CSOs) are indispensable actors in the OGP process. Governments are required to engage with civil society toward a clear and open process of participation. Civil society ma....

Overall, the plan contributes to consolidating a more coherent, sustainable, and results-oriented open government model, aligned with the standards and values promoted by the Open Government Partnership.

It also promotes a citizen-centered model of transparency, improving the accessibility, understanding, and traceability of public information and decision-making processes. The plan further reinforces an institutional culture of integrity and good governance and promotes the social and economic reuse of open data.

Overall, the plan advances toward higher democratic quality by strengthening public trust and aligning government action with the values and standards promoted by the Open Government Partnership.

• Directorate-General for Open Government
• Sub-Directorate-General for Citizen Participation (overall coordination of the plan)
• Sub-Directorate-General for Good Governance and Transparency
• Sub-Directorate-General for Data and Digital Innovation in the Administration

• Participation and prioritization processes on the Government of Catalonia’s citizen participation portal, participa.gencat.cat
• Involvement of CSOs in the definition of commitments
• Identification of civil society stakeholders for each commitment

In addition, several commitments include the participation of:

• Academia
• Public policy experts
• Facilitators and consultants
• European project partners

A structured scoring system (1–5) ensured transparency and fairness, reducing bias and enabling participants to assess 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..., impact, and feasibility. Diversity and 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 were explicitly recognized as priorities within citizen participation, reinforcing their integration into the plan.

Commitments also include inclusion measures to improve participation quality, such as safeguards, evaluation mechanisms, and actions to ensure equal opportunities. The involvement of multiple actors—public administration, civil society, Parliament, academia, experts, and networks—broadened perspectives.

Overall, these measures ensured that OGP Plan spaces were built on diversity, and openness, encouraging participation from groups with different experiences and needs.

Civil society organizations also participated, selected for their connection to the different thematic areas, and prioritized areas for improvement through the participa.gencat.cat portal.

Finally, the process was open to all citizens, allowing for the participation of individuals. Other actors were also involved in the commitments, such as the Parliament of Catalonia, thematic networks, experts, academia, companies, facilitation entities, and public sector organizations.

At the same time, civil society organizations will remain involved through their participation in the commitments, providing expertise, monitoring, and continuous feedback. Each commitment identifies key stakeholders (Government, civil society, Parliament, academia, experts, thematic networks, and the private sector), who will collaborate at different stages: detailed design, implementation, monitoring, and evaluation.