Czech Republic Action Plan Review 2024-2026

The Czech Republic’s seventh 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... emerged from a robust 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.... The plan focuses on 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 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, presenting well-designed commitments that build on past reforms. Certain high priority policy areas identified by civil society were not included in the action plan. The upcoming national 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 and uncertain political landscape pose challenges for the implementation period.

The Czech Republic’s seventh action plan comprises seven commitments focused on two priority areas: public participation in policymaking and the transparency and efficiency of public procurement. This approach is more targeted compared to the previous action plan, which addressed a broader range of policy areas. Although narrower in scope, the new action plan has the potential for more in-depth reforms, particularly through the alignment of the three public procurement commitments with the government’s 2024 National Strategy for Public Procurement,^[1] a pillar of the current government policy statement.^[2] The public participation commitments build on past OGP commitments, notably the development and pilot implementation of a methodology for involving non-governmental organizations in advisory and working bodies of the public administration.^[3]

The two promising commitments focus on expanding participatory methods for social 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 at the local government level and large-scale reform of public procurement processes. 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... 4, led by the Agency for Social Inclusion within the Ministry of Regional Development—a new actor in the OGP process—aims to promote the participation of marginalized and socially excluded populations in local decision-making. This is the first time social inclusion has been addressed in a Czech OGP action plan. Meanwhile, Commitment 5 seeks to introduce uniform public procurement guidelines for contracting authorities and suppliers to promote sustainable procurement to strengthen sectoral professionalization measures and centralize purchasing. Backed by a national strategy and institutional support, this commitment has the potential to deliver substantial results.

Several commitments carry forward initiatives from the previous action plan. Public participation commitments in particular build on the piloted methodology for involving non-governmental organizations in public administration decision-making and move it forward by exploring the establishment of a national competence center for participatory processes (Commitment 1), conducting preparatory work for innovative deliberative tools such as a citizens’ assembly (Commitment 2), and strengthening the capacity of public officials to work effectively with civil society (Commitment 3). Similarly, the public procurement commitments continue earlier efforts from the previous action plan and aim to translate goals from the National Strategy for Public Procurement into concrete measures for enhancing 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 small-scale contracts (Commitment 6) and making the review system more efficient (Commitment 7).

The action plan’s development process was based on inclusive dialogue and a clearly defined, collaborative approach. It followed recommendations from the IRM Co-Creation Brief, specifically introducing a targeted outreach strategy to broaden early public engagement and adopting a more informal, accessible dialogue format within the multi-stakeholder forum (MSF).^[4] A diverse set of commitments was proposed through expert discussions and outreach efforts, resulting in several ambitious and well-designed proposals.^[5] Several commitment proposals—such as those on transparency in the selection process for public officials, lobbying transparency, whistleblower protection, and improving beneficial ownership data—were ultimately excluded, largely due to resource constraints and institutional capacity limitations and a reluctance to introduce wider reforms ahead of the upcoming elections in October 2025.^[6] As a result, while the adopted commitments are relevant and thoughtfully designed, the final action plan is less ambitious than what the strong co-creation process could have delivered.

Civil society stakeholders expressed a mixed assessment of the final plan.^[7] On one hand, they appreciated the quality of the discussions and commitments adopted in two policy areas—public participation and public procurement—that are among their priority areas. On the other hand, the narrow thematic scope and exclusion of several high-priority civil society proposals on transparency limited the plan’s transformative potential. This limitation is particularly relevant in the context of the upcoming October 2025 parliamentary elections, as any changes in political leadership and shifting priorities could potentially challenge the continuity and political backing of open government reforms in the second year of implementation. Civil society organizations (CSOs) emphasized the importance of any future government upholding the commitments outlined in the action plan.

Overall, while the design of public participation and public procurement commitments is thorough, their potential results are constrained by modest ambitionAccording to OGP’s Articles of Governance, OGP commitments should “stretch government practice beyond its current baseline with respect to key areas of open government.” Ambition captures the po.... On public participation, for instance, the focus remains primarily on analytical and preparatory activities, without defining clear pathways for long-term institutional change. On procurement, the successful implementation of two out of three commitments largely depends on securing political support to adopt legislative changes amid challenging political circumstances and the timing of the upcoming elections.

The Czech Republic continues to demonstrate institutional commitment to the OGP process, particularly through the Ministry of Justice, which coordinates the country’s participation in OGP. The 2023–2026 Anti-Corruption Strategy also acknowledges OGP and commits to promoting open government principles.^[8] As such, the Czech Republic has made notable progress in embedding open government principles in public administration, showcasing sustained commitment. Moving forward, there is opportunity to introduce more government actors into the OGP process.

Table 1. Promising Commitments