End of Commitment Report – Increasing transparency in service delivery through the publication of an online catalogue

Name of Evaluator

Mendeš, Obrt za usluge, vl. Ivona Mendeš Levak

Email

[email protected]

Member Name

Zagreb, Croatia

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 – Zagreb, Croatia, 2024 – 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...

Increasing 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 service delivery through the publication of an online catalogue

Title

Increasing transparency in service delivery through the publication of an online catalogue

Action

The commitment involves the publication of a comprehensive catalogue of services for the City of Zagreb. This catalogue will centralize information about all municipal services, categorizing them according to life situations and service characteristics. It will be integrated into the existing ARIS RepositoryAccess to relevant information is essential for enabling participation and ensuring accountability throughout the OGP process. An OGP repository is an online centralized website, webpage, platform or ... of Business Processes, leveraging digital technologies to enhance accessibility and user-friendliness. The objective is to streamline service delivery, improve transparency, and support economic development by providing clear, accessible information to residents and businesses. Expected results include optimized service processes, increased citizen satisfaction, and enhanced efficiency in resource allocation.

Problem

The commitment addresses the problem of inefficient service delivery and lack of transparency. Currently, there is no centralized, easily accessible source of information about city services. This leads to fragmented service delivery, duplicated efforts, and unclear access points for residents and businesses. The absence of transparency also undermines accountability in local governance and hinders economic development by creating barriers to business growth and investment. Bridging these gaps through a comprehensive catalogue aims to improve service efficiency, enhance citizen engagement, and promote equitable access to city services.

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

substantial

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

The City of Zagreb has made significant progress in implementing its commitment to increase transparency in service delivery through the development of an online service catalogue. Based on evidence, it has reached substantial 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 within the stipulated timeframe of November 2024 to March 2025, by centralizing and documenting city services, with the catalogue containing 347 services representing a significant improvement over the previously identified 186 scattered services. The city has actively promoted this initiative at multiple conferences, indicating institutional commitment.
The primary limitation to complete implementation is the pending launch of Zagreb’s new website, which will serve as the public-facing platform for the service catalogue. Nevertheless, the core work of documenting, structuring, and preparing the catalogue for publication has been completed.

Provide evidence that supports and justifies your answer:

• Zagreb OGP Action Plan
• Existing information about services on the website of the City of Zagreb
• About online services for citizens
• Presentation of the catalog of services, as part of the project of the new website:

  • on 18 Mar. 2025 at the Smart cities 2025 conference Lider

  • on Apr. 9, 2025 at the conference “Strengthening the readiness of Croatian local authorities for the digitalization of administration”, with the Association of Cities

  • on 15 Apr., 2025, at the GDi Solutions Conference 2025

• 5 stakeholder interviews conducted from 27 Feb. – 12 Mar. 2025

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

The commitment faced significant internal coordination demands across 16 administrative bodies. 58 participants from city offices engaged in 14 workshops overall (Nov. 2024-Mar. 2025). This suggests active departmental engagement, which overrode competing priorities and capacity constraints.
The most important internal factor impacting implementation was the gap which emerged between internal system completion (ARIS Connect) and external public accessibility on the City of Zagreb’s new website. While the service catalogue reached 347 documented services by March 2025, its full public impact remains contingent on the delayed new website launch.
The city proactively addressed transparency concerns through high-profile demonstrations at three conferences in early 2025 (Smart cities 2025 Conference on 18 March, Strengthening the readiness of Croatian local authorities for the digitalization of administration conference on 9 April, and GDi Solutions Conference 2025 on 15 April), creating external accountability mechanisms. This public-facing strategy helped maintain implementation momentum despite internal coordination challenges.

1.3 Was the commitment implemented as originally planned?

most of the commitment milestones were implemented as planned

Provide a brief explanation of your answer:

While the core objectives and most milestones were met, a few planned activities remain unverified or incomplete, justifying the assessment that most, but not all, milestones were implemented as planned. Thus, the City of Zagreb successfully completed the majority of planned activities for this commitment. Key milestones achieved include conducting internal analyses and workshops with city administrative bodies, upgrading the system for service documentation (ARIS Connect), designing and finalizing the service catalogue with 347 services, and preparing for its public presentation and publication. According to government representatives, the planned 16 qualitative and 16 quantitative analyses of city services were completed by the end of April 2025.
On the other hand, while the catalogue itself was finalized, its full public launch is dependent on the rollout of the new city website, which was still pending at the end of the reporting period.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• Zagreb OGP Action Plan
• Existing information about services on the website of the City of Zagreb
• About online services for citizens
• Presentation of the catalog of services, as part of the project of the new website:

  • on 18 Mar. 2025 at the Smart cities 2025 conference Lider

  • on Apr. 9, 2025 at the conference “Strengthening the readiness of Croatian local authorities for the digitalization of administration”, with the Association of Cities

  • on 15 Apr., 2025, at the GDi Solutions Conference 2025

• 5 stakeholder interviews conducted from 27 Feb. – 12 Mar. 2025

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:

Major

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

The commitment advanced the OGP value of technology and innovation for transparency by digitizing service documentation, though its full transparency impact hinges on completing the public-facing component, i.e. the new website. Preliminary results address the original problem of fragmented service information but have not yet demonstrably improved citizen access or engagement.
More specifically, the government disclosed more information by creating a centralized repository documenting 347 municipal services, nearly doubling the previously identified 186 services. Information quality was improved via standardized service documentation and structured templates used.
However, while the catalogue enhances internal process management, its public utility – through improved information value, improved disclosure channels and accessibility – remains untested pending the new website launch and the full effects of its implementation remain to be seen.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• Zagreb OGP Action Plan
• Existing information about services on the website of the City of Zagreb
• About online services for citizens
• Presentation of the catalog of services, as part of the project of the new website:

  • on 18 Mar. 2025 at the Smart cities 2025 conference Lider

  • on Apr. 9, 2025 at the conference “Strengthening the readiness of Croatian local authorities for the digitalization of administration”, with the Association of Cities

  • on 15 Apr., 2025, at the GDi Solutions Conference 2025

• 5 stakeholder interviews conducted from 27 Feb. – 12 Mar. 2025

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?

Not Applicable

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

Unclear

Degree of result:

Did not change

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

Mechanisms for holding officials accountable cannot be confirmed, as the services catalogue is not yet accessible to the public. While the service catalogue centralizes information about local services, it is still impossible to confirm whether the design and implementation introduced tools for tracking official performance, reporting misconduct, or enabling public oversight of decision-making. According to city representatives, a system has been established for regular (at least once a year) collection and validation of data on services and key indicators of implementation, also for updating data outside of regular cycles, in real time, in case of changes in the content, method of provision or jurisdiction for individual services, so that citizens have timely and accurate information.
The commitment’s internal benefits-such as standardized service documentation may indirectly improve administrative accountability by clarifying departmental responsibilities. However, there is still no evidence of new complaint mechanisms, performance metrics linked to officials, or participatory oversight features in the catalogue. Existing accountability frameworks (e.g., the whistleblower anti-corruption platform) operate independently of this initiative.
Transparency gains from the catalogue could theoretically empower citizens to demand accountability by clarifying service standards, but this remains speculative until the catalogue’s public launch and integration with feedback channels.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• Zagreb OGP Action Plan
• Existing information about services on the website of the City of Zagreb
• About online services for citizens
• Presentation of the catalog of services, as part of the project of the new website:

  • on 18 Mar. 2025 at the Smart cities 2025 conference Lider

  • on Apr. 9, 2025 at the conference “Strengthening the readiness of Croatian local authorities for the digitalization of administration”, with the Association of Cities

  • on 15 Apr., 2025, at the GDi Solutions Conference 2025

• 5 stakeholder interviews conducted from 27 Feb. – 12 Mar. 2025

2.1.4 Other Results

Not Applicable

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 was designed to address the lack of a centralized, easily accessible source of information on city services, fragmented service delivery, duplicated efforts, and unclear access points for citizens and businesses. This undermined transparency, reduced citizen satisfaction, and hindered accountability and economic development.
The commitment addressed the core of the public policy problem (fragmented and inaccessible service information) by developing and internally implementing a comprehensive, standardized service catalogue. However, the full intended impact on transparency and accessibility for citizens and businesses has not yet been achieved, as public access to the catalogue is pending the completion of the new website. The commitment therefore represents a significant step forward in solving the identified problem but does not yet fully realize the action plan’s 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... of streamlined, transparent, and citizen-centric service delivery.

Provide evidence for your answer:

• Zagreb OGP Action Plan
• Existing information about services on the website of the City of Zagreb
• About online services for citizens
• Presentation of the catalog of services, as part of the project of the new website:

  • on 18 Mar. 2025 at the Smart cities 2025 conference Lider

  • on Apr. 9, 2025 at the conference “Strengthening the readiness of Croatian local authorities for the digitalization of administration”, with the Association of Cities

  • on 15 Apr., 2025, at the GDi Solutions Conference 2025

• 5 stakeholder interviews conducted from 27 Feb. – 12 Mar. 2025

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.

A central lesson from the implementation of this commitment is that strong technical delivery and internal coordination do not automatically translate into immediate public benefit without synchronized rollout of public-facing components. The main barrier was the lack of alignment between internal and public implementation, due to constricted timelines. While internal processes and catalog development advanced substantially, the absence of a live, public-facing platform limited the immediate value for users – Zagreb’s citizens and businesses.
For future commitments, we recommend planning for a timely delivery of both internal and public-facing components. This may include setting clear, interdependent milestones for deliverables, ensuring that technical, administrative, and communication teams work in parallel rather than in sequence, allocating resources and contingency plans specifically for the public launch phase.
Likewise, when the service catalogue goes live with the new website, we recommend the city launch a coordinated, multi-channel public campaign, using digital and traditional outreach, clear messaging, and community partnerships, to maximize its impact and ensure citizens and businesses are aware of, understand, and use this new resource.
Depending on the adoption timeline for the next OGP action plan, the commitment could be continued, with a focus on completing and actively promoting the public launch of the service catalogue, integrating feedback mechanisms and ensuring ongoing updates and user support. This will maximize the transparency and efficiency gains and fully address the original public policy problem as intended in this OGP Action Plan.