Colombia Results Report 2020-2022

Colombia made progress in the action plan’s implementation despite the effects of the pandemic, political changes, and social protests. The institutionalization of the multi-stakeholder forumRegular dialogue between government and civil society is a core element of OGP participation. It builds trust, promotes joint problem-solving, and empowers civil society to influence the design, imple... contributed significantly to the sustainability of the OGP process and the potential of open government activities. However, the implementation of the commitments achieved marginal results associated with public servants and citizens awareness about the importance of data publication.

The commitments of Colombia’s 2020-2022 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... resulted in modest changes in terms of opening the government within two years of the plan’s implementation (largely due to the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, and to the lack of resources allocation to some activities of the commitments). This represents a significant difference compared to the outstanding and significant results of the previous action plan. However, the efforts to continue the commitments’ implementation and the progress shown so far in their completionImplementers must follow through on their commitments for them to achieve impact. For each commitment, OGP’s Independent Reporting Mechanism (IRM) evaluates the degree to which the activities outlin... More is a measure of the potential that the commitments still have to achieve substantial results. Based on the investigation of the IRM, 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... of the Palmira Mayor’s Office stands out, which achieved the design and publication of an open tender bank. The commitments on the publication of anti-corruption data under the PIDA framework, 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 in public finances, and social control over investment projects of the royalty system saw marginal results, mostly associated with raising awareness among public servants and citizens about the importance of data publication.

Completion

The commitments were divided into: five for entities of the executive branch, seven for territorial entities, and three for control bodies (National Attorney General’s Office) and judicial authorities (State Council and Constitutional Court). The main issues of the plan were the fight against corruption, 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..., fiscal transparency, the environment, and transparency in 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.... At least eight of the fifteen commitments registered a substantial level of completion or were fully completed, representing a slight increase compared to the previous action plan. However, the attention to the COVID-19 pandemic, the social protests of 2021, and the pre-electoral climate due to the presidential and legislative 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 of May-June 2022 represented the main limitation to increase completion. Under a changing political context, priorities and activities may be affected depending on the dynamism of the electoral environment. In the case of territorial commitments, the pandemic had a greater impact, since these institutions had fewer resources to attend to the activities expected in the commitments, as well as daily institutional tasks.

Participation and Co-creation

The Transparency Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic leads the OGP process in Colombia. There was a change in government administration in August 2022 and a change in the point of contact close to the end of the action plan, in October 2022. The renewal process of the multi-stakeholder forum (Open State Committee) emerges as one of the key factors in guaranteeing joint and responsible work and monitoring of the implementation of the commitments, as described in section III of this report. This generates an internal culture of responsibility within the forum and contributes to its sustainability throughout the implementation period. To design the plan, the Government of Colombia received funds from an OGP grant, managed by a civil society organization from the multi-stakeholder forum, helping to ensure a satisfactory co-creation process. As in other countries, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the Government of Colombia to make adjustments to virtually complete the consultations for the elaboration of the plan. According to government data, at least 880 people participated in the first round of consultations to prioritize issues for the plan and 600 people participated in the second round to define commitments[1].

Implementation in Context

The COVID-19 pandemic affected Colombia since March 6, 2020, forcing the government to adopt partial and total confinement and mobility restriction measures from March 25 to September 1, 2020[2]. The health, social, and economic consequences of the pandemic required the full attention of public institutions, generating substantial delays in the implementation of some commitments, mainly those carried out by municipalities and local governments. For many countries, responding to the consequences of the pandemic became a financial priority that restricted them from developing other projects.

The members of the Open State Committee were renewed in February 2021. This committee is made up of five government representatives, one from the local government and four representatives from civil society[3]. This new conformation was planned and executed with total normalcy and according to the guidelines of the forum[4].

Colombia experienced a period of citizen protests later known as “El estallido” between April 28, 2021 and approximately June 2022 that attracted national and international attention[5]. The protests rose after a taxPlacing transparency, accountability, and participation at the center of tax policy can ensure that burdens are distributed equitably across society. Technical specifications: Commitments related to c... reform by the government of former president Iván Duque, whose decisions on the management of the pandemic and other socioeconomic reforms were questioned by citizens.

Finally, Colombia held legislative and presidential elections in 2022, which resulted in a change of government, which began in August of that year. The results of the presidential elections represented a political change because Gustavo Petro, a representative of the left, was elected as president[6].

In addition to these milestones, the committee registered the temporary exit of two organizations, Datasketch and the Anti-Corruption Institute, within the framework of the 2022 presidential campaign. During the pandemic, the Government of Colombia extended the response period for requests for access to information and petition rights, increasing them from a maximum of 30 days to double the initial time. In December 2021, the Colombian Congress considered that a substantial part of the consequences of the pandemic was over and, therefore, times could return to the initial ones. Former President Iván Duque, however, objected the proposal and decided not to sign the modification. Congress finally approved this proposal, and the response times of the petition rights returned to their initial status[7].

Based on this and other specific cases (request for vaccination contracts, access to infrastructure data, among others) linked to the right of access to information, in May 2022, Datasketch and the Anti-Corruption Institute notified the other forum organizations of their temporary exit until commitments and concrete actions are perceived to strengthen open government. Once the presidential elections ended, both organizations returned to the multi-stakeholder forum. According to CORLIDE representatives and committee minutes, the forum continued to work holding meetings with government representatives. A consultant was hired to verify compliance with the commitments. However, the burden of responsibilities in only two forum organizations made coordination with the consultant difficult and limited the verification of all commitments.

The representatives of CORLIDE added that, initially after the temporary exit of the two organizations, they considered the elimination of the multi-stakeholder forum, but in the end, this time allowed the organizations that did continue to strengthen and obtain an increased role in the talks with the government. On this last point, they find that OGP’s support was critical to evaluate alternatives and thus continue with the participation within the forum.

[1] Government of Colombia (s.f.). “¿What impact has Colombia’s participation in the Open Government Partnership had? Available here: https://agacolombia.org/acerca-del-comite/

[2] Austria, Alan (2020). “Colombia will end its general quarantine, one of the longest in the world”. Available here: https://bit.ly/3FMTCI5

[3] As civil society representatives: CORLIDE, Corona Foundation, Anti-Corruption Institute and Datasketch. On behalf of the government: Secretariat of Transparency, Administrative Department of the Public Function, Council of State, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of ICT and the Mayor’s Office of Cali

[4] Government of Colombia (s.f.). “¿What impact has Colombia’s participation in the Open Government Partnership had? Available here: https://agacolombia.org/acerca-del-comite/

[5] BBC Mundo (2021). “National strike in Colombia: thousands of people march in protest of the tax reform in the midst of a serious rebound in coronavirus cases”. Available here: https://www.bbc.com/mundo/noticias-america-latina-56897151

[6] El País (2022). “This is how we have told you about the 2022 presidential elections in Colombia”. Available here: https://elpais.com/america-colombia/elecciones-presidenciales/2022-06-25/resultados-elecciones-colombia-2022-en-vivo.html

[7] El Espectador (2021). “Duque objected to a project that normalized response times to petition rights”. Available here: https://www.elespectador.com/politica/duque-objeto-proyecto-que-normalizaba-tiempos-de-respuesta-a-derechos-de-peticion/