End of Commitment Report – Citizenization, redesign, adaptation, and evaluation of the Budget Transparency Platform to improve the experience of user citizenship.

Name of Evaluator

Mtro. Oscar Francisco Ortega Ramirez

Email

[email protected]

Member Name

Quintana Roo, México

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 – Quintana Roo, Mexico, 2023 – 2025

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...

Citizenization, redesign, adaptation, and evaluation of the Budget 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 Platform to improve the experience of user citizenship.

Action

Collaboratively contribute to civil society and the state government for the citizenship, redesign, adaptation, and evaluation of the Transparency Platform on the budget cycle of public policies and programs with an emphasis on the experience of the User Citizenship, the right to understand, and access to information.

Problem

In recent years, the state of Quintana Roo has gone from incomplete documents, some non-existent, to standardized and itemized budgets; of paper documents without the possibility of generating traceability to information in open and available data, from having low or no levels of transparency to a State Budget Transparency Platform, obtaining 100% compliance in 2022, positioning itself in first place in the State Budget Information Barometer and the IMCO Expenditure Year Information Index. However, there is still a way to go from technocratic transparency to proactive transparency that goes beyond the obligations established by law, and that allows effective citizen monitoring for the prevention of acts of corruption, surveillance of public resources, and for the right to understand with a focus on the experience of user citizenship.

1.1 What was the overall level of progress in the commitment implementation at the time of this assessment?

Complete

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment shows definitive progress, as it successfully moved from an initial citizen need—the availability of a public, accessible, and easy-to-understand platform on the public budget—to the development of concrete digital tools for budget transparency.

Although the initial demonstration platform, developed during the first six months, was not fully functional, the process helped identify technical limitations, improvement needs, and opportunities for advancing toward new versions of the platform. These efforts have now been consolidated in the following platform: https://transparenciapresupuestaria.qroo.gob.mx/

Therefore, the commitment may be considered fully completed. Nevertheless, several ongoing challenges remain, including the use of citizen-friendly language, translation into the Maya language, technical strengthening, institutional capacity-building, cybersecurity, regulatory sustainability, and the availability of adequate human and financial resources.

1.2 Describe the main external or internal factors that impacted implementation of this commitment and how they were addressed (or not).

The implementation of the commitment was influenced by both internal and external factors. First, the commitment originated from dialogue between citizens and government, through which the need for a public, citizen-oriented budget transparency platform was identified. This dialogue made it possible to recognize that public budget information is often presented in a technical, inaccessible, and unappealing manner for citizens.

Among the factors that facilitated implementation were the political will of the current administration, coordination with state institutions, and the openness of SEFIPLAN and other government agencies to collaborate in developing the platform. It was also important that budget transparency was incorporated as a priority within the institutional agenda, allowing a shift from a traditional transparency approach toward a more proactive transparency model.

The main challenges included the initial lack of specialized technical personnel to modernize the platform, limited programming experience, insufficient staffing, and the need for training to structure budget information in more citizen-friendly formats.

A significant part of the development was carried out with limited resources, following the principle of “doing more with less.” The cost of the platform was covered mainly by civil society through modest contributions. While this made progress possible, it also highlighted the need for a dedicated institutional budget to ensure the platform’s continuity.

Additional challenges were identified regarding the translation of content into citizen-friendly language and the Maya language, as well as the need to align the platform with a broader vision of digital government, cybersecurity, and continuous improvement.

1.3 Was the commitment implemented as originally planned?

All of the commitment milestones were implemented as planned

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment maintained its original purpose of bringing budget information closer to citizens through a public, digital, and easy-to-understand platform.

Throughout its development, progressive improvements were made, data visualization tools covering the different stages of the budget cycle were incorporated, and progress has been made toward a new update featuring artificial intelligence and a chatbot. In addition, stronger links were established with regulatory and budgetary instruments, particularly through improvements to each year’s expenditure budget decree. These improvements seek to align budgetary processes with the budget transparency platform through programmatic and budget-related links.

Therefore, the commitment did make progress toward achieving its central objective, despite budget constraints, limited institutional capacities, and the new opportunities for technological improvement that continue to shape its current development.

2.1.1. – Did the government disclose more information; improve the quality of the information (new or existing); improve the value of the information; improve the channels to disclose or request information or improve accessibility to information?

Yes

Degree of result:

Outstanding

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

An impact analysis has not yet been conducted to measure specific changes among citizens resulting from the use of the platform. Although the tool was publicly presented, no sample group, user survey, or specific evaluation was carried out to identify measurable changes in civic practices, levels of budget literacy, or the effective use of information.

Nevertheless, concrete changes can be identified in terms of the availability, accessibility, and presentation of information. The platform made it possible to move from a regulatory and technical approach to public budgeting toward a more interactive and user-friendly tool. For citizens, this represents a potential improvement in access to up-to-date information without the need to submit a formal information request.

For public officials, the change was clearer: the platform reduced consultation times, enabled direct online access to budget information, and made the process of searching for, reviewing, and using budget-related data more efficient. It also helped organize programmatic and budgetary information in a format that is more useful for decision-making and responding to inquiries.

2.1.2. – Did the government create new opportunities to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation inform or influence decisions; improve existing channels or spaces to seek feedback from citizens/enable participation/ inform or influence decisions; create or improve capabilities in the government or the public aimed to improve how the government seeks feedback from citizens/enables participation/ or allows for the public to inform or influence decisions?

Yes

Degree of result:

Outstanding

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

The commitment strengthened the conditions for citizens to access, consult, and eventually provide feedback on public budget information. The platform’s value lies in bringing budget information closer to different sectors of society, reducing technical barriers, and making the budget less tedious, less specialized, and easier to understand.

Although the participatory component could still be strengthened, the platform provides an important foundation for people to become better informed and gain the knowledge needed to participate in discussions on public priorities, resource allocation, and expenditure monitoring.

2.1.3 Did the government create or improve channels, opportunities or capabilities to hold officials answerable to their actions?

Yes

Degree of result:

Outstanding

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

The platform contributes to improving accountability by enabling citizens to access information on public spending in a clearer and more understandable manner. By organizing information on how public funds are spent, who spends them, and what they are spent on, the platform creates better conditions for citizens to monitor the budget and institutional decisions.

Although its functionality, citizen-friendly language, staff training, and technical sustainability still need to be strengthened, the commitment represents progress toward more open mechanisms for public oversight and 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... over government spending.

2.1.4 Other Results

Yes

Degree of result:

Outstanding

Explanation: In narrative form, what has been the impact on people or practice.

In addition to the progress made in budget transparency, the commitment helped build institutional and social capacities for developing digital tools related to the public budget. It also strengthened collaboration among government, state institutions, and civil society.

A significant outcome was the incorporation of a technological component that supported progress toward a third version of the platform featuring a chatbot. The process also helped identify strategic challenges for future stages, including the need to translate content into citizen-friendly language, adapt information into the Maya language, strengthen internal technical capacities, and secure sufficient resources to ensure the platform’s continuity.

2.2 Did the commitment address the public policy problem that it intended to address as described in the action plan?

Yes

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The commitment addressed the challenges citizens face in accessing, understanding, and using budget information. The platform helped advance toward a clearer, more digital, and citizen-oriented presentation of the public budget by incorporating data visualizations and explanations of the budget cycle.

However, the problem has not yet been fully resolved, as technical challenges remain, along with the need for more citizen-friendly language, translation into the Maya language, institutional capacity-building, and sufficient human and financial resources. Therefore, the commitment represents significant progress, but continued efforts are needed to consolidate its results.

Provide evidence for your answer:

Final Evaluation

3. Provide at least one lesson or reflection relating to the implementation of this commitment. It can be the identification of key barriers to implementation, an unexpected help/hindrance, recommendations for future commitments, or if the commitment should be taken forward to the next action plan.

One of the main lessons from implementation is that budget transparency does not depend solely on publishing information, but also on translating it into formats that are useful, understandable, and engaging for citizens. Public budgets are often presented in a technical and inaccessible manner; therefore, a citizen-oriented platform must clearly explain how funds are spent, who spends them, and what they are spent on, without compromising the regulatory rigor of the budget process.

Another important lesson is that commitments with a technological component require technical capacities, specialized personnel, sufficient resources, and a sustainability strategy from the outset. The lack of technical expertise and specialized support hindered the functionality of the initial demonstration platform. However, the process made it possible to learn, make adjustments, and move toward a new version with improved tools, data visualizations, and a chatbot.

Finally, interinstitutional coordination and civil society participation were identified as key factors in sustaining the commitment. Political will, the openness of state institutions, and partial funding from civil society facilitated progress. For future commitments, it is recommended to strengthen the training of public officials, secure a dedicated budget, improve content using citizen-friendly language, advance the translation of information into the Maya language, and retain the commitment in the next action plan in order to consolidate the platform.